Tucked away in the stunning landscape of Camelback Mountain in Arizona, the Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort and Spa offers a luxurious oasis to the most discerning travelers. With 53 sprawling acres of breathtaking panoramic views, this resort offers an unmatched dining experience with an award-winning chef, an expansive collection of rejuvenating spa treatments, and a collection of rooms that seamlessly blends contemporary design with at-home comfort. But behind all that splendor is the true gem of the Sanctuary Camelback: the service.

Lead by their Director of Rooms, Shane Sarlo, the Sanctuary’s team focuses on building lasting relationship with guests that keep them coming back time and time again. “We take pride in our ability to anticipate guest needs and personalize every interaction to them specifically,” says Shane. “We are able to to pamper our guests by getting them what they need, before they even know they need it.” As a part of this dedication to world-class guest care, the Sanctuary has introduced Kipsu as a new way to get to know and serve their guests.

-Shane Sarlo

He comments that Kipsu allows guests to text and message the staff from anywhere on the expansive property and gives the staff a chance to fill requests, address concerns, and help make a guest’s stay “effortless” before they even reach their room.  Moreover, the resort’s staff uses Kipsu to look back at previous guest questions or concerns and pull up information from past stays to leverage toward their goal to anticipate future needs.

The Sanctuary also takes a unique approach to messaging with resort guests. Raising the idea of “consistent care” to the next level, the staff tries to ensure that once a guest begins messaging with an agent, the conversation continues to be managed by the same agent for the guest’s entire stay. Each question or concern a guest texts into the resort is answered by the same staff member. Shane explains that “…by the time check out rolls around, the guests are coming to the desk asking for a certain person. Kipsu has helped our staff connect on a more personal level, creating lasting memories, and bringing those guests back to the Sanctuary.”

Shane explains that guests often are more inclined to share feedback - good and bad - through text messaging than they are in person: “There was an instance where a guest had an issue with the restaurant who didn’t feel comfortable bringing it up at the time. On the way back to his room, he shared via Kipsu and we were able to get proper management involved and turn him around. He stated our service was ‘the hallmark of 5 Diamond’ and we owe part of that to how we use Kipsu.”

Within a few weeks of starting with Kipsu, texting became and indispensible tool to Sanctuary staff members and the team rose to be the #1 most active property in the Kipsu partner community.

As Kipsu was introduced to the Sanctuary team, a few key aspects allowed for a seamless transition and ultimately to the team’s success. “Hands down, I have to congratulate our team on their ability to jump right in and adapt to learning a new program - in the middle of our busiest season!” comments Shane. He also mentions that his team is naturally very competitive and they quickly established a “race to the top” for the most engaged user.

In fact, Shane could point to two users in particular who he called their “Kipsu King and Queen”. Front Desk agents Jerome and Lorena consistently initiate the most conversations with guests and maintain impeccable customer care through the Kipsu system. The immediate staff acceptance and understanding of Kipsu’s potential value made integrating the new channel of communication simple and easy. Both staff and guests have adopted texting as a great new amenity and one more reason why the Sanctuary stands out from other resorts.