How The Drifter Hotel kept revenues High during the Pandemic with Omnify

Created to express the psyche of the contemporary traveler, The Drifter Hotel is both inspired by and designed for wandering outsiders. Its foundation goes back as early as 1956. However, it was reimagined in 2017 in terms of design and concept, instilling the theme of ‘modernized nostalgia’. The Drifter provides mid-century individualism while recognizing local art, restaurants with hip cuisine, and its one-of-a-kind coffee. With artwork of local creatives and an eventful calendar, visitors best enjoy the fresh frozen cocktails, beers and Japanese saké, and the local wines. What more? Filled with pool parties and rocking DJ, the nights at the Drifter Hotel are young and fun!

The Drifter Hotel offers a great retro vibe to its visitors. Their Drift Away session aim at celebrating art, fashion, music, body positivity, queer-friendly and diverse cultures. Their drift-away sessions provide pool access to their members-only while maintaining a safe stay. As they popularly say-

“The Drifter hotel is not a culture; it’s a subculture.”

Offering so many services back to back, they sure needed a reliable platform to continue guest booking, membership management, and self-checkins in the New Normal. This is how The Drifter describes their experience on using Omnify for managing their Swimming Pool Reservation System.

Please help us with your introduction.

Hi, I am Anais Oddlokken, Manager, Operations at The Drifter Hotel. 

What kind of business do you run?

The Drifter is a Mid Century Style Hotel with Public Pool & Bar on Tulane Ave, New Orleans. The Drifter is like nothing else you’ve seen in New Orleans. The 21+ property located in Mid- City, New Orleans, boasts an eclectic public pool space. From sun-up to cocktail hour, guests can relax alongside the tropical oasis surrounding the pool—the perfect place to beat the Southern heat or to drift away in bliss.

What challenges were you facing and what motivated you to solve them?

Last year, during the pandemic, after New Orleans came to a halting close, guests wanted a share of safer space to enjoy some outdoor time, order drinks, and drift away from the everyday stresses in the world around. The challenge for us was- How could we provide all that was needed safely? As our location & space were extremely popular before COVID-19, the difficulty was how can we provide our property to a more significant number of people while still abiding by all Covid-19 guidelines and requirements in the city. Our every day "Drifters" motivated us to provide that space, and with them in mind, the brainstorming began.

How do you use our product, and how have you benefited from using Omnify?

With Omnify, we could accommodate up to 200 guests a day by breaking down our days into 2-hour sessions of time that they can book. With a capacity of 50 guests per session, guests were required to make online payments, eliminating the need for cash exchange and unnecessary contact. Besides, the pool sessions were scheduled with 30 minute cleaning times in-between each to ensure that safety was prioritized.

How has Omnify improved your day-to-day life?

Omnify has helped streamline our needs from check-in to pool. With controlling capacity, member profiles, and member-only access, we could ensure that we are hitting all the requirements for our property to stay open and scale.

What has exceeded your expectations since working with us?

I love that I can easily send a message via chat and, within minutes, have a response and even zoom call to ensure that my questions are answered.

How have we managed to help you in the growth of your business? Can you share some revenue numbers/growth percentages etc?

In such incredibly restricted times- we were able to have daily sales equal to before the pandemic. As we move through the phases of this pandemic- we only hope to see even greater response.

If you could give one piece of advice to fellow entrepreneurs like yourself, what would it be?

When facing difficulty- think outside the box. Don't be afraid to reach out to other entrepreneurs for direction. During this pandemic, we all need each other's back in order to succeed. Provide a helping hand.

What would you tell someone who's considering Omnify?

To go for it! The program is incredible, with continuous updates and feedback. Omnify team is helpful and easy to communicate with. If starting seems complicated- the trial version will give you a chance to play with the program before signing on.‍

We, at Omnify, cherish The Drifter Hotel for their warm and uplifting words. We shall continue to serve you better.

If you own/manage a hospitality business or recreational venue looking to streamline your business operations, get in touch with Omnify OR get our FREE Trial now.