Black Ivy is a stylish neighbourhood bar and boutique hotel, located in the leafy Edinburgh suburb of Bruntsfield.

Having undergone a significant investment by Caledonia Inns, Revenue Manager John Mustard also wanted to upgrade Black Ivy’s outdated technology to support the hotel’s focus on delivering exceptional customer service.

Zonal was the only solution to go for according to John. Having worked with Zonal throughout his 30 year hospitality career, John had never found a technology partner that could match the range of solutions offered by Zonal and the 24/7 support service.

“I have worked with other technology providers over the years, but Zonal always stands out for its intuitive, smart design and reliability.  Zonal spent 40 years perfecting the technology, which always keeps up to speed with advancements, so you know it’s going to work, be relevant and not let you down.  Also, the support is excellent; the help desk is quick to respond any time, even at weekends,” says John.

Following its refurbishment, Black Ivy has fast become popular with locals, as well as with visitors to Edinburgh.  The hotel boasts 22 uniquely designed bedrooms and two busy bars and a popular food offer, dishing up classics with a twist, averaging 1,000 covers a week.

The Drafthouse, specialises in offering a range of lagers, craft creations and guest taps on rotation and is renowned for its Tank Beer.  Also featuring a stage area, regular live entertainment is a big hit.  Outside, there is a 60-seater al fresco Terrace, which overlooks Bruntsfield Links Park.  Featuring fire pits, customers enjoy a campfire vibe outside and with two full-size table tennis tables inside, the venue is a great place to mix business with pleasure.

For John and his Black Ivy team, Zonal technology has made managing all the different elements of the business seamless.  Zonal’s EPoS system connects with the hotel’s property management system (PMS), Rezlynx, so residential guests can bill any drinks and food directly to their room tab.

John explains: “For us this is a big plus of Zonal; its technology is incredibly flexible so can integrate with other technology solutions that we may have, such as Rezlynx.  This means that our Zonal EPoS is the single reporting vehicle for our accounts team, giving them real-time data that allows us to keep a handle on sales and overheads.”

But it’s not just about operations, the customer journey is also key to Black Ivy’s success.  Zonal’s kitchen management system, Kitchen iQ, has been a game changer along with iServe, a handheld electronic order pad that offers access to EPoS functionality on an iPod or iPad from anywhere in the venue.

John adds: “With two bars, including our popular Terrace, switching to iServe has been a winner for our team.  They no longer have to run back and forth to the bar to process orders, giving them more time to focus on our customers.  Food orders are also fed directly into Aztec and sent through to the kitchen, again saving time and the risk of mistakes.

“Our chefs really liked Kitchen iQ as the system makes their lives easier and less stressful.  Now if you ask them would they go back to paper, the answer is a resounding no!”

Integration of systems, especially the link between drinks and food orders and room bills is a major issue for hotel operators, accounting for thousands of pounds in lost revenue annually.

Leading Cornish and Devon hotel operator Brend Hotels has checked out a new hospitality solution from Zonal that seamlessly bridges the gap between front and back of house.

Brend Hotels operates 11 award winning luxury venues across Devon and Cornwall that specialise in providing stylish accommodation.

Due to the organic growth of its business, Brend Hotels had been using a combination of systems including standalone tills provided by a local POS supplier. Each hotel had been operating as a single site with no holistic view across the entire estate, or comprehensive reporting at an enterprise level.

“Due to the nature of our business growth, we wanted to create a system that would give us greater visibility on performance across our developing estate, so that we could identify issues and opportunities for growth. We needed a solution that was flexible, efficient and cost effective, that would integrate seamlessly with our existing infrastructure and grow with us. And, we needed to work with a company that really understood hospitality.”

Tony Clarke, Brend Hotel’s IT Manager

Brend Hotel’s previous systems had been unreliable and were not integrated with its Property Management System (PMS) making it difficult to post charges to customers’ rooms resulting in a sustained loss of revenue. This issue played a significant part in the decision to partner with Zonal.

In 2005 the company appointed Zonal to install its Aztec EPoS front and back of house system in its hotels, integrating with Brend’s existing PMS system for room postings.  Currently five locations now use Aztec, including a beach-side cafe at the Saunton Sands Hotel, Devon.  The system connects to the hotel for room charges, enhancing the overall customer experience.

 “This was an important development for our expanding business and we needed to work with a professional and reliable supplier that could support us every step of the way. Zonal’s experienced team provided hands-on installation and on-site support that was invaluable in creating a system that adds real value to our business.”

