Hotel Covington is an independent lifestyle hotel in Covington, Kentucky, combining historic charm with modern sensibility. With 114 guest rooms and 53 apartment-style suites, the hotel welcomes a mix of guests, including business travelers, families, wedding parties and event attendees.
To build a more engaging guest experience, the property adopted a suite of Canary's solutions, including F&B Mobile Ordering and AI Guest Messaging. We sat down with General Manager Justin Ham to learn how these products have bolstered their status as one of the area’s premier hotels.
Room service often involves more steps than guests ever see. At Hotel Covington, orders previously went through the front desk before reaching the F&B team — a manual handoff that slowed service and pulled staff away from higher-value work. With F&B Mobile Ordering, orders route directly to the restaurant, and the team uses Canary’s AI Guest Messaging to provide status updates to guests in real time.
"Our old process acted like a middleman," said Justin. "It was cumbersome, but Canary fixed all that."
When guests can use their phones to browse, customize and add items, they tend to spend more. Hotel Covington optimized for this by surfacing creative packages and drink specials within the order flow, giving guests enticing offers that were easy to add.
"In just a short time, the average check has increased by 15%," Justin said. "It makes a significant difference when it's easy for people to add that extra cocktail or glass of wine."
To align with modern guest preferences, Hotel Covington intentionally prioritizes texting over email. With Canary’s AI Guest Messaging, they’re able to answer every question instantly for speedy service — and they also love that the team can hop in at any time to continue the conversation.
"Texting feels less transactional than email," Justin says. "It's nice for me to be able to jump in and answer a question as the GM and establish a personal connection. At the same time, it’s nice to know the AI will always answer when we need it to."
Managing the guest journey across disconnected systems meant the property lacked a single source of truth. Staff were losing time switching between software, and it was often a challenge to find the information they needed. With the Canary platform, the team now has real-time visibility into every digital guest interaction, giving them operational clarity and providing a cohesive experience for all.
"Before, we had different systems that weren't cohesive. By using Canary, we were able to eliminate a lot of that," Justin said. "It helps us make better business decisions, increase our revenue and better serve our guests at the same time."
