– Da-eun Yoo, Manager, Guest Room Operations Team, BUTLER.LEE –
BUTLER.LEE launched in 2021 and now operates 29 hanok stays across Korea. We specialize in renovating abandoned hanoks, transforming them into beautifully curated spaces that offer a unique and memorable experience for our guests.
Since we manage all our locations directly, we strive to provide consistent service and well-maintained facilities. To support this mission, we use Shopl to streamline room maintenance and facility management operations efficiently.
Hi, I’m Hyun-jin Jang, Manager of the Business Support Team at BUTLER.LEE. I handle both business support and guest room operations for our hanok stays.
In my previous roles, I’ve always worked closely with customers, and while many find this kind of work stressful, I genuinely enjoy connecting with people (laughs).
That’s one of the reasons I love what I do at BUTLER.LEE—whether it’s business support or guest operations, there’s always an opportunity to work directly with our customers, and that brings me a lot of satisfaction.
Hello, I’m Da-eun Yoo, Manager of the Guest Room Support Team at BUTLER.LEE. My responsibilities include overseeing guest room operations and handling customer interactions.
BUTLER.LEE is my first company, and I’ve been here for about a year and a half. I’ve always enjoyed meeting people and have been interested in the hospitality industry, particularly in hotels. But what I love most is the hanok experience—it’s what drew me to BUTLER.LEE, which beautifully bridges the worlds of traditional hanoks and modern hotels.
My current role is very dynamic, involving lots of communication with both customers and on-site managers, which makes every day exciting and enjoyable.
💼 The Guest Room Operations Team oversees every aspect of the guest experience at our hanok stays, from reservations to check-out. With 40–50% of our guests being international travelers, we focus on offering seamless service through online concierge support and mobile check-ins, ensuring a smooth and contactless experience.
Even with our emphasis on contactless services, we take great care to prepare rooms for the next guest after each stay. Since our 29 hanoks are spread across different locations, clear communication with our on-site managers is crucial, and we make an active effort to stay in close contact with them.
🧤 The Business Support Team, on the other hand, focuses on hiring and managing on-site managers who handle room maintenance. We also monitor task completion and oversee payroll processing. As BUTLER.LEE’s reputation as a hanok brand grows, we’re receiving increasing collaboration inquiries from various industries—furniture, home appliances, food, amenities, and more. We’re constantly working on exciting partnerships to provide our guests with unique and memorable experiences.
As mentioned earlier, we prioritize delivering a high-quality, consistent experience to our guests, which means room maintenance is a top priority—especially since we offer online check-in and check-out. Ensuring that rooms are thoroughly cleaned and prepped between stays is essential.
Previously, we communicated with on-site managers via Slack. However, as communication about room conditions, lost-and-found items, facility issues, and supply orders increased, managing these conversations across individual Slack channels became scattered and inefficient.
With more locations opening and plans to expand further, it became clear that our existing communication methods weren’t sustainable for maintaining systematic operations.
We also used Monday.com to track room cleaning progress, allowing HQ to monitor task completion. However, navigating the mobile interface was cumbersome due to horizontal scrolling. Juggling Monday.com for task tracking and Slack for communication only made our workflow more complicated.
On top of that, many of our on-site cleaning staff are older, and constantly switching between multiple tools felt overwhelming and impractical for them.
The biggest advantage of Shopl is that it consolidates everything into one platform—attendance tracking, task monitoring, and communication via chat can all be managed in a single channel.
This streamlined approach is something our on-site managers especially appreciate. They no longer need to switch between different tools, making their work much more efficient. From a manager’s perspective, being able to oversee operations, manage tasks, and facilitate communication all in one place has been a game-changer.
Additionally, we now receive reports with images showing the state of each room, and we manage room-related issues through the board feature. This allows us to visually monitor room operations across all locations and handle tasks in an organized, systematic way, which has been incredibly satisfying.
We rely heavily on these three features, and I would highly recommend them to anyone managing rooms or stores.
