Customer Management: Technology Becomes Essential

The pandemic has severely affected the tourism and hospitality sector. Urgo Canada Hotels (UHC) did not deliver, but the company nevertheless managed to recover to continue its development.

The name of the company may not be familiar to you, but its hotels certainly are. UHC operates 17 hotels in Canada with over 2,600 rooms, mainly located in Quebec and the Maritime Provinces. Large international signage such as Hilton and Marriott, to name a few, are part of their portfolio.

“We own several hotels, developer and hotel manager for different groups,” explains Serge Primo, managing partner and president of UHC, part of Urgo Hotels & Resorts, an American company headquartered in Maryland.

technology to the rescue

Since the beginning of the pandemic, it has had to deal with a significant decrease in the number of customers in the hotels it manages or owns.

“Over the course of a year, we recorded very modest occupancy rates,” confirms Mr. Primo. However, we had to serve our customers well, who had new needs. Technology has become essential to managing our customers. This is one of the greatest lessons of the COVID-19 crisis. ”

universal health coverage Quickly implement digital hotel signage service platforms to facilitate contactless check-in and check-out. Room access is now also done electronically, as a code is sent to the guest to unlock their room door. “We have already planned to roll out these digital services, but the pandemic has speeded up the process,” explains Serge Primo.

Many clients, confined to their rooms, needed a stable and fast internet connection to be able to work remotely. “They can conduct several video conferencing on the same day and have access to their company’s IT system. Fortunately, we have just modernized all our IT infrastructure, which has enabled us to provide a service that meets the expectations of our customers,” confirms Mr. Primo.

In this period of change and uncertainty, Videotron Business technologies have helped the company deal with the situation.

development projects

since last summer, universal health coverage It is working to re-launch its activities. “Quebec tourists are back, especially in resort hotels, which have a good level of attendance,” Mr. Primo said. We are also receiving more and more American and Ontario tourists. As for international customers, we’ll have to wait until Spring 2022 to see them come back in numbers. The same goes for business agreements. ”

So the company continues its growth momentum with the opening of six new hotels in Quebec since last spring. Among them is the Delta Mont-Sainte-Anne, with 211 rooms, which is located at the foot of the ski and mountain bike resort in the Charlevoix region.

Last June there was also the opening of the Humaniti, a 193-room luxury establishment under the Marriott Autograph Collection theme, attached to the prestigious Humaniti real estate complex, in downtown Montreal.

“We still have several projects in the pipeline, including a new hotel in Laval that will open its doors at the end of 2022,” reveals Serge Primo. We also want to increase our presence across the country by adding new institutions to our portfolio of assets in other provinces. ”

The opening of new hotels in the midst of a pandemic testifies to the reputation of a successful company. universal health coverage. “The future is bright for us,” he says.