Coming out of the pandemic, the Colonial Properties Cabin & Resort Rentals team in the Smoky Mountains needed a better way to manage amenities. 

MANAGING IN BULK SUCKS

“Pre-COVID, we had to order all of our supplies through a vendor we found online, and it was all in bulk,” said Ben Hughes from the Colonial Properties team who manages nearly 200 properties. “So you’re talking 30,000+ shampoos and conditioners in our warehouse all at one time.”

That’s a lot of frickin’ shampoo! 

When you consider the space those boxes of amenities take up in their warehouse, as well as the space needed to kit those amenities up for every reservation, the Colonial Properties warehouse was bursting at the seams.

“Then, during the height of the pandemic, we actually removed amenities from our homes altogether after getting feedback from guests that they didn’t feel comfortable using products that weren’t sealed,” Ben said. 

AMENITIES, AUTOMATED

Earlier this year, they turned to sojo to help them ramp their amenities program back up. This time, in a totally automated way.

They created custom-branded sojo amenity boxes that are packaged up for every bathroom and kitchen, and then sticker-sealed so their guests know it’s not been used. And the guests have been loving it.

“Using sojo actually allowed us to offer more amenities than we used to, so being able to elevate that a little bit for the guests has definitely been a welcome surprise for them,” Ben said. “And just being able to greet them with a few things to get 'em through a couple days of their stay has been warmly received by all of our guests.”

SOJO X BREEZEWAY

The housekeeping team is loving it, too. Gone are the days of kitting amenities up in trash bags for every reservation. Now, they’re just grabbing the pre-packed box of amenities labeled with that specific reservation’s details (like property name and check-out date) for every clean.

The sojo x Breezeway integration also allows for their housekeeping team to be even faster and more efficient in the property by simplifying their work-order checklists during each clean. 

“Overall it’s been a tremendous timesaver for our team. It allows them to focus more on the tasks we want them focused on and less on the mundane prep work.”

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