SeekomPay ‘brilliant’ for business at boutique South Island motel
Owner and manager: Fizz Hunter-Weston
After using Seekom to run unique Central Otago motel Clyde Central for over four-and-a-half years, owner and manager Fizz Hunter-Weston says she can’t believe she only started using SeekomPay six weeks ago.
“It’s absolutely brilliant – we just wish we started using it earlier.”
Before upgrading to SeekomPay, Fizz and her team had to manage all their payment card transactions manually using Seekom’s vault.
“It’s all done instantly now,” she says.
SeekomPay saves Fizz more than 50 hours a year and links seamlessly into the Seekom booking system embedded in Clyde Central’s website, with Xero integration also making the financial management of her accommodation easier.
Fizz enjoys the freedom of not having to be on-site to handle her business.
“SeekomPay allows me to run my accommodation from anywhere – I don’t need anyone to be on-site to take payments.”
She says SeekomPay fits right in with her innovative approach to business, with Clyde Central excelling at catering for two niche demographics – dog lovers and cycling enthusiasts – in addition to travellers who are just looking for an outstanding place to stay.
The motel offers popular "dog retreats" and a “Gravel Riders Bash” plus bike hire and e-bike charging. It also contains a mini bike shop as well as bike storage and a bike cleaning and maintenance station.
“It’s not like a traditional hotel or motel, it’s a cool little boutique place.”
Clyde Central is located an hour’s drive from Wanaka and Queenstown and two-and-a-half hours’ drive from Invercargill and Dunedin, attracting cycling enthusiasts looking for a change of scene and the prospect of cruising some of New Zealand’s most epic cycle trails.
Nestling at the start of four of New Zealand’s Great Rides – Otago Central Rail Trail, Lake Dunstan Trail, Roxburgh Gorge Trail and Clutha Gold Trail – Fizz’s establishment lives up to its name of being central in more ways than one, she says.
“Lots of guests come to do the rail trails, and the river and lake are right next door too. We have a nice outdoor area with a fire that guests like to sit around to roast marshmallows or just chat and enjoy a drink in the evening.”
Clyde Central’s eight units range from one to three bedrooms and are like small apartments with cooking facilities, designed to allow guests to be self-sufficient if they want to be, she says.
Fizz says when she bought Clyde Central in 2020 it was easy to decide on Seekom’s property management software.
“I looked at just about every system available and I chose Seekom because it ticked the most boxes.”
Fizz says she loves Seekom’s automated SMS and email guest-messaging functionality that she uses to keep guests informed about key details, especially as the communication options support the self-check-in process and offer her the flexibility to operate off-site.
After a quiet winter period Fizz says summer at Clyde Central is hotting up with strong booking numbers and a waiting list for the next dog retreat, after the last one sold out.
Now she’s got all her financial ducks in a row with SeekomPay, Fizz is ready to get all the dogs and bikes in a row and take care of business for the peak season.
Note: Something you may not know, is that we also build websites. Many of our customers have Seekom built, fully managed websites which we maintain, including SEO management. If you’re interested in finding out more about this, get in touch.
One of our amazing business development managers will be in touch to showcase our product to you and talk you through how we can help grow your business.
Our fully scalable Property Management System can provide you the tools and integrations you need to scale and grow your business year round. With the added functionality of a fully integrated channel manager, connect your property or properties to as many channels as you'd like.
Seekom Blog
Smarts to help you operate more effectively and efficiently. From guides of our systems and integrations to tips and tricks you can use every day - we've got you covered.
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Contact Us
PO Box 9300, Marion Square, Wellington 6141
Phone (NZ) : +64 4 974 9588
Phone (UK) : +44 20 3835 5939
Support: support@seekom.com
Websites: webhelp@seekom.com
Copyright 2024 © Seekom Limited (NZ owned)
Northland holiday park snaps up awards helped by leading software system
Owner operators: Nick and Claire Blake
Whangārei TOP 10 Holiday Park is one of the jewels in the crown of the Northland accommodation scene, with a clutch of awards to shout about and a smooth operation supported by Seekom’s savvy software.
Owner operators Nick Blake and his wife Claire kicked off their hospitality careers at Fox Glacier TOP 10 Holiday Park in 2013, working their way up and buying Whangārei TOP 10 Holiday Park in 2016.
Nick says they changed the Whangārei holiday park’s property management platform to Seekom immediately because they liked how it worked, it was great for group bookings and had everything they wanted to manage the cabins, campsites and caravan sites at the park.
“We’ve used all the major booking and property management systems and we find Seekom suits our park the best.”
The Blakes rely on their silent software partner to quietly take care of business behind the scenes, letting them concentrate on their priorities: friendliness, cleanliness and winning awards!
Whangārei TOP 10 Holiday Park won the Top Guest Experience – Classic Park Award and was runner-up in the ReviewPro Cleanliness Award at this year’s TOP 10 Annual Awards. The recognition builds on its success in the same awards in 2022, where the park won the Top Guest Experience Award – Small Park Award.
Nick says recent Seekom software updates have added functionality that makes life easier for holiday park staff and customers. He’s pleased Seekom understands what its users need rather than adding functionality just for the sake of it.
“Some of the other booking systems have all these bells and whistles that aren’t functionally useful and can make systems complicated for guests to use - Seekom communicates really well with back-end and online booking systems.”
Another benefit of using Seekom is the embedded email and SMS (text) customer communication functionality that saves time and keeps customers updated with everything they need to know to make the most of their stay, he says.
“It’s got some really good automated functionality which sends out emails and texts to customers – it does everything you need.”
Nick says he’s been contacted by a lot of other holiday park managers from across New Zealand since he shifted Whangārei TOP 10 Holiday Park’s systems to Seekom. After explaining the cost, functionality and support benefits Seekom provides, many of them had made the move as well, he says.
“When we changed over to Seekom we brought over about 10 or 12 parks – I would definitely recommend Seekom.”
Seekom’s cloud-based software allows easy access on any browser-equipped device with internet access and handles the heavy lifting of updates, backups, and keeping data secure, giving accommodation providers more time to run their business and look after their customers.
In 2018 Whangārei TOP 10 Holiday Park was inducted into the prestigious 2018 TripAdvisor Hall of Fame, becoming a member of a select group of businesses that have succeeded in achieving TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence for five consecutive years. Continuing its momentum of recognition, the holiday park was recognised as Winner of the Northland Business Excellence Awards in 2019.
Perhaps there’s something in the water in Whangārei, or maybe it’s in the cloud…
Note: Something you may not know, is that we also build websites. Many of our customers have Seekom built, fully managed websites which we maintain, including SEO management. If you’re interested in finding out more about this, get in touch.
One of our amazing business development managers will be in touch to showcase our product to you and talk you through how we can help grow your business.
Our fully scalable Property Management System can provide you the tools and integrations you need to scale and grow your business year round. With the added functionality of a fully integrated channel manager, connect your property or properties to as many channels as you'd like.
Seekom Blog
Smarts to help you operate more effectively and efficiently. From guides of our systems and integrations to tips and tricks you can use every day - we've got you covered.
Contact Us
PO Box 9300, Marion Square, Wellington 6141
Phone (NZ) : +64 4 974 9588
Phone (UK) : +44 20 3835 5939
Support: support@seekom.com
Websites: webhelp@seekom.com
Copyright 2024 © Seekom Limited (NZ owned)