As the hospitality industry shifts to a “new normal”, digital services and technology are needed more than ever to facilitate a more efficient yet personalized customer engagement solution. OKKAMI is an all-in-one hospitality platform that allows hotels to focus on their core business. The OKKAMI digital solution enables hotels to increase revenue centres, streamline operations, connect with customers, and improve guest satisfaction. OKKAMI specializes in a touch-free experience such as contactless express check-in/out with digital signature, QR code menus, digital compendium, and more. The OKKAMI solution supports safety & hygiene programmed from established brands like Chatrium, Six Senses, Anantara, Avani, and Akaryn.
Pledging THB 10.8 million to ASQ (Alternative State Quarantine) Hotels in Thailand
OKKAMI’s main centre of operations is located in Bangkok Thailand. Operating out of Bangkok which is the heart of travel in Southeast Asia has provided OKKAMI keen insight on trends which have affected the local economy. Every country in Southeast Asia is preparing steps on how to kickstart their local tourism industry safely. Thailand has successfully achieved a low infection and mortality rate during the pandemic, but since the local economy depends on tourism, hotel owners are struggling to generate revenue. Staying open means jobs for locals and expatriates that work at the hotels and related companies. The Thai government has been instrumental in helping promote domestic tourism by providing extra approved government holidays to simulate local travel.
As Thailand opens for tourism, incoming guests will be required to stay at Government Approved Hotels which have strict protocols in place to isolate and safely manage any potentially infected guest. As such OKKAMI has pledged to provide SHA (Safety and Health Administration) approved hotels in Thailand complimentary services for six months. Key features found in the complimentary package will include the OKKAMI live chat unified messaging software and QR code digital menus. Each QR Code Digital eMenu also supports multiple languages and automatic translations when customers use the chat function.
By doing so OKKAMI hopes to address safety & hygiene concerns that hotels are currently facing. Addressing these issues will allow hotels to stay open, prepare for re-opening, and provide assistance for new hotel openings. These features are designed to help minimize physical interaction between staff and guests while allowing staff to continue to offer personalized services. Guests can now order in-room dining menus from the comfort of their rooms by scanning the QR code or chatting with hotel staff directly. By supporting menus in various languages, OKKAMI will help SHA approved hotels cater to guests from all corners of the globe.
The OKKAMI LiveChat Unified Messaging Software
The OKKAMI LiveChat Unified Messaging module combines the ease-of-use of guests’ preferred messaging tools with the personal touch of the property’s concierge. With OKKAMI messaging you can also offer website chat support as well as messaging support through popular Apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger with the added benefit of supporting in-chat payments. The currently supported applications are WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Viber and WeChat. All of the applications directly feed into the OKKAMI Unified Message Manager Dashboard.
The OKKAMI LiveChat Manager Dashboard includes the OKKAMI payment gateway, which allows hotels to capture payments for services such as early check-in, airport pickup and other special packages before guests arrive. The payment gateway feature helps properties capture lost revenue even before the guest arrives.
OKKAMI understands that for today's’ travelers time is limited and that smart technologies help improve the guest relationship services which hotel brands are built on. This is why OKKAMI has developed an all-round cost-effective and seamless communication solution between hotel team members and the guests.
The advantage of the OKKAMI Unified Messaging software is that the guest can communicate with the property before, during or after each stay. Guests simply send their query and receive an immediate reply from the respective hotel. The Message Manager Dashboard also displays the guest profile and the response can be customized to each guest’s personal preference.
The OKKAMI LiveChat module also makes it very convenient for guests to easily make a restaurant booking or schedule an in-property spa appointment. With the added benefit of the hotel being able to request and capture immediate payments results in an increased revenue stream for the property.
Six Senses Product Booking API to Manage and Fulfill Non-Room Inventory (NRI)
Six Senses has partnered with OKKAMI to create a unified inventory management platform for all of their properties. This will enable the Six Senses group to manage the lifecycle of their products, services, customers, and resources. Aside from the advantage of being cloud-native and highly flexible, the platform is also available across all property classes and geographic regions. OKKAMI will provide an API to allow Six Senses website to present room inventory from IHG’s booking engine while offering add-on products stored on the newly created API. An added benefit of the API is the ability for guests to view available inventory of experiences based on selected dates online.
The goal of this integration is to maintain the existing booking flow while configuring a direct workflow to route add-on products to the assignment department after guests have completed their bookings. Once the request arrives at the property, OKKAMI’s workflow module will map the request to the correct department for fulfilment and follow up. This would allow, for example, spa add-ons to go directly to spa staff onsite to follow up with guests before arrival.
The booking flow begins with guests accessing room inventory based on availability pulled from IHG’s booking engine vs SynXis Central Reservation. Based on the guests’ selected property, available product inventory will be displayed accordingly. Products that are dependent on dates and inventory available will be able to be filtered based on dates entered during the booking process. For example, a one-way transfer can have inventory allotments based on the arrival date. In the last step of the booking process, total booking rate and total add-on cost will be displayed. Guests’ data collected during booking will be sent back via the API to route add-on requests to the property’s departments.
Once an order is posted via the API, the department lead and relevant staff will be alerted. Alerts are sent to emails, Six Senses app push notification, and OKKAMI’s dashboard popup notification. Once staff have reviewed the add-on request, it can be moved to “Scheduled”. As soon as an order is marked as “Scheduled”, it will automatically move to the top of the list on the day of the guests’ arrival. This acts as a reminder for staff to fulfil the request before the guests arrive.
To assist staff with the follow-up process, OKKAMI has built an escalation feature into the fulfilment dashboard. The escalation feature ensures no requests are left unattended by escalating the request to the next available team member if the request has not been marked “Done” after a specific time. The escalation will continue to occur until the request status has been changed.
Once the order has been posted, guests will receive a notification on the Six Senses app and details will also be displayed in the chat message. From the chat, staff and guests can communicate directly. Moreover, guests can review their add-on requests by browsing through the “My Request” panel or “Profile History” inside the app. All requests are collected in a guests’ profile and are connected to OKKAMI’s powerful CRM system. Guests data and preferences are shared among all Six Senses properties, allowing staff to offer personalized services and anticipate guests’ needs no matter which property they visit.
Inventory and add-on products are managed from a comprehensive store builder. Each product will support manual updates of basic data fields and image uploading. Moreover, the products support the ability to be flagged for online ordering through the API. OKKAMI’s user-friendly store builder allows staff to update the information once from a single dashboard and it will automatically update on all platforms.
Essentially, the unified inventory management platform is about managing connectivity, transferring information to and from devices and locations, and enhancing guest engagement. OKKAMI expects this unified inventory management system to help Six Senses better personalize their hospitality approach and cater to their esteemed travelers. Both companies share a vision to create personalized travel relying on world-class technology strategy and bold investments for the future.
