Meet the Client

The Holiday Inn Holidome and Conference Center in York, PA, is situated between historic Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Dutch Country, and Hershey Park & Chocolate World. The hotel hosts a large percentage of tourism traffic, particularly during special events such as the Annual Harley Davidson Open House and Bike Night, National Street Rod Association Custom Car Show, and York Interstate Fair.

The Challenge

Daily, the staff of the Holiday Inn was peppered with questions from customers about nearby businesses. “Where’s a good place to eat? Where do I go for fun? Where should I do my shopping?” Answers to these questions often came from a thick stack of outdated menus, brochures, and flyers that were kept behind the check-in counter. The hard-working staff of the Holiday Inn found it harder and harder to provide quality information to their customers.

The organization recognized that the information they had on local businesses was flawed, and that the staff’s time could be better applied toward delighting their guests in other ways. In order to accommodate the influx of people, the forward-thinking Holiday Inn decided to look into getting a technological solution to the problem. Livewire met with hotel management in May 2003 to discuss a solution.

The Solution

That meeting spawned Livewire’s eConcierge kiosk software, a self-service concierge system that provided a reliable and professional platform for local businesses to showcase their information. Electronic brochures created by these businesses were distributed to the kiosk automatically from Livewire’s data center. The brochures interacted with hotel guests to give them all information they wanted, fast. Brochures included event calendars, menus, directions, and driving distances. The eConcierge kiosk’s printer allowed guests to take the information and money saving coupons along with them.

In addition to taking over the responsibility for restaurant recommendations, the eConcierge system allowed guests to search York’s many establishments by thinking the way guests think. For example, eConcierge can answer: What York restaurants have a family atmosphere that will be okay for my kids? What is the closest Chinese restaurant? How many minutes will it take me to drive there?

The kiosk freed the staff to focus more on what the Holiday Inn could do for the customer while providing accurate and professional information about local businesses. It averaged over 120 unique sessions a week.

The Holiday Inn installed the kiosk directly across from the front desk, and they have been impressed by its reliability ever since. A broken kiosk can mean more than a lost opportunity; it can make a poor impression. The Livewire eConcierge kiosk is constantly in contact with Livewire’s data center and if a problem is found, technicians are dispatched to get the kiosk back online quickly.

Learn more about Livewire’s eConcierge kiosk software solutions for the hospitality and retail industries.