13-06-05 Zonal supply an EPoS solution to the exclusive Kensington Close Hotel

The Kensington Close Hotel is a prestige 552 room hotel in Kensington, London. The Kensington Close boasts two busy restaurants, a successful bar and extensive room service provision.

Bala Sri, Food and Beverage Director, needed an EPoS solution that would bring together the diverse operations of the hotel so that stocks, prices and promotions could be managed more effectively. He also needed a reliable solution that could cope with extended trading periods and provide detailed business information to help him analyse business performance.

The two restaurants, Italian Connection and The Carvery, are open for nine hours each day serving breakfast and dinner, the bar is open for 13 hours each day and room service is available 24 hours a day. In addition to a very busy breakfast time, more than 2,000 guests are served in the restaurants each week on top of hundreds of room service meals and drinks in the bar.

Out of the EPoS suppliers approached, only Zonal could offer the level of control that allowed Mr Sri to obtain detailed business information in real-time when the hotel's four different sales areas each operated different trading periods. A total of nine Zonal EPoS terminals were installed to manage the food and drink operations within the hotel.

Zonal's EPoS system interfaces with the hotel's front-of-house computer, which is operated by Rameseys. Ramesys is Zonal's chosen partner in the hotel sector who, with Zonal, offer a complete end-to-end solution for the hotel industry.

Simple to use, yet powerful - Mr Sri, who has been very impressed with Zonal's EPoS solution said: " We have been using Zonal terminals in the restaurants and bar since December 2004 and they have proved a great success."

It is clear that simplicity is one if its strengths - "from the point of view of the waiting staff, they (Zonal terminals) are a simple and effective means of communicating with the bar and kitchen. Once an order is taken at the table, it is entered into the EPoS terminal and the order printed out in the kitchen or bar. It means that staff can concentrate on providing customers with an attentive first-class service, without the need to go to the kitchen or bar to give the order."

Real-time business information - The other big benefit for the Kensington Close Hotel is the volume of essential business information that is available in real-time. "From my point of view, the information I can obtain from the EPoS terminals is invaluable. Among other things, it helps with stock control, is able to highlight which products are and aren't selling and shows the busiest times of day which enables me to optimise staff hours."

Seamless Interface with Hotel Management System - Crucial for a hotel is the communication between the food and beverage system and the hotel management system. Zonal's EPoS Solution interfaces seamlessly with Ramesys' Hotel Management System enabling Mr Sri to "check how many guests are in the hotel at any time, and also look at future bookings." Mr Sri added that "this helps me make the right decision with regard to future purchasing, for example if the hotel is booked solid, I know that I will need to order more food and drink, as well as have a high number of staff working. Conversely, in the off-peak periods, I can ensure that there is no wastage as a result of too much food and drink being ordered. Overall, Zonal provides me with an important management tool, which is a great asset to me in my day-to-day work."

Download PDF of Kensington Close Hotel's Case Study