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See, Sample, Sow – How you can benefit from ResRequest on-site

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We turned off the tar road from Karen and went through a security gate which allowed us passage into the Nairobi National Park. Our bumpy progress was soon brought to a halt as a uniformed orphan keeper crossed the road with a four month old giraffe in tow. A short distance further we passed Max, a blind but content Black rhino and after parking we were introduced to two tiny orphan elephants – newcomers from the previous day. Welcome to The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust! It set the tone for our time at the David Sheldrick offices and interaction with the team – a small group of wonderful people passionate about their work with wildlife and striving to keep the organisation running smoothly. Every organisation, although essentially the same, has it’s quirks making it unique and this is when onsite training makes customising the fit for both the property / res office and ResRequest easier.

Basic training like How to make a reservation or How to add an extra is just the start, but integrating that knowledge with your business processes is the real challenge. Jill headed up the three full days of training which is standard for our onsite training programme. It was intense but certainly worthwhile as we had ascertained a number of suitable reports that were relevant to the organisation and smoothed out a number of business processes that could now be handled by ResRequest.

“Basically I am absolutely loving ResRequest and how much easier it has made my life and streamlined all the bookings. The training was great and it was so nice to meet Jill and Jen and put names to the people who helped set it all up as well as faces and so far have so enjoyed working with you all. Having Jill and Jen come here for the training was the best option as it is so much more personalised that way.” Lina – Reservations Management, The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

Sine we were already in Kenya, we had the opportunity to visit Angama in the Mara. Apart from the thrill of soaring over the expansive Mara in a light aircraft and enjoying the breathtaking view from Angama’s deck, the two days we spent with the team was extremely valuable. Having already worked with the system for several months, the res team wanted to hone certain processes to ensure clean data and effective reporting.

“Their visit was a huge success – Thanks to the ResRequest team for taking the time to travel to the Maasai Mara – always more fruitful for discussions to take place at the source as new issues are unearthed no matter how much advanced planning has happened, and face-to-face communication offers a much more efficient way to solve complex issues.” Steve – Director, Angama.

“I agree with Steve – it is beyond beneficial – sitting with Jill and Jen was fantastic, I learnt so much and great tips on how to do things smarter and faster. I recommend this to any client. No matter how good you think you are in the system… you will learn sooo much from having a ResRequest team member sit with you for a full day.” Kristen – Reservations, Angama.

We visited a number of clients during our Kenya trip – both new and advanced users – and were encouraged by the system-strong and enthusiastic people using ResRequest. Our primary goal with initial and ongoing training is not just to teach the ‘how to’ but to empower our users to utilise ResRequest to it’s fullest, because even with software the clichéd adage holds true: “You get out what you put in.”

East Africa E-Tourism 2014 conference experience

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Written by Jill Bennett-Howes

I arrived at Nairobi airport greeted by bright yellow walls and friendly customs attendants shouting ‘Jambo, Jambo’. I reminisced on my Kenya trip 9 years ago when we installed ResRequest at Governors’ Camps. At the time our greatest challenge was the modem dial up contending with at least 4 other voices shouting ‘Jambo, Jambo’ as we tried desperately to get a data transfer through.

As my taxi driver tore through the streets of Nairobi pointing out this building and that one, I was totally gobsmacked at how much the city has changed. I asked him which buildings were new and, it turns out, almost all the buildings! I oo’ed and aa’ed about all that had been built over the last 9 years. Everything looked, well similar to home, except for the adrenalin junkies sailing out of the bus doors as they spun round the massive round-a-bouts, which the taxi driver assured me was rather unusual.

I was blown away by the high rises and apartment blocks in Nairobi, granted my taxi driver may have taken me the best routes, but in that case, the taxi drivers have got better at tourism then they were years before!

As I saw and experienced parts of Nairobi and caught up with customers, I wildly started hash-tagging #WhyILoveKenya, of course it helped that I’ll be heading home 2kg’s heavier thanks to my room attendant, Edith. Edith loaded my bathroom full of bottles of lemon grass conditioner, after I left her a reply to her welcome note which read: “Thanks for my conditioner Edith, I love it!”  For some weird reason I feel compelled to Pinterest my hair after Damian’s states that 94% of Pinterest users are women.

conditioner

Speaking of Damian and the reason for this post, Damian Cook and his wife, Elizabeth,  put on an intense, action packed and totally at-the-heart-of-things E-Tourism conference for East Africa. After attending the Cape Town conference last year, and receiving rave reviews from our marketing manager after this year’s CT session, I was really excited. Once again, Damian did not disappoint. The conference was packed and Damian’s Kenyan customers were totally absorbed in the programme from beginning to end.

I was one of the lucky few who had the opportunity to present to the audience, which consisted of a number of our customers. What surprised me, and them, was how much rich functionality ResRequest has to offer. I was able to tell our story and was rewarded with several customers telling me that they’ll be heading back to their office to check out much of the functionality I mentioned.

Damian’s presentations were honest and right at the heart of the challenges we face. He paid particular attention to helping Kenyan customers understand, plan and implement a crisis management strategy around their current tourism crisis.

Of course I don’t know how long Edith’s conditioner supply will last so I sincerely hope that Damian plans the next E-Tourism conference soon.