GlobalSearch Helps Travel Conscious Hostel Brand Become Paper Conscious

Meet HI Canada

A member-based non-profit organization, HI Canada is a part of a global network of 3,300 hostels in 64 countries. With over 80 years of experience in the hostel industry, HI Canada provides a community of like-minded people committed to travel, companionship, and the exploration of diverse cultures. One of HI Canada’s guiding principles is environmental stewardship, viewing sustainable tourism as a key responsibility that will help ensure positive travel experiences today and for many generations to come.

Challenge

The document management system used in HI Canada’s accounting department was consistently delaying the receipt of expenses and the timely delivery of payments due. Their process, which was to print and mail invoices to headquarters in Vancouver, was complicated by users in multiple locations, which delayed the receipt of checks. Over time, the need to coordinate carriers and organize and print invoices became costly and too time-consuming for the accounting department, driving the need for a more efficient and cost-effective approach.

Solution

HI Canada reviewed multiple solutions to improve their invoice processing, but after meeting with the GlobalSearch sales team, it was clear to HI Canada this team fully understood their needs, had experience in improving invoice processing, and were committed to their success. The organization has been using the solution for the last six months and has already seen a significant uptick in efficiency, noting far less physical mail coming in and out and fewer delays in invoice processing time.

“For me personally, we felt like they really listened to what we needed and understood how we would use the solution.”
– Miranda Brooking, Office Coordinator and Executive Assistant

Benefit

Initially, there was some hesitation on the part of HI Canada’s managers to embrace process changes that came along with the new GlobalSearch solution, including a more thorough review of each submitted invoice. However, post implementation, they quickly realized the time and cost-saving benefits of GlobalSearch. By eliminating the need for each location to physically mail or courier their invoices to headquarters, processing time was significantly reduced, and locating invoices for review occurred in a fraction of the time. Moreover, GlobalSearch gave each manager better insight into the status of invoices and greater clarity about total monthly expenses.

“When vendors call-in to find out the status of their invoice and when it will be paid, we can quickly find the current status of that invoice using GlobalSearch.”
–Miranda Brooking

Result

GlobalSearch has enhanced communication throughout HI Canada locations and given management real-time access into the status of invoices and other monthly expenses. It has allowed them to reduce the amount of incoming mail, resulting in less paper involvement in their process and led to improved efficiency and costsavings.