gWatch video surveillance for Side Street

Long time GeckoTech customer/subscriber, Danny Clark, knew who to turn to for SideStreet’s video surveillance requirements.  GeckoTech of course.   GeckoTech’s gWatch managed service proved to be the optimal way to deliver video security to the restaurant.  With gWatch managed services Danny is able to start off with just a few cameras to cover critical areas of the venue.  Affording Danny the option to add cameras at future dates as the property’s vulnerable locations are uncovered.   But Danny already knew this because of his experience subscribing to gWatch for Graffiti (Danny’s other successful restaurant in Jaco).   Danny is now able to view all of his cameras, from both venues, on his iPhone, iPad, and Mac Laptop devices.   gWatch leverages IP technology and takes advantage of the newest imagery sensors to provide optimal images.

GeckoBee upgrades for CasaPonte

Paul Cooper, owner of Jaco’s largest and most successful single residence rental property, has been leveraging GeckoTech’s gEye services for the past several years.   The original gEye deployment used standard “hard button” thermostats in 17+ areas of the rental property.   Now that Paul has started the design of his third “free standing” house on the rental property he is evaluating new technologies that improve the overall guest experience while ensuring continued energy savings.  Ok, so what new technologies has he deployed?   None other than the newest generation Ecobee 3 Thermostat.   This thermostat is sleek, sexy and provides so much valuable information via its user interface.  GeckoTech is hopeful that this new generation thermostat from Ecobee will in fact become the standard thermostat (thermostat of preference) in all future gEye deployments.

Casa Maganda migrates to gWatch video surveillance

Steve Sheets is no “newbie” to Costa Rica.  Steve is the proud owner/operator of two beautiful rental properties situated in the Costa Montana just south of the Tarcoles river.  Steve discovered years ago that video surveillance was an absolute necessity for “absentee owners” that needed to manage/monitor their assets remotely.  Initially Steve attempted a “go it alone” approach to installation and support of a consumer grade video surveillance system.  He purchased a couple lorex DVRs a number of years ago.  However he quickly discovered the systems/components break in the harsh and humid climate of Pacific Costa Rica.  In a matter of months he was paying more to support his consumer grade video system than the system originally cost.   So he turned to GeckoTech.  Simply because he knew/heard GeckoTech provided top notch support and was one of the few (if not only) companies willing to “stand behind” its systems and professional services.   Steve now enjoys a trouble free gWatch system with 9 cameras surveilling his house.  To boot he got the latest technology to replace his older outdated cameras thus enhance camera-view imagery an order of magnitude on certain cameras.   But the best part is the piece of mind that Steve now enjoys.   He pays a nominal monthly fee to ensure equipment rental and support.  Furthermore, his gWatch subscription ensures his service is never obsolete.   Steve is now considering other GeckoTech services such as gAccess and gEye and gStream (to watch the Lapas nesting in his back property)

Vista Mar’s gEye subscriber base continues to grow

As the Vista Mar condo owners continue to talk among themselves there seems to be one recurring theme:  Energy Costs in Costa Rica and frustrations managing these costs.   This singular postscript to this dialogue is GeckoTech and its GeckoEye energy management system.   This standard scenario was no different for the new owner of condo 4D.   Mr. Chip Christianson knew that with energy costs on the rise he needed to be proactive in managing them.  He knew, after talking with countless other condo owners at VistaMar, that he needed gEye to control his AC and thermostats.   Mr. Christianson then took it few steps further.  He knew and appreciated that value-add of automation and remote access to systems he could monitor/control via the internet.  As such Mr. Christianson also subscribed to GeckoTech’s gWatch (video surveillance on main door) and gAccess (electronic locks for main door).   Now Mr. Christianson has the piece of mind knowing he can login to a web portal day or night to see what is happening real time or what has happened historically.

Another Vista Mar unit follows suit….

You just can’t keep “a good idea down.”   This has proven the case at Vista Mar where gEye continues to “carry its weight”.

Unit owners continue to converse among themselves about high energy bills and how to manage them.   GeckoTech’s gEye energy conservation system is always one of the “hot topics”.  New unit owners are not waiting for the ICE rates to bite them.    As is the case in GeckoTech’s newest gEye subscriber, Unit 4D.  This unit owner has heard the horror stories about $2,000 electric bills with nominal occupancy.  He has also heard wonderful things about gEye:  How it reduces energy consumption.  How it allows remote monitoring of thermostats, doors and occupancy via the web.   etc…    Needless to say, the new owner of Vista Mar 4D is now able to relax knowing his gEye system is keeping a vigil on air conditioning units and ensuring his guests do not abuse their rights to enjoy them.

