Item: Akia
Rating: 10
Author: Andrew Hewitt

Overall Satisfaction with Akia

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Akia to create a fully triggered guest journey from booking confitmation, to ID verification & Fraud Protection, to taking the bond and issuing the guest a digital key.

When needed, the team are there to talk to guests via a unified inbox, using AKIA to manage the daily opration and digital guest jorney.

AKIA also handles our post stay EDM flow, offering guests offers and options to book direct based on what info we have on the guest to customise their offers.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Fully Customisable
Great Support
There always seems to be a way to get what ytou want done

Cons

Intergrate with PMS payment methods, not only offer their own
Look at how it can be used better to manage the daily operation
Communicate between staff members in a SLACK like manner

Return on Investment

Huge saving in labour costs
As we are not so orientated to physical tasks to get the guest in, our team are more guest focused delivering better service and multi skill
Allows the guerst to check themselfs in, submit ID with face recognition and pay bond via all methods making it super efficinet for guest and the team

Usability

Once you get past the blanc canvas and begin to build, you learn its capability and become ingrossed.

Easy, user friendly once you get your head around the set up.

Alternatives Considered

Canary and Duve

Much more customisable, does more, team far more ingaging and know what their product can do to build the product to you

Key Insights

Do you think Akia delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Akia's feature set?

Yes

Did Akia live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Akia go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Akia again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Mews Hospitality Cloud, RoomPriceGenie, SALTO Systems

Likelihood to Recommend

You can customise it to do what you want to do. Put in the work to learn the back and end and build your own guest journey.

You are not limited like other competitors to how the guest flow goes, you build your own.

Support are great in helping with this and always attentive.

Using Akia

Users and Roles

10 - Front of House, Reservations, management

Support Headcount Required

3 - We have 3 experts who are capable editing mini apps and triggered correspondence to continuously work on and improve the automated guest journey navigating common friction points where guests tend to struggle.

Business Processes Supported

Guest communication - Automated
ID verification
Guest communication
Live dashboard of guest journeys
Pre & Post stay Comms
Issuing digital keys

Innovative Uses

Fully manipulate the guest journey to be automated

Future Planned Uses

We need AKIA to open up to MEWS payments or we are at a stand still and cant progress - AKIA need to com to the table or it could be detramental
We want to continue to build the contactless journey

Likelihood to Renew

As great as AKAI is, its only issue is we cant take payments through our PMS - AKIA is reluctant to work with PMS payments as it wants to take payment itself.

If this cant be navigated and other opportunities within our PMS appear that can do what AKAI does, it will force us to move in this direction

Evaluating Akia and Competitors

Products Replaced

Yes - Operto & Auto Host

Key Differentiators

Integration with Other Systems
Ease of Use

Evaluation Lessons Learned

I wouldn't, spoke with 5 providers, had a second chat with 3, chose AKIA on merit

Akia Implementation

Implementation Rating

Initially its a blanc canvas, once we got our head around that your good. It does take a fair few onboarding sessions to really learn.

With the blanc canvas approached AKAI need to remember new buyers will be overwhelmed by this possibly

Implementation Details / Implementation Partner

Implemented in-house

Implementation Phases

Change Management Lessons

Change management was a minor issue with the implementation - We were prepared and using a broken system so happy to move to this one

Akia Support

Support Rating

Exceptional support. Hopefully they grow enough to have world wide support. Can be problematic being in oposite time zones

Akia Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response	Difficult to get immediate help

Using Akia

Usability Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using	Lots to learn