Official Blog
Built in the cloud. Engineered for your enterprise.
Hard Rock Hotels in Mexico & the Dominican Republic find their groove with Google Apps
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Posted by Jaime Garcia, IT Corporate Director of the All Inclusive Collection
(Cross-posted on the
Google Latin America Blog
)
Editor's note:
We are excited to have guest blogger Jaime Garcia, IT Corporate Director of the All Inclusive Collection with over 5,000 employees at Hard Rock hotels in the Mayan Riviera, Cancún, Puerto Vallarta, and Punta Cana. See what other organizations that have gone Google
have to say.
At Hard Rock hotels, we don’t want to be a normal hotel; we want our guests to feel like rock stars from the moment they walk in the door. But, with 1,200 employees that use our IT platform across four locations, it can be challenging to create a consistent guest experience. We need tools that help us make decisions in the moment -- the party doesn’t stop at the Hard Rock!
As the IT Corporate Director of the All Inclusive Collection (which runs all of the Hard Rock Hotels in Mexico and the Dominican Republic), I’m responsible for providing tools to our employees that will let them to work together effectively and focus on our customers. On our old system, Microsoft® Exchange, we had a large datacenter for the hotels to maintain. Our communication tools weren’t flexible enough to make decisions on the go and we couldn’t guarantee that we were running the same promotions at the same time. We worried about the effect on our guests’ experience. I decided that we needed to move to Google Apps and get off of our on-premise infrastructure. Google Apps was fast, safe, and agile and met all of the security standards I was looking for, so I knew that all of our customers’ information would be protected, too!
Since moving to Google Apps, we've improved internal communication and are now spending half as much time on things as we were previously. While our hotels are in Mexico and the Dominican Republic, our sales teams are located all over the globe—North America, Europe, Asia, and here in Latin America—and they’re moving all the time. With Google Talk and Google+ Hangouts, we rarely use the phone anymore, it’s easier to jump on a Hangout from any device and from any of our locations. When our sales team in Miami make an important reservation for a wedding or a big group, they chat via Google Talk with the hotel in Cancun, providing immediate assurance and confirmation that everything will run smoothly.
Having so many guests across our hotels, problems can arise at anytime day or night, so we can’t have downtime. Rather than worrying about keeping our servers and email running, we spend our time managing tools through a browser. We've saved thousands of dollars in IT infrastructure and telecommunication costs, and my IT headaches are gone. I used to have a team of guys helping me manage servers and keep our email up and running. Now, only two of us manage all of the tools.
Google Sites and Google Calendar have been fundamental in organizing our promotions and standardizing our guest experience by allowing us to share across hotel locations. We just had a promotion across all our branches for Christmas and the holidays. We made a site with all of the dates, rates, and details of the deal and we could easily monitor how it was rolled out across each hotel. This process used to take weeks, and fixing discrepancies between the locations was messy. Now, it’s simple, consistent, and happens in real time.
On Google Apps, we really feel like a team, working together despite being countries apart. We are able to provide the same level of rockstar service in all of our hotels and create great experiences for our guests. All while improving our customer experience – rock on!
