Olympia Hospitality × ChangeEngine

About Olympia Hospitality

Olympia Hospitality operates 44 portfolio properties across 15 states with ~2,200 employees. The People Team partnered with ChangeEngine to unify communications across properties, build brand identity beyond hotel flags, and scale culture-forward programs. Leadership called ChangeEngine the “unsung hero of the year,” citing major time savings and a step-change in communication quality and reach.

“We estimated it saves about 5.5 hours of manual work per day.” — Sarah Hammond, VP of HR
“Our onboarding series sees 85% open rates, and employees feel connected from day one.” — Abigail Flynn, Senior HR Manager

Challenges

• Property-based employees identifying with hotel brands (e.g., Hilton/Marriott) rather than Olympia, creating brand and culture gaps
• BCC group emails, spreadsheets, and GM-by-GM forwarding leading to bottlenecks and inconsistent delivery
• Reaching different roles with the right channel at the right time across properties and departments
• High-lift compliance, benefits eligibility, and timecard reminders requiring repeated manual nudges
• Lack of performance reviews and check-ins. Limited visibility into exits and feedback

Solutions

• Segmentation and channel mix by property, role, and level; targeted delivery via work email, personal email, and SMS based on audience behavior
• Automated onboarding journey with day-1 welcome, values series, policy acknowledgments, and dual-track manager prompts at 30/60/90 days
• Benefits and eligibility campaigns that shift ownership to employees with timely, trackable reminders
• Recognition automations for birthdays and anniversaries personalized from each property’s GM, plus manager heads-ups to prompt in-person moments
• Recovery-friendly “Olympia CARES” program communications with resources, meeting updates, and two-way email replies to foster trust and inclusion
• Exit interview and offboarding automations to consistently collect feedback and improve retention levers
• Analytics to monitor open rates and adjust channel strategy by property; iterative testing to balance frequency and relevance

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Impact

• 17 active programs with 170 recurring moments running in the background
• 88,000+ total communications delivered to date; average open rate ~71%
• 4,500+ hours saved through automation; plus an estimated 5.5 hours per day of manual work eliminated for HR, GMs, and payroll
• Onboarding series at 85% open rate, accelerating ramp and clarity for new hires and managers
• “Olympia CARES” campaigns reaching up to 72% open rate, strengthening a people-first culture
• Department reminder messages at 97% open rate, improving compliance for reviews, policies, and timecards
• Consistent brand voice from the president and leadership, with communications authored and delivered at scale without sacrificing personalization
• Clear accountability loops (employee and manager notifications) driving completion of 90-day reviews and other critical moments