CASHLESS TIPPING AND THE POWER OF APPRECIATION
A
s hotels and restaurants begin to re-open and adapt to the contactless and cashless world of COVID19, fewer and fewer customers are carrying cash. With concerns about health and safety, most Americans now fear handling cash, preferring mobile, touchless payments. Some businesses aren’t accepting cash at all. But there are unintended consequences when customers don’t have cash to tip and show their appreciation! First, decreased income from lost cash tips has a disproportionately negative impact on minimum-wage workers – housekeepers, valet, bellman, and other tipped employees. (New York Times) Second, reduced earnings for tipped employees can have a cascade of unfortunate effects: Lower morale, diminished motivation, higher turnover, decreased service quality, and negative guest reviews.However, you quantify it, hotel owners and managers know how real these costs are, but have had no good way to solve them. Cashless tipping offers a solution by enabling those employees who depend on cash tips to recover the lost opportunities for earnings.
As a touchless system, TipBrightly enables anyone to send a virtual tip by scanning a QR code or clicking a URL The guest verifies the recipient, enters the amount, and leaves feedback. Tips are anonymous and can be sent at any time. Transactions are securely processed by Stripe,a leading payments platform used by companies such as Instacart and Lyft. QR codes can be linked to individuals and teams and displayed in multiple ways -- integrated into signs, shared on social media, and printed on receipts. As a turnkey solution, TipBrightly can also be used to collect donations. The system is working successfully in New Hampshire at Appalachian Mountain Club’s Highland Center, and at hotels in California, North Carolina, and Colorado, including Hilton Embassy Suites, Marriott Aloft and Kimpton. www.nhlra.com | 9
