1000+ room New Orleans hotel gets simplicity for housekeeping teams with Grazzy
More than a thousand rooms is a lot to cover. The team that keeps this massive hotel running in the heart of New Orleans is made up of workers from three third party agencies, plus the hotel’s dedicated, long-term housekeeping staff. They keep the whole property humming, especially during major events like Mardi Gras and the upcoming Super Bowl in 2025.
As cash is less and less prevalent with travelers, hotel leadership decided to try digital tipping as a tool to increase housekeeping pay. Increasing earnings in this way can help keep talented teams together longer, can motivate teams to higher service, and can improve guest satisfaction scores.
We spoke with an HR leader about her experience getting started with Grazzy and the impact it has for her team. She shared that housekeeping KPIs have improved, the team is motivated, and management can even use digital tipping metrics to recognize staff success.
“I think the money coming in is a testament to the service they’re providing, and the culture."
Mapping goals and the challenges to digital tipping
Simplifying tip outs among complicated teams was the very first challenge the team knew they’d need to solve. They were determined that tips for housekeeping service should be shared equally based on who did the work. But it wouldn’t be feasible to constantly reference work schedules from temp agencies, or to manage profiles for workers who might only come in once, ever.
Similarly, fighting uncertainty about who gets tipped and when should be a goal for any hotel implementing digital tipping. The HR leader described the problem as a disconnect between service and a ‘tipping moment.’
“It’s not something you think about, because you don’t see the housekeeping staff. You just came back and your room was made,” she said. Guests might forget about that element of their service at check-out, and they’ll skip or skimp the tip. Or, even if they do leave a tip, it may not reach the person who provided the service. Getting that tip in the right hands was critical.
Finally, the relationship supporting the new technology rollout had to be right for digital tipping to work. In addition to the complexity of team makeups, the hotel’s program would also need to meet new union requirements for digital tipping offerings, and hotel leadership wanted to launch with confidence.
Getting Grazzy going
“The enrollment process, I’d say, was overall very seamless and easy,” said the hotel’s HR director. “It was about figuring out how all of these parts are gonna come together and make this work.”
The Grazzy team created a quick solution to tip-out complexity by working with the hotel to understand what the vision was for distributing tips, then enabling third-party agencies to handle their own allocations separately. This allowed leadership to focus on maximizing the program impact for the veteran team of housekeepers on staff.
They introduced digital tipping at a department-wide meeting, and the housekeeping team quickly got “amped” as the housekeeping director started sharing leaderboard updates. Shortly after launch, they rocketed to become the top tip-earning location out of all Grazzy customers, holding the top spot for several months through their busy season.
That record also showed that not only could the team track tips and reward service provided, but they’re closing that ‘tipping moment’ gap.
“I think having that [tipping card] in the room gets people thinking, ‘Oh, right!’” It reminds people that they are being provided a service, she said, and if they choose to tip it could be a benefit to the person who completed that service.
Grazzy delivers the partner value
We had to ask, why did Grazzy win you over?
The HR leader shared that they vetted three digital tipping providers once they decided to go forward with the technology. With Grazzy, “we felt comfortable. I guess you could say we felt like we could trust you all, that you’re gonna be there if we need assistance. And you have been – since day one with the numerous questions and unique complexities we have to deal with here.”
“We knew there could be some learning on both sides,” the HR leader said. “We felt very comfortable with you, and all of us coming together and getting to a solution was so easy. We are very happy with the partnership and the platform.”
The enrollment process, I'd say, was overall very seamless and easy.
How will the program change from here?
Since they started using Grazzy in the beginning of 2024, teams at this New Orleans hotel have earned just about $40,000 with digital tips – earnings that are also now easier to track and fairly distribute among housekeeping teams.
The positive impact on staff has been evident to HR leader we interviewed, too. Morale and motivation are up among the housekeeping team, and “it’s starting to become like a little bit of a competition between the housekeepers like ‘who’s providing the best service?’”
For now, the team’s goal remains just to keep digital tips flowing and to capture more positive feedback from guests. As they keep earning, the HR leader hopes to convince other departments, like the Bell team, of the untapped value the housekeepers are now enjoying.
How can digital tipping help your team?
For information about the impact Grazzy digital tipping can have for your team, reach out to us here or email at info@grazzy.com
