Uig Hotel beds in success with mobile ordering app

Five years ago the Harley family uprooted their family of four, plus three dogs from Milton Keynes and turned their back on corporate life to return to their Scottish roots to run an 18 room hotel on the Isle of Skye.

For husband and wife team Billy and Anne it was the best decision they made.  Their two boys have since left home to study, but life has never been better, and the hotel business continues to grow.  Investing in technology has been part of the key to this success.

When they moved into Uig, which is an old coaching inn dating back to 1831 and located on the hill above Uig bay offering stunning views, the hotel required a refresh.  In addition to location in its favour, Uig also had Zonal EPoS technology, although it wasn’t being been utilised to its full potential.

“We were impressed with the intuitive nature of Zonal’s EPoS and could see that it had the potential to offer us the insight we needed, so worked with the team to upgrade the Aztec EPoS solution and get the support that we required to optimise its functionality,” said Billy.

For the Harleys it was a question of improving food and drink sales across its bar and dining areas, while keeping a lid on staffing overheads.  Through its integrated business solutions, Zonal had just the answer with its handheld ordering system, iServe.

A reliable replacement to the traditional order pad, iServe can be installed on any iPod or iPad to create a mobile EPoS terminal, providing teams with full access to Aztec functionality from anywhere in the venue.  This allows team members to turn tables faster and deliver a superior customer experience, as they can take orders at the table and reduce visits to the bar and kitchen.

Billy explained:

“We pride ourselves on our quality homecooked food and work hard to source as much local produce as we can from Isle of Skye red deer to scallops, washed down with a local ale, Misty Isle gin or one of a range of Talisker single malts.

“With this focus on excellence, we needed to make sure that our teams had the tools available to deliver an equally outstanding service.  Since we introduced iServe it has proved to be a win, win for everyone.

“We have increased the number of people we can serve by up to 40% without having to recruit more serving staff, as the process of taking an order is so much simpler and more efficient.  iServe also improves accuracy as we take the order and send it straight from the table to the kitchen and bar without re-keying, which offers our customers a sleeker more professional service.”

For Uig the service from Zonal has also been appreciated.  Despite its remoteness – a six hour drive from Glasgow – Zonal has been on hand 24/7 with remote support.

“We enjoy a good relationship with Zonal, they understand our business and have the range of solutions in place to help us grow our business, while managing tight margins,” concluded Billy.

Zonal is the leading provider of integrated hospitality management solutions to over 16,000 leisure and hospitality businesses across the UK.  For over 38 years, the company has been working closely with clients to enhance the customer experience through market leading technology, experienced people and a partnership approach to business.