Yavapai Lodge Eliminates Long Lobby Lines With Canary’s Self-Service Kiosk

OPERATIONS

Yavapai Lodge, a 358-room lodge inside Grand Canyon National Park operated by Delaware North, eliminated 30-minute check-in lines with Canary's Self-Service Kiosks, cut service recovery spending to $0 and fixed guest communication gaps with AI Guest Messaging.

Why it matters: Located near the Grand Canyon's South Rim, Yavapai Lodge's 358 rooms are spread across six buildings. Nearly every arriving guest checks in during the same one-hour afternoon window so they can settle in before the Canyon's iconic sunsets.

That consolidated rush led to long lobby lines, frustrated travelers and pressure on front desk staff. To speed up arrivals, Delaware North implemented four Canary Self-Service Kiosks alongside AI Guest Messaging. Jeff Fortin shared how operations have changed.

Top 3 Core Objectives: Yavapai Lodge needed to get guests checked in quickly during a single daily rush, stop paying to make up for long waits, and give guests a reliable way to reach the front desk at a remote property.

End the afternoon rush: Eliminate waits that regularly reached 30 minutes just to get to the check-in counter — the property's number one complaint, which showed up in public reviews.
Stop service recovery spend: Eliminate the breakfast vouchers and room discounts agents offered to compensate guests for long waits.
Close communication gaps: Replace unreliable in-room phone lines with instant messaging and give staff a fast way to send property-wide updates, like sudden weather hazards.

Innovators Mentioned

Yavapai Lodge

Canary Technologies

Jeff Fortin

Director of Operations

Yavapai Lodge

"Our number one complaint was that it regularly took guests 30 minutes just to get to the check-in counter. It would even come up in our public reviews. The kiosks fixed that, and our speed of service has increased tenfold. I haven’t gotten a single complaint about waits since then."

Jeff Fortin

Director of Operations

👍 Director of Operations Jeff Fortin said that Canary's Self-Service Kiosks eliminated 30-minute check-in waits at Yavapai Lodge and increased speed of service tenfold.:

"Our number one complaint was that it regularly took guests 30 minutes just to get to the check-in counter. It would even come up in our public reviews. The kiosks fixed that, and our speed of service has increased tenfold. I haven’t gotten a single complaint about waits since then."

⚖️ The selection process: During their research process, Jeff Fortin evaluated Canary Technologies's product differentiators, customer support, and holistic value as a strategic partner and ultimately decided that Canary Technologies was the best fit solution:

Director of Operations Jeff Fortin said, about their decision: "Now our staff actually has the opportunity to do what they love: provide great hospitality. They’re much happier, there’s less stress, and it’s reduced our turnover too."

📈 The results: With Canary's Self-Service Kiosks and AI Guest Messaging, Yavapai Lodge transformed its lobby into a welcoming, low-stress environment — with faster arrivals, zero wait-time compensation and happier staff.

Speed of service increased tenfold, with two team members able to assist up to five guests at once — and no complaints about waits since launch.
Service recovery spending for wait times dropped to $0, ending meal vouchers and room discounts.
Guests text the front desk in their preferred language via text or WhatsApp, staff send property-wide alerts in seconds, and reduced stress has lowered staff turnover.