Still throwing your towels to reserve lounge chairs? Not anymore; find a seat and relax on your vacation with Solay’s seat reservation app

Vacations are meant for unwinding from the stress of everyday life, and it is an opportunity to relax. Many people plan their vacations based on that, but certain problems can arise, which may hinder the vacation vibes. Imagine waking up early, even when on vacation, to find a spot at the pool or beach. Why should you endure stress like this, even during a vacation? Even after meticulously planning the vacation, the excitement will instantly vanish when you catch sight of a busy pool or beach area. Such instances force you to wait in a long queue to get a lounger or drag a chair around to find a perfect spot to sit together with friends.

The only smarter way to address the chair dashing issue is with the Solay app. To make your vacation better and smooth, Solay has come up with a reservation app that will allow you to book your favorite pool and beachside seats in advance. Solay is the first company to have a guest-facing mobile app that gives guests the power to reserve lounge chairs or cabanas in advance or in real-time. On the hotel side, Solay is unique because it doesn’t require any integration with the hotel’s software systems. In addition, Solay’s proprietary technology arranges seat assignments, maximizing efficient use of space – so important when most hotels have had to remove seating to allow for physical distancing. Resorts get real-time data on all reservations made and seating assignments. Solay was founded in 2019 and it is based in San Diego.

In conversation with Amanda Abbott, Founder and CEO of Solay

Q. What are the perks of reserving poolside & beachside loungers?

We have all been on vacation and had to wake up early to throw personal belongings on pool chairs or get in line to be seated at the beach. This first-come, first-served practice ruins the vibe of a relaxed vacation morning. By reserving with Solay, guests can take their time getting to the pool, knowing their seats are ready when they are ready. As the Solay team likes to say: sleep in, your seat is set!

Q. What motivated you to bring a dedicated platform to reserve poolside loungers?

Traveling for the past 20+ years with groups of friends or my family on long-awaited vacations, the inconvenience and inefficiency of the first-come, first-served model motivated me to create an innovative, technology-powered solution to modernize this aspect of vacationing. I will never forget a recent Memorial Day weekend in Palm Springs – overhearing a sweet mother and daughter who were guests of the hotel look for a place to sit at a crowded pool, finding day passers taking up most of the seats, and the pool staff apologizing profusely but having no tools to correct the situation. These guests literally had nowhere to sit! At about $500 a night, this mother and daughter deserved better! Meanwhile, the property had a beautiful, lush green lawn next to the pool area without one lounge chair on it. That was my aha moment: if the resort knew how many people were planning to enjoy the pool that day, they could have set up ancillary seating on the lawn.

Q. How do you plan to expand your services?

When cruise ship sailing returns, Solay will be excited to launch its service on ships around the world. Next, Solay plans to add poolside food and beverage ordering, as so much revenue (and guest time!) is lost from guests waiting to place orders. Solay also has some cool new app updates and resort-side enhancements coming soon.

Q. How can business owners benefit from your services?

Hotels and resorts have choices when they set up Solay. They can choose to provide Solay to guests where it is required for physical distancing compliance, or they can allow guests the option of using or not using Solay to reserve loungers. Hotels get the benefit of 100% of cabana revenue, a new revenue stream from optional reservations, real-time data and reports, full control over chair inventory, black-out dates, cabana pricing, and happier guests! There is no software integration or IT management required by the hotel, no increased staffing needs, and Solay can be turned off or on anytime.

Q. Tell us about your data management system and privacy policy.

Solay operates in full compliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act, one of the most stringent consumer privacy laws globally, as well as with the GDPR. Solay collects the minimum essential information from mobile app users and does not collect or store any payment information. All data is managed on the cloud using the most state-of-the-art cloud-based data management services. Solay doesn’t sell any user or hotel information or sell or share any identifiable information.

Q. Do you have any new services ready to be launched?

Yes, the web-based reservation process is ready to launch soon. This service will allow guests to reserve with Solay from their desktop computer.

Q. What are your plans for the future development of your company?

Solay has upcoming brand partnerships, and the formation of its first Advisory Board planned, as well as commencing its first seed-funding round in Q3. Other projects in the works include offering the Solay app and website in multiple languages. A complete suite of hotel amenities reservations available on the app won’t be far behind!

Meet the leader behind the success of Solay

Amanda Abbott is the Founder and CEO of Solay. She is an attorney with expertise in advising life sciences start-ups, information privacy, software, and intellectual property licensing, health care business transactions, and regulatory compliance. Drawing upon 25 years of guest-side experience and focused observation while traveling to hotels and resorts around the world, along with transferrable knowledge from the health care industry, Amanda founded Resort Technologies, LLC, in 2019 to create innovative and disruptive technology to solve long-standing problems in the hospitality space.

“Say goodbye to chair dashing and hello to Solay. First come, first served, is so last summer!”