Cocoon & Eckelmann Hotels move entire portfolio to Apaleo ahead of 2026 expansion

Cocoon & Eckelmann Hotels, the Munich-based lifestyle hotel group, today announced it will fully migrate its combined portfolio to Apaleo’s open and API-first property management platform. 

Following an initial implementation across select properties in 2025, the Apaleo rollout will extend across six Cocoon & Eckelmann properties and three of its white-label operations, totalling 800 rooms, enabling a unified and future-ready property management system (PMS) setup across both hotel groups.

Apaleo will also be used at the Hotel Europäischer Hof in Munich, which Cocoon Hotels will assume operations on February 15, 2026. The 148-room property is slated for redevelopment to be the largest Cocoon Hotel in Munich from 2027, marking a key milestone in the brand's continued expansion and long-term growth strategy.

Operational improvements with a simple rollout

Previously using a legacy PMS, Cocoon Hotels experienced significant issues with system downtime and time-consuming manual tasks, from reconciling guest portfolios to credit card processing. In one example, it took up to 17 clicks to process a single credit card payment.

Since moving to Apaleo, Cocoon Hotels has streamlined core workflows and begun rolling out widespread automation, reducing manual effort and complexity at every stage of the guest journey.

The migration to Apaleo is being managed by a single team member, supported by the platform’s straightforward setup. The first two Cocoon hotels went live on Apaleo in under six weeks, much faster than typical hotel PMS migrations.

Next, Cocoon Hotels will continue to evolve its tech stack, with priorities including further AI-enabled automation and integrations, as well as supporting new openings.

Mathias Vögl, Head of Reservations & Digital Guest Journey at Cocoon Hotels, said: “What really makes Apaleo stand out is how reliable and flexible it is. Our team finally has a system they can trust to work every day, and that’s made a huge difference. Instead of constantly fixing issues or dealing with clunky processes, our staff can now focus on being present for our guests.

“The goal was never to remove people from the hotel experience, but to free up their time, and Apaleo supports that with an open approach that lets us build exactly what we need rather than being locked into a rigid, all-in-one solution.

“That flexibility also allowed us to move quickly. We signed the contract and had the system up and running across multiple properties within weeks, which has been a real game-changer for us. 2026 will be a year of growth and innovation, and we’re very excited to scale with Apaleo as our foundation.”