Woolacombe Bay: goodbye paper, hello efficiency

The challenge

Woolacombe Bay is a large luxury property with 63 rooms and no general manager, so department managers carry significant responsibility. Housekeeping in particular needed real-time coordination to manage cleaning, guest requests, and prompt room turnarounds. Robert previously handled room assignments and updates through constant phone and walkie-talkie communication, sometimes topping 50 calls on a busy day, with check-in and check-out updates frequently delayed and rooms assigned on paper. The manual approach hurt team efficiency and, ultimately, the guest experience.

How Sweeply helped

Robert discovered Sweeply through a colleague who attended the Independent Hotel Show in London, and saw a way to gain real-time visibility, reduce stress, and organise tasks discreetly, without radios and phones disturbing guests. Onboarding ran through online meetings, app access, and a free trial, during which Robert introduced the system to a team spanning different age groups. Despite his concerns about training, the team adapted quickly and was up and running within a month with Sweeply’s live support on hand. Sweeply integrated with the hotel’s existing Guestline PMS at no fee, so checkouts appear immediately and tasks can be assigned in real time.

The result

Woolacombe Bay’s housekeeping operations transformed into a calmer, more organised environment. The team now works from real-time task updates rather than missed messages, with everyone clear on their tasks, which rooms need attention, and how long each should take. Setting estimated cleaning times per room type saves setup time and makes assignments more efficient. In-app communication eliminated disruptive phone and walkie-talkie calls, improving the guest experience, and freed Robert to focus on managing operations rather than fielding calls. After nearly a year, the team considers a return to paper and calls almost unthinkable.