How Thunai AI Powers a 5-Star Hotel Group with Flawless In-Room Ordering

Client Overview

Our client is a global 5-star hotel group, renowned for its luxury accommodations and world-class guest services. They manage over 50 properties in high-traffic destinations.

In-room dining is a critical component of their brand promise. Guest satisfaction hinges on this service being fast, accurate, and seamless. For this client, peak seasons (holidays and major conferences) represent a massive operational challenge and a key revenue driver.

The Challenges: Manual Room Service is a Failing Service

For our client, the traditional in-room dining model was a major operational bottleneck. Guests would call the front desk or a dedicated room service line, creating a surge of manual interactions that the staff could not efficiently handle.

Their existing manual processes were leading to significant service failures.

• High Labor Costs and Inefficiency: The hotel had to staff multiple phone lines 24/7 just to take food orders. During peak hours, guests faced busy signals or long hold times. This led to frustration and required costly, hard-to-train seasonal staff.
  
• Order Errors and Miscommunication: A busy front desk agent or a new employee would frequently mishear an order. Language barriers further complicated things. This resulted in the wrong food being delivered to the wrong room, leading to cold meals, high food waste, and costly comped meals that destroyed profitability.
  
• Lost Revenue and Missed Opportunities: Staff members were trained to be order-takers, not sales associates. Their goal was to get off the phone as fast as possible. They consistently missed opportunities to upsell, such as adding a drink, a side dish, or a dessert, leaving significant revenue on the table with every call.
  
• Lack of Real-Time Visibility: Management had no easy way to track order status. A guest calling to ask "Where is my food?" would trigger a frantic series of calls from the front desk to the kitchen, creating more chaos and delaying all other orders.

Thunai's Intelligent Solution: An AI-Based Digital Waiter

Thunai transformed the client's entire in-room dining operation. We deployed our AI Dining Assistant as the primary, 24/7 digital-first point of contact for all guest orders. The AI was available via in-room tablets, email, and even a dedicated voice line.

This single integration meant that 80% of all dining orders were processed with zero human intervention. This eliminated transcription errors and miscommunication, saving the client over $95,000 in seasonal labor and food waste costs. It also freed up front desk staff to focus on high-value guest interactions.

Most importantly, Thunai's AI was programmed to be a perfect salesperson. After the guest ordered their pizza, the AI would proactively engage them with an upsell suggestion. For example: "Great choice! Would you like to add dessert? Our chocolate lava cake is very popular tonight." This simple, automated suggestion led to a 22% increase in the average order value.

Beyond ordering, Thunai's AI gave the hotel complete operational control:

• Automated Order Status Tracking: Because Thunai was integrated with the POS, guests could ask "What's the status of my order?" at any time. The AI would check the kitchen system and provide a real-time answer ("Your order is being plated now and should arrive in 5 minutes"), completely removing the front desk from the process.
  
• Real-Time Analytics Dashboard: Management received a live view of the entire in-room dining operation. They could instantly see peak order times, the most popular items, and average kitchen prep times. This allowed them to optimize kitchen staffing and inventory, turning a chaotic cost center into a predictable profit center.

Conclusion

Thunai's AI-based system replaced the hotel's chaotic and error-prone phone system with a controlled, profitable, and highly efficient operation.

By automating 80% of orders and proactively upselling on every interaction, Thunai not only saved the client $95,000 in operational costs but also drove a 22% increase in AOV. This solidified their 5-star reputation by delivering a truly modern and seamless guest experience.