Conveniently situated on Maya Beach in beautiful Belize, Maya Beach Hotel puts its guests close to local attractions and delicious dining options. Its owners, John Lee and Ellen Larson Lee, say that they feel like the luckiest people on Earth to have the opportunity to run a gorgeous resort in such a dream location.
As they succinctly say: “We get to live on the beach, enjoy beautiful weather, and spend our days making people happy.”
However, successfully running a hotel (even in paradise) still takes work and coordination. Maya Beach Hotel consists of 20 rooms in apartments and villas scattered across the beach surrounding the main property. Their team had to solve the challenges of efficient team communication and accountability to cover such a large area. We spoke to the owner, Ellen Larson Lee, about how they have transformed their operations with smart tech thanks to Flexkeeping‘s Hotel Operations Platform.
»Our staff is scattered throughout a big area, so it’s imperative to organize them and ensure they’re completing the tasks in the most efficient way possible.«
— Ellen Larson Lee, Owner of Maya Beach Hotel
Before Flexkeeping: frustrations and inefficiencies
Before the switch, our departments and staff members couldn’t keep track of all the daily happenings and work progress. There needed to be a clearer and more real-time overview of all day-to-day operations. Our team members wanted a platform that would empower them to deliver guest services faster without forgetting any tasks or details.
After Flexkeeping: automation and collaboration
It enabled our housekeepers to organize their workflows better. Flexkeeping automated daily cleaning schedules and streamlined real-time information about rooms, guests, check-ins, check-outs, and other daily events. It also meant that all the other departments were up to date with their progress.
»Our Front Desk can now be sure that the rooms marked as clean are ready. Flexkeeping saves us so much time and encourages full accountability.«
— Ellen Larson Lee, Owner of Maya Beach Hotel
Owning a hotel in Belize isn’t always a day at the beach. The hotel is 50 feet away from the water. Combine that with hot weather and high humidity, and you get corrosion, which means we must regularly repaint. This is where preventive maintenance comes in.
In Flexkeeping, we can set up recurring tasks to help our maintenance team stay on top of corrosion. Now, they rely on checklists to ensure everything is perfect when guests arrive and prevent complaints arising from overlooked issues.
»Our housekeeping’s productivity has radically improved. Staff have quick and easy access to their tasks, and I can instantly see when and how they’re completing them.«
— Ellen Larson Lee, Owner of Maya Beach Hotel
In particular, these products and features have really made a difference:
- Maintenance Suite to alert staff of all ongoing maintenance jobs
- Task Management and the ability to schedule recurring tasks to set regular intervals for doing preventive maintenance
- Checklists for conducting step-by-step checks and inspections