By bridging the gap between HQ and on-site teams, Shopl has helped us maintain high service standards and ensure that the quality of our guest rooms consistently exceeds expectations.
⛔ Struggles with Tracking Room Conditions and Task Progress
Previously, we used Monday.com to track the progress of cleaning tasks—whether they were started, in progress, or completed—by having on-site managers update their status.
However, this system didn’t provide a clear view of the actual condition of the rooms. To get a visual update, photos had to be shared separately via messaging apps, which fragmented communication and made task management more difficult.
With 29 hanok locations spread across the country, it’s impossible for HQ to visit every site regularly. Gaining real-time insights into room conditions was crucial, but our reliance on scattered messaging systems made it unmanageable.
✅ Clear Visual Tracking of Pre- and Post-Cleaning Conditions
Now, HQ receives detailed reports through Shopl, providing a clear comparison of room conditions before and after cleaning.
As soon as a guest checks out, our cleaning managers inspect the room and document its condition by taking photos before and after cleaning. These images are included in the reports sent to HQ, allowing us to visually confirm the room’s condition without being on-site.
The reports also include a checklist covering essential items like inventory, placement, and condition. This ensures that on-site managers don’t miss any details during their inspections.
What’s more, the system is fully optimized for mobile, making it easy for cleaning managers to use, regardless of their tech experience. This streamlined process has transformed how we manage and monitor room maintenance across all locations.
⛔ Delays in Resolving Room Issues Due to Communication Breakdowns
Managing guest rooms often comes with a host of challenges. Lost items are common, and with frequent use of facilities, furniture, or appliances, issues like damage or malfunction are bound to occur.
Previously, cleaning managers would report issues to the cleaning team lead, who then relayed the information to the guest room operations team. This multi-step process frequently led to missed or incorrect details.
Using phone calls for these updates left no records, making the system inefficient and unstructured. These communication gaps caused delays in resolving issues, ultimately slowing down operations and creating unnecessary frustrations.
✅ Quickly Share, Resolve, and Track Room Issues Systematically
At BUTLER.LEE, we now use the Posting Board feature to share and address room issues efficiently.
This wasn’t a typical forum-style board—it was an intuitive tool where posts can be easily viewed and tracked through their resolution stages.
For instance, if on-site managers discover a problem with room facilities or inventory during cleaning, they upload the details with images to the board. From there, the operations team reviews the issue, communicates via comments, and provides instructions or updates directly on the board.
The recorded communication ensures nothing is missed, and all issues are managed systematically. This allows us to resolve problems faster and maintain the high quality of our guest rooms.
⛔ The Frustration of Separate Tools for Communication and Task Management
As mentioned earlier, using separate tools for messaging and task management caused a lot of inefficiencies.
We tracked task statuses in one platform and relied on calls or Slack for communication. While Slack worked fine for HQ staff, it wasn’t suitable for on-site cleaning managers. Switching between multiple apps was challenging and inefficient, especially for team members less familiar with technology.
✅ Seamless Task Management and Real-Time Communication in One Platform
With Shopl, we can manage tasks and communicate directly in one tool. It acts as a dedicated platform for real-time messaging with on-site staff, separate from the internal Slack system we use at HQ.
For tasks related to room maintenance, all communication and updates happen within Shopl. This clarity in communication channels has eliminated confusion and streamlined collaboration between HQ and on-site teams. Now, our cleaning managers can handle everything in a single app, making their work significantly more efficient.
Unlike traditional hotels with centralized front desks, we operate dozens of individual hanok accommodations, where real-time communication is critical. If you're managing operations that require close coordination between HQ and on-site teams, we highly recommend Shopl to simplify and optimize your workflow.
– Hyun-jin Jang, Manager, Business Support Team, BUTLER.LEE –
Today, we shared how BUTLER.LEE uses Shopl to maintain the highest standards across dozens of hanok guest rooms.
If you’re ready to elevate your communication and streamline your operations, it’s time to start with Shopl!✨
