Tuesday, November 12th 2024

As a climate-neutral hotel, the guests of KONCEPT HOTELS can check in with their smartphones, become part of the neighbourhood, and save “one square metre of nature” for every booking through their booking engine.

With four properties in Germany and one in Switzerland, fast-growing limited-service brand KONCEPT HOTELS offers tech-savvy travellers the most modern and efficient hotel experience, welcoming over 100,000 guests annually. Their staffless model addresses the industry’s labour shortage and environmental impact. 

We sat down with Sabine Schrempp, Director of Revenue & Systems, and Martin Stockburger, Managing Director and Founder, to explore how their collaboration with Hotelbird enabled them to establish a full digital guest experience with fully digitalized check-in and check-out process, leading to a significant increase in efficiency and improved guest satisfaction.

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Challenge: Manual check-In processes increase staff efforts and disrupt guest experience

Previously, governmental regulations prevented KONCEPT HOTELS from implementing 100% digital check-ins. Martin even highlights some manual inefficiencies, such as having to place printed registration forms on guests’ beds to sign by hand after the initial digital check-in. As legislation evolved, compliant digital solutions emerged on the market, allowing Martin to finally pursue his digital vision.

Hotelbirds’ solution for a digital and unique guest experience has been a key component of KONCEPT HOTELS’ digital guest journey from the very beginning. With Hotelbird as a partner, they have been able to further optimise and implement the vision of a 100% digital check-in. However, the lack of seamless integration capabilities with traditional systems has compounded the issue of fragmenting the guest journey.

KONCEPT HOTELS used legacy PMS software, requiring manual data entry for check-ins, check-outs, and payments, before using Apaleo. Apaleo is an API-first open property management platform for hotel and serviced apartment groups, empowering accommodation providers to create the ultimate digital experience for guests and staff.

Solution: Seamless integration with Hotelbird and Apaleo

The deep integration of Hotelbird with Apaleo enables KONCEPT HOTELS to fully digitise their guest experience.

Within a very short time, all relevant information, like guest data, assigned rooms and check-in, between the two systems is exchanged, ensuring a smooth and stable process from digital check-in, to door opening, payment, guest communication, and check-out.

Sabine adds: “Hotelbird was our partner from the beginning, even before digital hospitality became a thing. They perfectly meet our needs for stable, standardised processes while allowing for a level of individualization fitting our brand’s concept.”

Result: Over 95% digital check-in rates and almost zero human support needed

Automating manual processes saved significant costs and time for staff, allowing them to focus on other tasks. The number of calls to the on-call service due to guest check-in issues, which previously required staff to go to the hotel to resolve the problems, decreased from almost daily to nearly zero.

With a consistent average check-in rate of over 95%, including 43% completed via the web, 10% through the app, and 47% using terminals, KONCEPT HOTELS has significantly improved their digital guest experience.

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Challenge: Manual check-out causes inefficiencies in housekeeping and missed upselling opportunities

Since there was no option for guests to check out digitally, housekeeping staff had to go door-to-door, knocking to determine if guests had departed and the room was ready for cleaning. This not only risked frustrating guests and negatively impacting their experience but also resulted in inefficient use of housekeeping personnel and increased labour costs.

Upsell opportunities for late check-outs could only be offered at fixed points in the guest journey, making it challenging to target the right audience effectively. Without information on the exact check-out times of guests, it was difficult to identify and reach those who would be most interested in this service.

Solution: Fully digital check-out with seamless data exchange and automation

KONCEPT HOTELS leverages the integration of Hotelbird with Apaleo to implement a fully digital check-out process. Guests can easily check out digitally via the Hotelbird app or website. This information is transmitted directly to Apaleo, allowing housekeeping staff to view on their tablets which rooms are ready for cleaning and which guests are still in-house. This automation replaces the manual process of checking rooms with streamlined data transfer and processing, enhancing efficiency and accuracy.

The guest data gained from the Hotelbird and Apaleo integration on a property level helps KONCEPT HOTELS learn about guest behaviour, optimise housekeeping schedules, and identify upselling opportunities, such as early check-ins or late check-outs.

Result: 50% digital check-out enhances housekeeping efficiency, optimised shift scheduling, and increased late check-out upsells

By automating processes, the efficiency of housekeeping has been drastically improved. Additionally, shift schedules have been optimised, leading to a reduction in labour costs. Insights into guest behaviour now allow for the identification of guest segments, which can be targeted with tailored upsell options, such as late check-outs. This targeted approach has significantly increased the conversion rate for upsells and boosts overall revenue.

The digital check-out is already widely adopted, with a check-out rate of 50%, including 66% completed via the web, 6% through the app, and 28% using terminals.

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Get an overview of the Hotelbird Product Package and Channels KONCEPT HOTELS uses and the integrated partner systems.

Check out all our preferred partner systems here.