More importantly, Zonal’s system was flexible enough to cope with the demands of a multi-site hotel operator. Simple to install and operate, the system was easily configured to respond to the different needs of each hotel.

As a further extension to its systems Brend Hotels recently installed Kitchen iQ, Zonal’s kitchen management system in the Terrace Lounge and Bar at its Saunton Sands operation.

With Kitchen iQ, seven screens have been installed in the kitchen, and a pager facility implemented to indicate when orders are ready, which has already improved operational efficiencies and speed of service.

“The initial Kitchen iQ trial has been really positive with a marked improvement in customer satisfaction and the turnaround of orders. The Zonal team has been on site to install the equipment and train our team so that they understand the benefits and how it can improve the overall customer experience. It’s this professionalism and reliability, together with an in-depth understanding of hospitality that has made Zonal a valued supplier to our business.”

Looking ahead, Brend Hotels is determined to exceed its customers’ expectations and maintain its focus on quality service in unrivalled surroundings.

“Although our customers don’t see the systems behind the scenes, they play an integral role in making sure that we deliver a great experience. From checking in, to room charge posting and the accurate and efficient delivery of food, we now have a system in place that not only delivers robust reporting but improves customer satisfaction levels, which in an increasingly competitive marketplace, is a real bonus.”

When leading independent brewer Hall & Woodhouse needed a highly dependable food and beverage management system which could cope with its pubs’ busiest trading days, it turned to Zonal’s Aztec management solution and its ultra-reliable Z500 series EPoS terminals.

Hall & Woodhouse has been a leading independent brewer for over 200 years and is renowned throughout the country for its award-winning Badger Ales. It remains an independent family company and is owned and run by the fifth generation of the Woodhouse family.

In addition to its brewing operations, the company operates pubs all over the south of England, from Somerset and Devon in the West Country to London and Sussex in the east. From modest roots in the 18th century, Hall & Woodhouse has grown into a successful modern business with over 1,500 employees and an annual turnover of almost £100 million.

The company required a food and beverage management system and a new EPoS system for their growing business and a decision was made to install a more sophisticated system. The company evaluated a small number of alternative systems and decided that Zonal would provide the best solution.

Robust and reliable

“I had used Zonal equipment before at previous companies, and had always found that both the software and the hardware were incredibly robust,” explains Hall & Woodhouse’s Financial Director.

“We carried out a trial and the Zonal system provided all we needed, and more. We knew we could rely on it to keep on working without any disruptions.”

At the beginning of the project, the company implemented Zonal systems in 40 of its pubs over a period of about three months. Each installation included new EPoS solutions with card payment capabilities in the bars and restaurant, a kitchen management system connecting waiting staff to the food preparation areas, and financial and stock management software in the back office. Each night, management data from the pubs is sent electronically to the Hall & Woodhouse head office for analysis in their proprietary management information system.

Harsh environments

They explained that because of the nature of Hall and Woodhouse’s food and beverage operations, the most important benefit of Zonal’s system is its rock solid reliability. “A large proportion of the business we do is concentrated on a comparatively small number of big days, Easter, the May bank holidays, and three months in the summer when we are tremendously busy.  We can’t afford to have the system crash in one of our pubs because if it did, it would cost us thousands of pounds every time”.

 “A bar environment is pretty harsh, but we’ve found the Zonal hardware to be very hard-wearing.”

Easy-to-Use

The company makes use of large numbers of seasonal staff during the busy periods, but thanks to the intuitive nature of Zonal’s software, new staff need only a minimal amount of training before they can use the system.

Increased efficiency

Zonal’s systems aren’t just dependable; they’ve helped Hall & Woodhouse improve the efficiency of the way its pubs are run in a number of ways. One example of this is the kitchen management system, which enables waiting staff to take orders and send them straight to the kitchens from terminals in the restaurants.

“Our staff don’t have to run up and down stairs to get orders which saves them time. They can instantly see from the terminals when particular items are running low or have run out”

Sound financial sense

They have no doubt that the investment will save Hall & Woodhouse money in a fairly short period of time. “The system will certainly give us a rapid payback, but more important to us is the fact that the system works.  The cost of the Zonal system pales into insignificance compared to the cost of a till system going down on a busy Sunday lunchtime.”

The advanced features of the system are proving valuable – and the company plans to exploit more of them in the future – but for Hall & Woodhouse it’s the fact that the company can use it as a solid foundation for trading that is all important.

“It’s impossible to stress too much how important it is to us that our systems work, and when we deal with Zonal we know we will get a system that does what is promised, delivered on time and on budget.”