KONCEPT HOTELS automates over 95% of check-ins I Apaleo News

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, the 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 Apaleo has significantly improved their back-office workflows and guest service delivery, further scaling them to a digital and sustainable company.

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

Previously, governmental regulations prevented KONCEPT HOTELS from implementing 100% digital check-in processes. 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.

Before Apaleo, KONCEPT HOTELS used legacy PMS software, requiring manual data entry for check-ins, check-outs, and payments. Hotelbirds’ solution for digital and unique guest experience has accompanied KONCEPT HOTELS and their digital guest journey from the very beginning. But the lack of seamless integration capabilities in these traditionally built all-in-one systems only compounded the issue of fragmenting the guest journey.

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.

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.

Challenge: Cumbersome reservation, payment, and invoice management

Before Apaleo, KONCEPT HOTELS faced significant challenges with their legacy PMS software. Staff and night auditors manually managed reservations from multiple OTAs, requiring meticulous manual processes and constant oversight. Each OTA had different requirements, necessitating manual adjustments and verification, increasing the potential for errors. The lack of automation in these critical areas highlighted the need for a more integrated system to streamline operations. Sabine and her team frequently had to manually reconcile payments, further complicating operations and impacting overall efficiency.

Solution: Automated management of reservations, payments, and invoicing

Apaleo's API-first architecture allows KONCEPT HOTELS to manage bookings from multiple OTAs seamlessly, eliminating errors and ensuring smooth operations.

"With Apaleo, our booking and payment processes are now automated, eliminating the manual work we previously faced. We no longer worry about OTA bookings, guest invitations, or group notifications. The integration with Make.com and Apaleo has significantly streamlined our operations, and I wouldn’t consider switching back to our legacy PMS software." - Sabine added.

To streamline payment processing, KONCEPT HOTELS integrated Apaleo Pay, automating transactions across all guest touchpoints.

“Apaleo has enabled us to make significant strides in automating our processes. With our previous PMS, staff and night auditors had to manage each booking manually. Now, reservations are automated, smooth and easy to manage. A huge success for us has been in payment processing, which is a crucial element for our digital operations. Payments and invoicing are now 100% automated, meaning we no longer have to think about them. That’s been a huge win for us.” - Sabine concluded.

Result: 100% automated back-office operations for reservation and payment management

The switch to Apaleo resulted in a significant decrease in booking and payment errors, enhancing overall operational accuracy.

“Automating our workflows means our employees have more time to focus on guests, becoming hosts rather than administrators” added Sabine. “We now operate a more efficient, dynamic and digitally advanced operation.”

Guests appreciated the seamless and personalised experience, leading to higher satisfaction rates and repeat bookings.

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.

A dive into the tech stack of KONCEPT HOTELS:

Browse apps in the Apaleo Store:

KONCEPT HOTELS automates over 95% of check-ins and 50% of check-outs