In the summer of 2021, Macdonald Hotels and Resorts was faced with the challenge of delivering a high level of customer service alongside the post-pandemic re-opening of its properties.
The group's central reservation team was tasked with the goal of driving more reservations, answering email requests and telephone inquiries. This put the team under significant pressure as it became difficult to manage more than 1,000 contacts a day, split between telephone and email.
Instead of delivering a high volume of reservations, the team found itself having to pivot its focus towards answering guests' frequently asked questions. Consequently, there was a dip in revenue generated from reservations.
Need for a quick solution
Macdonald Hotels' digital team was tasked with finding a robust and scalable chatbot solution to support the central reservation team and reduce the amount of contacts. HiJiffy was deployed to provide a comprehensive chatbot solution delivering 100% automation.
HiJiffy's Booking Assistant allowed the team to focus on increasing sales while enabling guests to have answers to their frequently asked questions instantly, 24 hours per day, seven days per week.
Seeking results with the customer in mind
Macdonald Hotels’ goal in implementing HiJiffy’s AI-powered communications solutions was not to increase revenue, but rather to reduce the volume of calls where common, repetitive questions are being dealt with by the central reservations team. However, the client has seen an impact on the bottom line as well.
David McLean, digital director at Macdonald Hotels and Resorts, says: "In the last month, we saw 20,000 conversations across our entire site with a satisfaction rate of over 80%. These conversations are 100% automated with no human intervention."
“With 80% of people saying they got the right answer, they are also booking via the chatbot, generating direct revenue. We didn't anticipate this to be a revenue-generating tool, but the ROI is over 60% every month."
Macdonald Hotels and Resorts is now using HiJiffy products in multiple properties in both the U.K. and Spain.
What's next
Given the diversity of Macdonald Hotels and Resorts portfolio, the two companies are working together to expand the product into other areas of the business, including for its golf courses' membership program and booking tee times.
Beyond this, HiJiffy and the hotel group will work together to continuously develop the chatbot’s abilities to address the different queries received from a range of guest profiles and demographics.
About the author...
Tiago Araujo launched
HiJiffy in 2016.