The Modern Hotelier #215: How Digital Guides Can Provide a Better Guest Experience & Reduce Waste | with Jaimey Bembry
===
Steve: We are joined by Jaimey Bembry, CEO and founder of Bhlen. Thanks for joining us, Jaimey. How you doing today? 
Jaimey Bembry: I'm doing well. Thanks for having me. 
Steve: So Jaimey, can you tell me a little bit more about what problem Bhlen is solving for hotels and how did you identify the need for a digital guest guide? 
Jaimey Bembry: So the problem that we're solving is we take that paper list of things to do or recommended restaurants in the area, and we digitize that list. So instead of you having to Google it one by one, there's one click and it's all sorted based on your phone's location. So we identified that by traveling and moving around. All over the country and we realized that every hotel that we went to had this list of recommended things to do what you have to Google each one.
So we said, Hey, everybody has their phone on them. Let's see if we can come up with a solution to put it on your phone. 
David: Great. And so what makes Bhlen different from other digital concierge and hotel tech platforms? 
Jaimey Bembry: Well, what makes us different is, you don't have to have any apps. There's no big integration into like existing systems or bringing in a new system. You just use your QR code, one click and you're ready to go. So, the other thing that we are presenting is like an experience as a service. So on our platform, not only will you have recommended restaurants and things to do, that's outside, but if you have a rec, a restaurant on site, you can put your restaurant on that list as well. And because it shows the closest one to your phone, your restaurant is at the top of the list. 
Steve: And that's great. Hyper-local experiences is all the rave these days. So bringing revenue into the hotel and also the experiences around the area as well. 
Jaimey Bembry: Absolutely. So it's like we are extending the hotel's brand from the lobby out into the community.
Steve: I love that. So one thing that we talk about a lot is sustainability. How does Bhlen support hotels with their ESG goals when it comes to ESG goals?
Jaimey Bembry: If environmental social governance Bhlen allows hotels to have a way to reduce paper. Track the clicks and showcase sustainability. So when it comes to all of that, we'll digitize that paper. We'll give them the QR code and now we can show them how many clicks that they're getting, which over time shows how much paper has been reduced. 
David: That's great. And can you give a real world example of how Bhlen is helping the guest experience? 
Jaimey Bembry: A real well example, we have a client in the DMV area, DC, Maryland, Virginia, that wanted to find a better way to have their guests move around the city, they had the paper list. We digitized that for them, and immediately they saw results, especially because it is sorted based on your phone's location, so they can see what's walkable. Then they can see stuff that they may have to use, ride share, or public transportation. That then led to the opportunity to digitize another paper-based map that they had that came from the local chamber of Commerce.
So they give out a map that has all the museums and monuments and things to do in the Washington DC area, but they lost time trying to figure out where things were on the map. So we digitized that as well. So now they have two of our guides. 
Steve: That's awesome. As someone who lived in DC that would help me find out where I need to get around. But are there any types of hotels or even different partners outside of hotels that are a good fit for Bhlen? 
Jaimey Bembry: So Bhlen is what we would call industry agnostic. We could work with many different, um, industries from hotels, motels, large or small, um, your destination management companies local Chamber of commerce restaurant associations.
We work with many of those organizations 'cause we could create digital guides for different things if we add a time and a date. To any one of those venues on the guide, it now becomes a living, breathing itinerary so we can kind of move things around and work with any type of industry. 
David: So you describe Bhlen as a experience as a service. What does that mean for the future of a guest engagement? 
Jaimey Bembry: So for Bhlen experience as a service means provided inspiration, not just information, right? So we have our digital guides and we want people to go out into the community, see things that's local. And with our list, we are able to take people, as I said one time before from the hotel lobby out into the community. This gives people who come from out of town that just don't wanna sit by the pool. They don't just wanna golf, they want to experience the area, and then they want to leave with those same memories and have like some sense of local community, local culture, things of that nature when they leave from their trip, and then that list is almost a live and breathing thing, they don't have to take the paper with them. They still have that guide on their phone. They can show people what they did when they got home. That makes sense. 
Steve: Absolutely. And I've walked into a few hotels and I see these stands with brochures and paper lists of everything to do around the city. Do you have any advice for those hoteliers who are looking to innovate outside of using paper lists and brochures?
Jaimey Bembry: Yeah, so when it comes to digitizing those lists, we know that everybody isn't ready for that, you know, my parents, for example, they love to have tangible things in their hand. For some reason, they just like to fold it up and put it in their pack, their back pocket. But at Bhlen, we offered a hybrid solution, so we can give you that same QR code and you could put it on the bottom of the list.
So you still have the list, you have the QR code. For those who want to keep the paper list with them, they can have it. And for those who just want to click and go, they can do that. So you're still reducing paper, but you are easing into the whole digital solution without alienating anyone that's not ready.
David: It's the best of both worlds. Absolutely. And so what's next for Bhlen and how do you see the platform evolving over the next year? 
Jaimey Bembry: What's next for Bhlen is definitely more hotel conferences and shows and things like that and then we're really gonna start focusing on some of our other digital guys.
As I said, we have over 50 use cases, so we have digital guys for many different things, but you can't access it. Right now we're gonna have it through our app. So we're going to elevate the app, allow people to access some of the other digital guides that's outside of the hotel list, because right now there's no app, no download, no integration.
You just click on the QR code, it takes you straight to your phone. But we wanna give, um, people an opportunity to access other guys that may be in their area through our app format. 
Steve: That's great. So Jaimey, for those that are listening, can you tell us how they can get in touch with you or learn more about Bhlen?
Jaimey Bembry: Well, to learn more about Bhlen or to get in touch with me, you can go to www.bhlen.com. You could follow us on multiple social media platforms. We're on LinkedIn, Instagram, we're on TikTok, we're on Facebook. You can find us at any of those places. And we have our information on the website. So for our website, you can call me, email me, get in touch with me through social media, either one.
Steve: Well, Jaimey, thank you for letting us swing by your booth. It's been a busy booth so far. We hope you have a great rest of the Independent Hotel show and we look forward to seeing you out there. 
Jaimey Bembry: Absolutely. Thank you. I appreciate you guys. Have a good one. 
Steve: Thank you.