Side Street.. A promising bistro and gPOS user

The wonderful thing about having successful customers?   They grow, prosper, and become repeat customers for new venues and business.   Such is the case with Danny Clark.  Owner of Graffiti.  Unequivocally Jaco’s trendiest and tastiest dining spot.   Well we are expecting Danny to “hit another homerun” with his latest venue “Side Street Bistro”.   Side Street is purportedly a great sandwich spot.  And I hope so as I love a great sandwich.  At any rate, Danny recognizes that one should “stick with what works”.   And in this case it is relationship with GeckoTech and his reliance on GeckoTech to deliver and support technology to streamline his operations and make him even more competitive than he might already be.  To this end, GeckoTech has been asked to recommission a 2 terminal, 3 printer gPOS system for the property.   We are excited to do so, and expect that with Danny’s continued success will be the addition of other GeckoTech Technology amenities to improve the diner’s overall experience. Such as gLoyalty for branding and rewarding those frequent diners..  Or gStream to allow real time streaming of restaurant activity to the Side Street Web Site.   Well, the list goes on and on.

High End PTZ to monitor Los Amigos ingress/egress

Los Amigos, like all popular restaurants, is a bastion for thieves “looking for a an easy target.”   The original patio area was surveilled by a single fixed view camera that was not capable of covering the dining area as well as detailed imagery of entrance.   So owner Chris Mandel asked GeckoTech to add yet another camera to his Milestone System.   The new camera being a PTZ with low lumens capability and one that could be controlled by the Milestone operator to change pan, tilt or zoom…    After collected detailed user requirements (what did owner Chris Mandel hope to achieve with this new camera/view) GeckoTech selected a high end Toshiba PTZ with a 180′ Panning FoV.   Now the property has imagery capable of providing irrefutable ID of all people entering the property through the main gate.   Thus continuing to prove that Los Amigos is one of the safest (least # of incidence) to dine out.

BeachClub (aka JacoBlu) adds more gPOS tablet licenses

JacoBlu’s phenomenal success as a local beach club for “out of towners” (specifically folks from SJO) has led to a requirement for more POS terminals to facilitate order taking.   Wait staff our able to roam the property freely with various BYOD (bring your own device) tablets that JacoBlu’s management team sourced independently.    The BYOD concept of gPOS helps customers keep upfront deployment costs to a minimum.. BeachClub’s clients now experience a much better level of customer service in that orders are expedited.   Waiters are able to take order on the beach, the order is printed at the bar/kitchen printers.   Items are prepared and ready before the waiter even  returns to the prep area to pick up items.   This is truly “win win”.   Sales have improved as has customer satisfaction.

Flutterby Hostel deploys gPOS/PRMS for its hostel operations

Kim and Pam, owners of Flutterby, have managed a thriving hostel in Uvita.   Aggressive web presence and online booking services ensured their hostel’s beds and dorm rooms were always filled.  In Q4 of 2013, the two decided to add food and beverage operations to the hostel to allow them to capture this extra revenue stream that would have otherwise been lost to other local businesses.  Because of GeckoTech’s presence in Uvita and GeckoTech’s reputation the sisters decided to “give us a call”.   gPOS stood up to all challenges the sisters throw at it during the demonstration and within a matter of days decided to move forward with gPOS because of its capability as well as GeckoTech’s support reputation.   Flutterby House uses a single laptop for the reception area (hostel bookings and folio management) and a “BYOD” (bring your own device) tablet for the restaurant’s order taking.   The beauty of the integrated gPOS system is that hostel guests can transfer the restaurant/bar charges to their “bed” folio..  Similar to transferring a restaurant charge to your hotel room. The overall gPOS implementation has been so well received, the hostel has decided to integrate GeckoTech’s gPOS to its CheckFront web service (online booking service).   This integration is expected to be complete sometime in Q2 of 2014.

HD Set Top box integration for Los Amigos distributed video

Technology changes at an alarming rate,  and to be competitive in the hospitality industry you must stay on the bleeding edge.     Such is the case with Los Amigos’ video distribution system.   During the original deployment of an “easily controlled” video distribution in the Los Amigos Sports Bar, GeckoTech used CATV cabling infrastructure and Composite video injectors to send the multitude of “on demand content servers” to any number of the sports bar’s TVs.   This solution has served Los Amigos well for the past 6 years…..  But all good things must come to an end.  Or must they?  Can’t we simply make a good thing better?  In this case yes.   Los Amigos upped its Cable Tica subscription to use High Definition Set Top boxes.   This allows a better experience for the customer on “fight night”.   However the HD Set Top boxes posed an integration issue as compared to the legacy video distribution technology.   No worries.  GeckoTech to the rescue.   GeckoTech engineered a hybrid solution that allowed limited distribution of high def content without disrupting the distribution of legacy content/services.