Improve TripAdvisor rankings — Photo by Hello Scout, Inc.
Handy hotel details — Photo by Hello Scout, Inc.
Hello Scout personalized messaging — Photo by Hello Scout, Inc.

New York, NY – Hello Scout, the SMS concierge for hotels, has announced that they are launching their service in New York City today. They are going live with five cutting-edge boutique properties, including Ameritania at Times Square, Walker Hotel Greenwich Village, The Gregory, The Marcel at Gramercy and The Moderne Hotel.

Hello Scout has been on a roll since launching their service with Viceroy's Hotel Zetta late last year. They were chosen by hotels as the favorite new product at the Sabre annual customer forum in March. In June, that momentum translated to a bigger stage when they won the Innovation Competition at HFTP's HITEC conference. And just weeks ago, they walked away from the Phocuswright conference in Los Angeles with an investment from the reputable venture capital firm, General Catalyst.

Hello Scout's New York launch came via a partnership with ALICE, an NY-based operations platform for hotels. ALICE partners received early access to sign up for the five pilot spots, which were all claimed within just a few days. Hello Scout says they prefer working with ALICE hotels since communication within the hotel is smoother and more efficient.

Hello Scout's solution for hotels:

  • A free SMS concierge for hotels who prioritize their guest experience
  • Guaranteed 5 minute response times from real concierges
  • Drives a 15% increase in TripAdvisor reviews
  • No app download required, available via text message and email

"We're thrilled to offer the service in New York and particularly with such great hotel partners" says David Temple, CEO of Hello Scout. "These hotels place a real emphasis on delivering great experiences and we're proud that we can help enhance that. All hotels need ways to differentiate themselves and our concierge service allows them to drive 15% more TripAdvisor reviews at no cost."

"We've been impressed by Hello Scout since they won the E20X most innovative startup award at HITEC last year," says Justin Effron, CEO of ALICE. "For hotels that don't have a dedicated concierge, their SMS concierge is a valuable complement to our operations platform. We're excited they chose to partner with us as they expand to New York."

Hello Scout offers a free personalized text messaging solution for hotels. The company has gained traction in the past year, working with brands like Viceroy and Joie de Vivre, as well as being named the 2016 Most Innovative Startup at HFTP's HITEC conference. Hello Scout was founded in January 2015 by David Temple and Matt Sperling, with investment from Launch Fund, Slow Ventures, Social + Capital, and Click Ventures. For more information, visit www.helloscout.com.

Provide consistently excellent service. By joining all the departments of your hotel onto a single operations platform for internal communication and task management, ALICE helps your staff act as a team to improve guest satisfaction. ALICE Suite brings together your front office, concierge, housekeeping, and maintenance teams, and connects your guests to your hotel with our mobile solutions. In 2016, we opened up our API to allow hotel partners like Hello Scout to join the platform. The ALICE platform is fully integratable with PMS, POS, and all other third party systems.

David Temple
CEO