Guest Engagement Platform

SuitePad needed a proactive partner that offers more than hard technological expertise - here's how we collaborated.

The company and product

Award-winning in-room tablets.

Hospitality is a challenging industry where technology has unlimited potential to drive up coveted customer engagement. SuitePad hits the mark with a unique suite of digital solutions that helps hotels save costs, generate higher sales revenue, and better connect with their guests.

With SuitePad's award-winning in-room tablets, guests can learn about the hotel, order additional services, enjoy streaming, use the phone, and other features for a more comfortable stay experience, while the staff can leverage the smart guest directory for better management, communication, as well as marketing and sales opportunities.

Client’s feedback

Alex Fong

VP of Engineering at SuitePad

Very happy

We are very happy with Monterail. Now that we have these PMS integrations, it is even easier to engage hotel guests with SuitePad.

Scope and Highlights

ELIXIR, RUBY ON RAILS

BACKEND DEVELOPMENT AND QA

PARTNERSHIP COORDINATION

1.3K

PROJECT HOURS

HOTEL PMS INTEGRATIONS

90K

LICENSES UNDER CONTRACT

The Challenge

Complex PMS integrations and post-pandemic surge.

Virtually all hotels use a PMS (Property Management System) to manage every aspect of their operations, from guest stays, bookings, and services to payments.

Many hotels prefer an integration between SuitePad and their PMS, in order to increase guest engagement. However, this connection can be complex. There are also multiple PMS vendors, each with their own requisites - sometimes including thorough certification tests.

The coding side required manpower in Elixir development, which was not readily available. Outsourcing was the way to go.

Furthermore, the hospitality industry was seeing a post-pandemic surge, with customers coming back to understaffed hotels. Managers know the importance of modernizing their systems but were focused on daily operations. SuitePad could use a proactive partner that offers more than hard technological expertise.

SuitePad got in touch with Monterail due to our previous successful partnership with fromAtoB. The plan: take care of the backend integration and assist with coordinating the process with PMS vendors.

Key challenges

Complex procedures for integrating PMS software.

Need for specialized developers.

Very dynamic moment in the hospitality industry.

Complex procedures for integrating PMS software.

Need for specialized developers.

Very dynamic moment in the hospitality industry.

The Process

Team extension and more.

The partnership started in September 2021 with two people from Monterail: a senior Backend developer and a senior Project Manager.

Daily responsibilities of the PM went beyond supporting the team: she also took over logistical challenges and connected with the PMS vendors and hotels to assess requirements, schedule tests, and much more.

Our developer had already worked with the partner in a previous project, which contributed to a faster onboarding process. Coding started in Elixir and then moved seamlessly to Ruby on Rails to help the team in other engineering domains.

It was more than a team extension: he was an integral part of the team and participated in all important meetings. During these interactions, we noticed an opportunity for more structured testing and then suggested adding a QA Engineer to the team.

SuitePad accepted and we delivered by onboarding a senior QA Engineer from Monterail. Even part-time, she was able to apply essential test cases and improve the quality of the apps.

This is how we made it happen:

Delivered high-quality Elixir and Ruby on Rails integrations.
Took over key responsibilities of the project beyond coding.
Suggested a QA Engineer, improving overall product quality.

Team’s voice

Anna Rakowiecka

Project Manager

High standards

We noticed a need from the client's side and responded to it promptly by suggesting a senior and proactive QA engineer. Alex had really high expectations, assuming the same high standard of communication, and we delivered that.

The Outcome

Fully integrated software.

Together, we achieved integration with five major Property Management Systems: Mews, Protel, Maxxton, Sihot, and Infor HMS.

Working with an experienced QA Engineer also introduced SuitePad to advanced testing processes which will be helpful in other projects.

Now that SuitePad is fully integrated with the software used by important hotels and hotel chains, its guest communication offer is much stronger, allowing SuitePad to help hotels engage their guests in a digital world.

The success of this project hinged on the following factors:

Successful integration with five core PMS.
Stellar coding to pass certifications.
Efficient coordination between partners.