Labels
#innovationupgrade
#InspireGirls
#moregoogleapps
#SysAdminDay
#tbt
#throwbackthursday
#top10trust
100% web
50states
ad contest
add-ons
admin
Admin console
admin sdk
AirPlay
Android
Android for Work
Android for Work Live
Android Marshmellow
Android Nougat
Android security
Android security tips
Apps Adventures
apps script
apptuesday
Armed Forces Day
Asia Pacific
Atmosphere Live
Audi
Audi Connect
audit
Australia
big data
Big Query
bigquery
Boston
browser
Chomebox for Meetings
Chrome
Chrome Device Management
Chrome digital signage
Chrome for Business
Chrome for Work
Chrome Frame
Chrome OS
Chromebit
Chromebooks
Chromebooks for Business
Chromebooks for Education
Chromebooks for Work
Chromebox for digital signage
Chromebox for meetings
Chromebox for signage
Chromeboxes
Chromecast
City 24/7
Classroom
Clearing Kosovo
Cloud
cloud computing
cloud computing gonegoogle
cloud computing gonegoogle Google Apps
cloud computing gonegoogle Google Apps google docs small business success story
cloud computing gonegoogle Google Apps google docs small business success story switch
cloud datastore
cloud platform
Cloud Platform Live
cloud print
cloud series
cloud services
cloud sql
collaboration
Colorado
Connectors
contacts
Control Panel
customer
customer love
Customer story
Customer support
Customer testimonial
data centers
data processing amendment
data protection
Developer
developers
Digital Learning Day
Docs
documents
DPA
Drawings
Drive for Education
drive sharing
Earth
earth and maps
EC
education
Education on Air
EMC
EMM
Energy
enterprise
EU
events
FedEx
Fedex.com
Finance
Firebase
Forms
franchises
GAFE
Gartner
GE
geo
Global Partner Summit
gmail
Gone Google
gonegoogle
Google AdWords
Google App Engine
Google Apps
Google Apps Blog
Google Apps for Business
Google Apps for Education
Google Apps for Government
Google Apps for Work
Google Apps Marketplace
Google Apps Reseller
Google Apps Script
Google Apps Vault
Google BigQuery
Google Calendar
Google Calendar app
Google Certified Teachers
Google Chrome
Google Chromebases
Google Classroom
Google Cloud Datastore
Google Cloud DNS
Google Cloud Platform
google cloud storage
Google Cloud Vision API
google commerce search
Google Compute Engine
Google Doc
Google Docs
Google Domains
Google Draw
Google Drive
Google Drive for Work
Google Earth
Google Earth Engine
Google Earth Enterprise
Google Earth Images
Google Earth Pro
Google Email Security and Archiving
Google Enterprise
Google Enterprise Search
Google Expeditions
Google for Education
Google for Education Partner Program
Google for Education Training Center
Google for Entrepreneurs
Google for Work
Google for Work and Google for Education Partner Program
Google for Work partner program
Google Forms
Google Green
google groups
Google Hangout
Google Hangouts
Google I/O
Google Keep
Google Maps
Google Maps API
Google Maps APIs
Google Maps Coordinate
Google Maps Engine
Google Maps Engine Pro
Google Maps Engine public data program
Google Maps for Business
Google Maps for Work
Google Maps Gallery
Google Maps Tracks API
Google Message Continuity
google message security
Google Mobile Device Management
Google My Maps
Google My Maps Pro
Google Places API
Google Play
google play for education
Google Prediction API
Google Research tool
Google Science Fair
Google Search Appliance
Google Security Key
Google Sheets
Google Site Search
google sites
Google Slides API
Google Smart Lock
Google spreadsheets
Google Springboard
google storage
Google Storage for Developers
Google Translate
Google Vault
Google Video
Google Wave
google+
Google+ api
Google+ Communities
googlenew
government
GSA
GSA 7.0
GSA for Commerce
guest post
HALO Trust
Hangout on Air
Hangouts on Air
HEAT
hints and tips
HIPAA
Inbox
Inbox by Gmail
innovation
international trade
Internet Explorer
intranet
io2011
iOS
iPad
IT
K-12
Kubernetes
large business
MAM
manufacturing
Mapping a better world
marketplace
marketplace highlights
mashups
MCCs
MDM
medium business
migration
mobile
mobile management
model contract clauses
moms
Mother's Day
mpstaffpick
MyHEAT
NAVMAN
new features
news
Niagara International Transportation Technology Coalition
non-profit
noteworthy
offline
OpenID Connect
Parters
partner
Partner Showcase
partners
Place Summaries
Postini
privacy
product ideas
productivity
Quickoffice
Receptionist's Day
reports
Reseller
retail
RSA
Safer Internet Day
SBW2013
SBW2014
sbweek
SCCs
Search
Security
Security Key
small business
Small Business Week
Small businesses
SMB
spam and security trends
Startups
success story
support
switch
System Admin
T Dispatch
Teamwork 2015
Thanksgiving
Transport and Logistics
Trust
UK
university
University of Calgary
Updates
utilities
Veteran Owned Businesses
Veterans Day
Veterans Day 2013
Veterans Day 2014
viewpoint
VNX
wallet
webinar
webmaster
Winter
women in tech
Women's History Month
Work Resolutions
World Bank
Archive
2016
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
2015
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
2014
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
2013
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
2012
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
2011
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
2010
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
2009
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
2008
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
2007
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
2006
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
Feed
Google
on
Follow @gsuite
Useful Links
G Suite
Gmail
Hangouts
Calendar
Google+
Google Drive
Google Maps
Google Cloud Platform
