Behind the Scenes of Stova’s New Mobile Event Check-in App, Stova Aloha

Planners today understand the importance of a positive first impression at their events. It’s why they seek out solutions that make an attendee’s first event touchpoint, onsite check-in, a quick and efficient process. With first impressions in mind, this week Stova debuted Stova Aloha, our exciting and easy-to-use iPad check-in app for small and medium-size events.

Used via a staff or kiosk mode, Aloha can check attendees in by typing in their name or email or by scanning a QR code. The app can also connect directly to leading badge printers via Bluetooth, AirPrint, and Wi-Fi. (Learn even more about Stova Aloha in our press release)

But there’s more! This new app is jam-packed with features that make it easy-to-use while resolving several check-in paint points planners often face today. Here, Sue Benz, senior product manager at Stova and product owner of Aloha, shares what went into this new product, what features were most important to our customers, how our team settled on the Aloha name, and more.

Addressing Top Challenges for Planners

When developing Stova Aloha, Sue spoke with several company stakeholders to best understand our clients’ needs and determine the must-have features for a mobile check-in solution. The top challenge our team wanted to address was unstable Wi-Fi, which can cause significant disruptions and delays at check-in.

“The beauty of Aloha is that its users, whether it’s onsite staff or attendees in kiosk mode, can continue to check-in and print badges when the internet goes out,” Sue explains. “Once the internet is back up, the app syncs all that check-in data back to our registration platform.”

According to Sue, Aloha is completely interwoven into the Stova platform and works hand-in-hand with Stova Registration. Along with being able to sync offline data, it can also pull vital attendee registration information, including custom questions, hotel information, and more.

Security in Aloha’s offline mode is also crucial for planners, according to Jennifer Smeriglio, solutions consultant at Stova. “The fact that Aloha can not only work in offline scenarios and allow our clients to maintain data security in a variety of ways is a huge selling point, especially with new data privacy policies today.”

Making Ease of Use & Flexibility a Priority

Another top feature is the ease of use and slick interface of Aloha, which helps tackle the challenge of training third-party staff to man check-in at events. “We believe temporary staff who either aren’t tech-savvy or don’t have a lot of time to train can easily learn how to use Stova Aloha, as the user interface easily resonates with people and is intuitive,” Sue says.

Stova Aloha is also easy to set-up and has several capabilities related to flexibility when it comes to the pre-event settings. For example, planners can determine how many badge reprints they’ll allow at their event, when the system will auto-log off from inactivity, whether to allow staff to edit attendee records, or to enable the quick print feature, which prints a badge as soon as someone checks-in.

Why the Name “Aloha?”

When it came to naming our new onsite mobile event check-in app, the importance of making a positive first-impression at events was top of mind, Sue says. “Aloha,” which is the Hawaiian word for “hello,” brings the feeling of being warm and welcoming to attendees.

“All event planners know when an attendee arrives an event, that first impression is so important and things like long lines or wait times at check-in affect that,” Sue says. “Attendees are often eager to dive into the educational or networking opportunities at an event, and not stand in line at check-in. Stova Aloha is a fast, efficient solution to these challenges while giving that first great impression planners are looking to provide for their attendees.”

“I am excited to provide our clients with the opportunity to wow attendees with a branded and easy to use check-in application with a self-service option,” says Kate Thompson, a strategic account manager at Stova. “Check-in is one of our client’s first touchpoints with attendees at an event, and this solution is sure to leave a great impression!”

Interested in Stova Aloha?

Stova Aloha is currently in beta with select customers and will be available to the market in the next few months. To learn more or see Stova Aloha in action, contact the sales team at [email protected].