The Cozy Cove Resort: A Holiday Themed Sertifi Story

Once upon a time, nestled at the crossroads of enchantment and holiday cheer, stood an ancient ski resort with timeworn beams and a welcoming glow that spilled from its windows. The Cozy Cove Resort was a haven for wanderers, dreamers, and those seeking refuge from the clamor of the holiday season. Per the guests’ likeness, the owners never made any renovations to the place (including the front office) in an effort to hold onto the resort’s original charm.  

The month of December was the resort’s busiest time of year. General manager, Clara, was determined to make this holiday season the best one yet by making each stay as seamless and meaningful as possible. But amidst the holiday cheer, there was a slight problem – the need for countless signatures, payments, and authorizations for the reservations. 

While Clara loved the resort and the holidays, without a modern, functional workflow for payments and agreements, she found herself struggling to keep the spirit alive. The creaking walls of the time-honored establishment were oh-so enchanting, but they clashed with guests who had moved forward technologically.  

As guests filled the lobby drinking hot cocoa after a long day of skiing, Clara worked alone, stuck behind the front desk, stressed out as she tried to concentrate on paper pushing and fulfilling guests’ requests. At least her assistant would be arriving soon to relieve her, and she would have a few hours to catch up on paperwork from the holiday rush. 

“Can you repeat that Clive? I couldn’t hear the last part,” she bellowed into the phone to her travel agent friend. 

Silence. 

“Clive? I need those credit card numbers. The guest is checking out in the morning, and we lost the original form you faxed over.” 

“Sorry Clara, I was just looking at the news. I don’t think your guests are going to be checking out any time soon,” Clive cautioned. 

“Why not?” she practically barked. 

“There’s a huge snowstorm heading your way. Looks like you can expect a couple of feet and a freeze. All flights have been canceled for the next few days. They are closing the roads as we speak,” he winced. 

As Clive delivered the bad news, Clara looked around the room at what was about to happen. People were laughing and smiling, but in 10 hours they would be trapped, and she would be toast. All the resort’s front office operations were outdated. The dinosaur of a printer/fax machine was still printing authorization forms from the day before. The only credit card payment terminal was on the fritz. And, to Clara’s horror, another huge pile of receipts, forms, folios, and contracts was sitting under the front desk waiting to be stamped and filed! This was going to be a mess. 

As twilight draped its velvety cloak over the ski slopes and guests headed to their rooms, Clara got to work. It was clear her assistant wasn’t going to show. She was on her own. As she juggled stacks of paperwork and navigated through a sea of emails, the chaos of the holiday season was compounded by the manual processing of documents, leaving her longing for a miracle.  

Just when Clara was on the brink of overwhelm, the clock struck twelve and there was a knock at the door. Clara looked around. She wasn’t expecting anyone. Suddenly, the door burst open, and in walked a young man in an orange jumpsuit with the numbers 31337 on his chest.  

“Who are you?” she asked.  

“Hey, uh, I’m Marv – ghost of holiday future,” he huffed. Clara stared at Marv burrowing her brow in puzzlement.  

“Why are you in an orange jumpsuit?” she beckoned.  

“I’m the guy that’s going to steal all of your guests’ credit card information when you go on a coffee break,” he stammered. 

“What? I would never let that happen. I have my eye on that stuff 24/7. There is no way you would be able to...what are you doing?” Clara questions as Marv walks over to the computer and logs in. 

“Computer safety rule number one: don’t make your password, password,” Marv said as he typed. 

“Rule number two, always keep your guests’ information secure. It was way too easy to hack in here,” he explained as he pulled up the Excel spreadsheet where Clara tracked her guest’s payment information and emailed it to himself. 

Clara stares at Marv with her mouth hung open. Did he really just do that? 

“Rule number three, digitize everything and don’t leave a paper trail,” Marv utters, gesturing towards Clara’s workstation. 

Then, in one swift move, Marv wiped Clara’s hard drive, grabbed the stack of receipts, forms, folios, and contracts out from under the front desk, jumped over it, and ran to the front door.  

“Hey! Wait!” Clara yells after him, but Marv is too quick. He had already swung open the front door and bounded into the night, disappearing into the snow. 

“Otherwise, it’s not PCI compliaaaaaant! Ha ha ha!” his scream echoed through the slopes as he disappeared into the night. 

Clara stood frozen in the doorway, tears dripping down her face as she tried to look for Marv. But he was gone. She closed the door and walked back to the front desk. What is she supposed to do now? The police wouldn’t be able to do anything. Her paperwork was gone, her hard drive was wiped clean, and now, somehow, without work to do, she was even more stressed than she was before. 

DING! 

Clara looks up to find a shorter man, exuding magical energy, decked out in various shades of green and purple with matching Converse sneakers sitting on top of the front desk ringing the assistance bell. 

DING! 

“Hi!” the man shouts gleefully. “I’m Buddy!” 

Clara blinks and rubs her eyes to make sure he’s real. What is happening tonight? Buddy rings the bell again.  

DING! 

“I’m here to make everything better!” he smiles. He stands on the desk and walks over to Clara barely meeting her eyes. 

“I saw what happened there with Marv. He’s been on my radar for years. Don’t worry about him. His fraud score is D at best,” he explains. “I’m here to make sure fraudsters like him never bother you again by simplifying and securing your workflows.” Buddy turns the computer monitor towards his face and starts typing. 

“What’s a fraud score?” Clara wonders aloud. But before she can get an answer, Buddy is motioning toward the computer screen. 

“This is Sertifi,” he says as he pulls up the Sertifi website, “the only complete agreements platform designed for hospitality and travel. With Sertifi, you can reduce payment costs and fraud activity, save yourself time, and maximize convenience for your customers with a single solution.” Clara peered at the screen. 

Sure enough, everything she needed was right there. A simplified process – e-signatures, payments, and authorizations, all wrapped up in a digital bow. Buddy walked Clara through the platform showing her how to use it and within minutes, she had a hopeful glimmer in her eyes. The resort’s entire management team could now sign contracts with just a few clicks. The process of collecting payments also transformed into a seamless dance of transactions. And, with a secure and streamlined approval process, Clara could easily collaborate with vendors and communicate with Clive, making sure that everything was in place for a smooth holiday season.  

Clara hugged Buddy and thanked him for saving her and for gifting her guests with ease and clarity as they navigated the next few days. But, when she looked back at the Sertifi platform set up on her computer, she remembered that she still had none of her guests’ information. Her face fell. Buddy read Clara’s mind and reached into his pocket. 

“I have one more thing for you,” he said as he revealed a handful of red ribbon and bopped it on top of the computer. The screen flashed and went dark for a second. Clara held her breath. One by one, every document and every piece of information that had been taken appeared in digital form.  

“Have a happy holiday Clara,” Buddy smiled. 

“Happy holidays, Buddy,” Clara laughed. 

And so, that night, in the twinkling lights of The Cozy Cove Resort, amidst the warmth of the holiday spirit, Clara raised a virtual toast to Sertifi – the unsung hero of the holiday season that had been transformed by the magic of digital simplicity. 

Happy holidays! 

- The Sertifi Family