{"id":2851,"date":"2017-11-27T12:50:01","date_gmt":"2017-11-27T20:50:01","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2019-10-16T02:22:04","modified_gmt":"2019-10-16T02:22:04","slug":"how-rlh-corporation-stays-authentic-with-digital-transformation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/industry\/microsoft-in-business\/customer-experience\/2017\/11\/27\/how-rlh-corporation-stays-authentic-with-digital-transformation\/","title":{"rendered":"How RLH Corporation stays authentic with digital transformation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\nFocus on: Empower Employees, Optimize Operations
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From the snowy peaks of Mount Rainier that tower 14,410 feet above sea level and the Seattle skyline, to the depths of the Columbia River Gorge, a canyon that winds over 80 miles from the Portland metro area through the Cascade Mountain Range, the Pacific Northwest offers travelers a wide range of unforgettable adventure opportunities. In fact, the entire Pacific Northwest has cultivated a reputation for adventure and discovery. Whether you\u2019re a nature enthusiast planning an outdoor excursion in one of the region\u2019s four vast national parks, or a food and culture aficionado seeking a one-of-a-kind experience in Seattle or Portland, PNW has you covered.<\/p>\n

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As a growing hotel operation with strong roots in the Pacific Northwest, RLH Corporation prides itself on embracing this mentality of adventure and discovery. It pervades everything the organization does, from providing its guests with local knowledge and an authentic, community feel, to how it approaches technological advancement.<\/p>\n

In the hospitality industry, RLH Corporation has always been a technology leader. But a pair of recent acquisitions have rapidly expanded and diversified the company\u2019s portfolio of properties \u2013 and prompted the company to explore the impact of technology in broader terms. In 2015, RLH Corporation acquired the GuestHouse and Settle Inn brands, a move that doubled the amount of properties under the company\u2019s control. A year later, its acquisition of Vantage Hospitality grew operations from 120 hotels to more than 1,100 franchised, managed and operated, and owned properties across the Western and Southeast United States and Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

Turning Communication Challenges into Opportunities <\/strong>With a much larger and more diverse network of hotels, RLH Corporation began looking at technology more holistically to address new realizations, challenges, and opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it\u2019s web design or true IT, [we have] always had leadership that has been in step with the industry,\u201d says John Edwards, CIO of RLH Corporation. \u201cThe biggest change was the addition of a new CEO in 2014 and the concept that the need to lead with technology doesn\u2019t just live within IT. We began looking at how technology impacts the entire organization and the entire business, from guests and their experiences, to owners, to franchise operators, managed operators, and corporate staff.\u201d\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cRight after 2014, Greg Mount came on board and brought his leadership team with him,\u201d adds John Reeves, a 23-year veteran of RLH Corporation and the company\u2019s Senior Director of IT Operations. \u201cFrom day one, the focus has been on leading with technology, and I think we\u2019ve accomplished that.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the company transitions from a smaller, nimble operation to a much larger group of brands and properties, leadership has focused on leveraging the latest technology to maintain integrity and stay true to the authentic feel and voice that has defined RLH Corporation since 1959.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIn the last 18-24 months, [we have] experienced exponential growth,\u201d says Reeves. \u201cIt\u2019s always been a smaller organization that\u2019s been nimble and able to move pretty quickly, whether in response to a technology trend or a specific trend in our industry. Now, to see that same mentality translate to a large organization is really interesting, but we\u2019re able to keep that concept of innovation and nimbleness by being open to change and constantly reviewing how we do business and impact our industry. It almost has a startup feel to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

To accomplish this, the company\u2019s leadership team knew improving connectivity and communication across all employees, teams, and properties needed to be a priority. But traditional instant messaging tools were too disjointed and informal, while email quickly became too formal and, at times, overwhelming. What they wanted was an intuitive group communication platform that integrated with their existing tools and solutions\u2014Yammer, SharePoint, Exchange and Office 365\u2014to streamline the communication process and democratize their organizational knowledge, and Microsoft Teams delivered.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe persistence of communication is what distinguishes the Teams solution,\u201d Edwards says. \u201cThe style is somewhere in between where IM might be too loose and email which is much more formal. It\u2019s much more of a conversation; it\u2019s much more efficient. We don\u2019t have people saying where\u2019s this or where\u2019s that because they haven\u2019t lost it in the noise of email.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Teams, RLH Corporation doesn\u2019t just have a centralized hub, but a living source of authenticity, and collaboration that reinforces the natural conversations and organizational culture the company was built on. That accessibility has helped drive adoption by creating persistent tools and solutions that lend themselves to organic user adoption.<\/p>\n

Streamlining Smarter Data Management<\/strong>As the number of RLH Corporation properties grew exponentially, so did the wealth of data the organization had been collecting. With each new property came new streams of information, and leadership quickly realized the strain this would put on the company\u2019s two disparate legacy systems \u2013 and budget.<\/p>\n