Enhanced winter hospitality with facility management

Introduction

Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazono, located in Hokkaido's Niseko region, is recognised as the area's premier resort. The property attracts significant visitor volume during peak winter months (December to January) due to its renowned ski experience.

The resort sought to streamline management of its popular in-house onsen facility while preventing overcrowding and enhancing guest convenience. Previously, onsen reservations were handled manually, requiring staff to manage phone calls and track bookings across male and female spa areas — a process that proved challenging and inefficient. After learning of successful implementations at neighbouring hotels, Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazono partnered with Vouch.

How It Works for Guests

Vouch's facility booking solution integrates into their Guest Experience Platform, enabling guests to reserve preferred onsen time slots in advance. Upon arrival, guests receive a QR code in their rooms that provides access to the booking platform.

Guests can reserve preferred one-hour onsen sessions, with the system capping capacity at 15 users per spa to ensure comfort. The user-friendly interface enables guests to effortlessly access the facility booking system and complete their reservations in less than two minutes. The platform supports multiple languages for international and domestic visitors.

The implementation achieved a notable 64% self-service rate across its first six months, allowing guests to independently plan their spa experiences without staff assistance.

How It Works for Staff

The automation eliminated the need for guests to call for reservations, substantially reducing staff workload while preventing booking errors. Vouch's management dashboard became essential for onsen operations, offering comprehensive visibility into all bookings for both male and female facilities.

The dashboard prominently displays guest names and room numbers, ensuring easy reference and seamless coordination for the staff. Information is organised logically, allowing staff to retrieve specific booking details efficiently and dedicate attention to providing personalised guest service.

Key Benefits and Results

Streamlined operations: automation removed the need for staff to manage incoming calls and manual reservation tracking, freeing resources for personalised guest service. Improved guest experience: guests gained the ability to secure desired onsen time slots independently, reducing congestion and enhancing overall satisfaction. Increased efficiency: the system optimised onsen capacity management, preventing overbooking and ensuring comfortable facility utilisation without overcrowding. Time and cost savings: reduced staff workload and elimination of manual administrative processes decreased operational costs while improving productivity.

Impact and Recognition

Director of Rooms Daisuke Hara shared the successful implementation across Hyatt hotels throughout Japan, showcasing positive outcomes and encouraging other properties within the Hyatt network to adopt similar solutions for operational enhancement and guest experience improvement.