This year Zello attended HITEC 2019, one of the world's largest conferences in the hospitality industry. Attendees learn and share insights about emerging technology and how it will change and shape the future of customer service at hotels and resorts. Bill Moore, the CEO of Zello, was interviewed at the show about how innovators in hospitality equip their workers with Zello to cut costs, improve operational efficiency, and empower their teams to collaborate using real time voice communication. Watch the interview below:
Interview Transcript
Q. I’m here with Bill Moore. He’s the CEO of Zello. Bill, pleasure to meet you, and I’d love to chat with you for a couple minutes about your latest and greatest. We can start by having you tell our audience a bit about the benefits you all deliver. I know you’re keen on improving operational efficiency and the quality of the guest experience by improving communication. Can we talk a little bit about that?
A. Yes, sure, Jeff! Zello is a walkie talkie app that replaces radios in hospitality properties. Typically, they’re deploying a workflow application like HotSOS, and they’ll recognize that employees are totally dependent on traditional radios or carrier service for communication. What they find instead is that Zello provides the same real time, live voice communication between individuals with channels, but it works on the device that they are carrying anyway. Better quality, less money, and keeps the entire team connected.
Q. Fantastic! And now how does that impact responsiveness, and how does that improve issue resolution?
A. Well, one of the features that people like the best is that there’s a "listen again" button. With a radio, if you have to pay attention to the guest who is right in front of you to take care of their needs and the radio is going off, you’re really not able to do both at once. But with Zello, you are able to pay attention to the guest and then push a button, listen to the message again, and take care of the situation. So, the communication with the guest is much better, and communication with the staff is better because you’re not having to disrupt the channel with a bunch of noise, asking questions while everybody listening to it again. So, it’s much better.
Q. So, this transcends all functions within an organization from housekeeping, to front desk, to maintenance, and everything in-between?
A. Yes. Typically, properties will have channels set up for each of those functional areas. Maybe ten channels -- Maybe one set up for a shuttle that’s picking up people, or one for valet, or in-room dining service, or banquet, etc. So these teams are structured the way they are within the properties. But it’s very easy for employees to be part of their team, for example, for concierge to get help from maintenance. They can get on that channel and grab it. There’s no limit to the number of channels or to the communication between these people.
Q. Ok, and this, I assume, is equally applicable across properties of all sizes and categories?
A. Yes, there’s a Zello for friends and family and a Zello for business and work. The difference is central administration. If it’s a very small property and it's got five or ten employees, you’re probably going to use the Zello for friends and family. The business one is six dollars per user per month, and it allows for central administration. That’s really essential for managing your more complex cases and properties.
Q. Well, thank you so much for sharing that with us!
