HP Innovation Journal Issue 13: Winter 2019 | Page 30

TROUBLED TECH
In order to keep providing top-tier customer service,
Fairmont needed to update and expand the capabilities
of its food, beverage, and retail POS system, and pin-
pointed two distinct objectives. First, it needed a reliable
and powerful solution that could offer a convenient and
seamless customer experience to its guests. In addition,
the resort wanted to find sleek-looking hardware that fit
its luxury brand aesthetic.
So they partnered with HP to create a custom, state-of-
the-art POS solution that would support Fairmont staff
and help serve up the grand and unforgettable experiences
their guests expect. Fairmont needed a solution that
could reliably handle busy periods across many different
locations, from restaurants and bars to spa and retail
areas. Finding a system that could handle the needs of
this complex hotel environment was a serious challenge.
At the Del Mar alone, there are databases with more than
150,000 SKUs across 15-20 outlets. Fairmont needed a POS
that could deliver prompt, reliable service, handling sales
smoothly and simultaneously in multiple locations.
“An environment this complex requires a POS system that
is specifically created for our industry. The functionality of
SilverWare POS software and the flexibility of HP Engage
One goes beyond any off-the-shelf restaurant POS solution,”
says Michael Thalassinos, sales director at SilverWare POS.
SMOOTH OPERATOR
By combining the performance, security, and support of
Engage One hardware with SilverWare software, HP created
a customized and turnkey system that served up a seamless
point of sale experience for the global hotel leader.
Since the rollout of the new system began in 2016, it’s been
deployed at more than 30 properties, and any fears that
the changeover would create a disruption in Fairmont’s
famed first-class service were quickly put to rest.
“The SilverWare POS team came in on a Sunday night
and replaced our systems with the new HP Engage One
and SilverWare POS technology. By morning, we started
working on our new systems. It was absolutely seamless,”
says Tiffany McClintock, director of restaurants & bars,
Fairmont Grand Del Mar.
The Engage One system was designed with the demands
of hospitality environments in mind, featuring restaurant
stations with barcode scanner and swipe capabilities, and
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HP Innovation Journal Issue 13
retail stations with customer-facing displays for quick
and easy transactions. Fairmont staff members have been
delighted to find that the system delivers rapid transac-
tion processing no matter how busy the hotel is. Best of
all, they find its intuitive and graphical Windows-based
interface can cut employee training time in half.
Crucially, the HP Engage One systems provide peak per-
formance under heavy workloads. “One of the elements
of the new platform, the 7th generation Intel ® Core ™ pro-
cessor, really helps us during busy periods when we see
a large load on the system,” says Thalassinos. As a result,
guests receive exceptional service no matter how busy
the hotel is. “We see major improvements in using the HP
Engage One system. Moving to faster processing, a faster
hard drive, a better network card, a better WIFI card has
all helped,” he says.