The Best Western Plus West Edmonton is a 102- room hotel based in Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada. Situated just minutes away from West Edmonton Mall, the hotel caters to various guests, including leisure and corporate travelers.
“We focus on providing a comfortable and friendly stay for all guests,” said Kaitlyn Wood, Front Office Manager. “We aim to create an environment that is welcoming and makes guests feel at home.”
Looking to improve efficiency and sustainability, the hotel adopted various solutions in Canary’s Guest Management System last year, including Mobile Check-In, Digital Authorizations, AI Guest Messaging and Dynamic Upsells and saw significant results.
Before adopting Canary’s Dynamic Upsells, the hotel relied on front desk staff to manually upsell guests at check-in, which proved inconsistent leading to missed revenue.
“We’ve always tried to encourage upselling, but some staff find it uncomfortable to pitch,” explained Kaitlyn. “With Canary, guests can select relevant upgrades on their own before they arrive, making the process smoother for both them and us.”
Using Canary, the hotel unlocked new revenue streams while automating the upsells process. Popular upsells at the hotel now include early check-ins, late check-outs—add-ons never offered before—and tourist passes to West Edmonton Mall’s attractions.
“Before Canary, our upsell revenue was minimal,” Wood said. “With the platform, we’ve generated over $15,000 in less than a year, driven by both new upsells and more of our existing West Edmonton Mall packages.”
Sustainability is a key focus for the hotel. Implementing Canary’s Mobile Check-In has been another way to promote eco-friendly practices by eliminating the need for paper registration cards.
“With 70 to 80 check-ins daily, we used to print about 160 pages of paperwork each day,” Wood said. “Mobile Check-In saves us from printing all that paper because guests pre-register digitally.”
The streamlined process also improves efficiency at the front desk, allowing guests to check in quickly and skip the paperwork.
“Guests often tell us they’ve never seen this kind of check-in before,” said Wood. “It’s definitely faster—guests just show their ID, grab their key and they’re on their way.”
Guest messaging has become an essential part of the hotel’s operations, and AI Guest Messaging is one of Kaitlyn’s favorite tools. AI Guest Messaging instantly and automatically responds to guests via SMS.
“It’s much more efficient—guests just send a message, and they get an answer right away,” said Wood. “No more waiting on hold or struggling to get an immediate answer from the front desk during busy times.”
The introduction of Canary AI Guest Messaging further enhanced the hotel’s ability to personalize interactions—and the AI adapts to the hotel’s communication style.
“I had a guest ask to be placed on the same floor as his brother. I responded manually, and when his brother sent the same request, the AI recognized it and responded just like I would have. I thought, ‘Wow! It’s learning!’”
With Canary’s solutions, Best Western Plus West Edmonton has streamlined its operations, reduced environmental impact and opened up new revenue streams—all while improving the guest experience. From paperless check-ins to AI-powered messaging, the hotel continues to evolve to meet the needs of modern travelers while ensuring efficiency and sustainability at scale.
“We’re creating an experience that’s both welcoming and forward-thinking,” Wood said. “It’s great to know our technology is working behind the scenes to make everything run seamlessly.”
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