The Grove Resort & Spa, Orlando, USA

A new resort hotel, away from the hustle and bustle of theme parks, was announced in 2016 for the Lake Austin area of Orlando, Florida. The hotel selected Hostar to provide a resort housekeeping solution to service guest rooms quickly, safely and traditionally – providing housekeeping staff with maximum space and organization while not overburdening them.

Let’s dive into The Grove Resort & Spa, the installation of Hostar carts and training of the housekeeping staff.

The Grove Resort & Spa

The Grove Resort & Spa at 14501 Grove Resort Avenue, Orlando, is located just minutes from the western entrance of Walt Disney World®. Set on Lake Austin and amid a portion of Central Florida’s conservation grounds, the resort is a sanctuary from the boisterous pace of the outside world, nearby theme parks, luxury shopping, and entertainment centers.

The Grove’s 878 residential-style suites offer guests all the comforts of home, while the resort’s hearty collection of amenities deliver the luxuries of a full-service resort. Guests enjoy three swimming pools, a selection of watersports at The Grove’s Lake Austin Pier, the intimate Escape Spa, fitness center, a children’s activities area, as well as food and drink options. The Grove Resort & Spa opened its first phase in March 2017, and the second phase in spring 2018.

The Grove Resort & Spa is managed by Benchmark Resorts & Hotels, a global hospitality company, based in Texas.

Inside The Hostar Installation

Amanda Pascoe, Director of Housekeeping, lead the rooms team through the installation of the Hostar system at The Grove Resort & Spa. She only learned of Hostar when she joined the team at The Grove and noted that previous cart systems she’d worked with before were just hadn’t exceeded her expectations.

David Janis, Project Manager & Systems Analyst, lead the installation for Hostar. The entire ProHost® installation project took just under two weeks, with one week on-site. David and an additional trainer were the only staff members present at The Grove. For The Grove Resort & Spa, Hostar installed the ProHost® Resort Solution, including Supplier Carts, Collector Carts, and Reserve Carts in a non-powered variety to preserve the traditional nature of the hotel.

“David was great the entire time,” Amanda said. “He worked well with my team and answered any questions we may have had. He also continues to be available in case anything comes up.”

Amanda also noted that she would rate the entire system 5-stars out of 5-stars and though the on-site training and support were excellent.

“I rarely see a Director of Housekeeping who is so organized and focused on the installation,” David said. “Amanda made this project go very smoothly.”

David said his biggest challenge was approving space for the restocking team to operate. He provided labor data and space palling for three options, so The Grove team was able to make an informed decision.

Impact Of Hostar

After being part of the installation process, Amanda noted how important she realized the overnight restocking process is.

“Having the daytime team come into fully-stocked carts is the best part,” Amanda said. “If we didn’t have the ProHost® system, I believe we would have organizational challenges. The ability to have carts assigned to specific areas allows us to track problems created by staff.”

Hostar, Inc.

Hostar is a solutions provider for housekeeping as well as food and beverage departments in hotels across the world. Using custom carts and a highly-efficient organizational system, Hostar helps hotels organize their departments more efficiently and save money. Hostar services hotels as small as 150-room luxury boutiques and as large as 3,000 room properties.