Korner Hotels debuts in Paris with a 100% digital guest journey from day one

Korner Hotels is transforming the three-star hotel experience by combining essential comfort with innovative technology. Each property has up to 35 flexible rooms, designed with guest well-being in mind, featuring blackout blinds, soundproofing, and premium bedding. Korner also offers a fully self-service digital guest journey, from booking to checkout.

A highlight of every Korner property is the "Korner space", a communal area where guests can relax, work, complete with a fully equipped kitchen.

To cater to modern travellers, Korner Hotels has created a fully digital guest journey, from booking to checkout, while maintaining personalised service. Recently recognised as finalists at the 2024 Hospitality Awards in two categories - Best Innovative Talent Management Initiative and Best Technological Operational Support Innovation - Korner is leading the way in hospitality innovation.

We sat down with Benoît Piel, co-founder and Head of Data & Tech at Korner Hotels, to learn how they strategically chose Apaleo as their property management platform, and how it has played a pivotal role in helping them scale their new business and drive operational excellence from day one.

Challenge: Building a fully digital journey to meet guest expectations

Korner Hotels crafted their guest experience with a clear objective: to make each step as simple, seamless, and guest-focused as possible. “Our goal in designing the Korner guest journey was to ensure it’s intuitive and easy for guests,” Benoît explains, highlighting the critical role of full digitisation in meeting modern expectations.

Solution: 100% digital guest journey enabled by Apaleo

Korner Hotels adopted Apaleo's API-first platform to completely automate their guest journey. Payments are now handled smoothly through Apaleo Pay, and communications, such as reservation confirmations and reminders, are automated. Guests can also unlock the hotel front door and their room anytime using their mobile, without needing to download an app. It's simple and seamless.

This digital transformation has eliminated manual intervention at key stages, allowing staff to focus on higher-value tasks, such as enhancing guest interactions.

“With Apaleo, we were able to build a guest journey that is completely digital and automated, while still offering personalised service when needed,” says Benoît.

Result: 65% of check-ins are fully digital from day one

Since implementing the system, 65% of guests have successfully completed their check-ins online from day one, a strong start that’s only set to improve. This has significantly reduced staff workload while providing a smoother, faster experience for guests. "Today, our check-ins are quick and seamless, saving time for both our guests and our team, while giving us access to high-quality guest data," says Benoît.

Korner Hotels is also the first hotel group to adopt a decentralised management model. Each hotel is managed by a Korner Host, who not only welcomes guests but also takes on specific support functions they’ve chosen, enhancing both guest satisfaction and employee engagement. This synergy between a seamless guest journey and empowered staff is central to Korner Hotels' success.

Challenge: Limited data accessibility and flexibility

Korner Hotels needed greater access to operational data and functionality to create real-time automations and proactive alerts. They lacked the flexibility to provide the necessary insights, which hindered operational efficiency and their ability to make informed decisions. 

“Access to data was a big challenge,” Benoît explains. “Real-time data is key to making better decisions, allowing us to respond promptly to changing circumstances and guest needs. We wanted to optimise operations and anticipate guest needs, but we didn’t have the tools to do it efficiently.”

Solution: API-driven data and functionality access

By adopting Apaleo’s open platform, Korner Hotels gained unrestricted access to operational data and functionality. This allowed Benoît’s team to build custom automations, such as real-time alerts, ensuring problems could be resolved before they impacted guests. 

“Apaleo gave us the flexibility we needed to centralise and utilise our data. We can now anticipate issues and address them before they affect our guests,” says Benoît.

Additionally, with 100% access to functionality and data through Apaleo’s APIs, the team was able to build their own custom apps tailored to their needs. This includes various operational solutions that are seamlessly connected to Apaleo, such as a real-time activity dashboard and custom housekeeping app. Here are some examples of the automations and alerts they’ve implemented:

• Payment alerts: Notifications are triggered when a credit card is invalid or a payment fails, allowing staff to quickly contact the guest or update the card details in booking platforms like Expedia.

• Housekeeping status updates: When a room is cleaned, the status is updated in the custom app. This automatically changes the room status in Apaleo, and sends a WhatsApp message to inform the guest.

• Overdue invoices: If an invoice remains unpaid after 20 days, an automated email is sent to the guest’s company (for corporate contracts).

• Chargeback alerts: Notifications are sent when chargebacks are received, enabling the team to take swift action.

Result: Proactive alerts and operational efficiency

With real-time access to data and functionality, Korner Hotels can now proactively manage potential issues. For example, the team receives alerts about invalid credit cards or upcoming reservations requiring the attention of the host, allowing staff to act swiftly and efficiently. “We’re no longer reacting to issues; we’re preventing them,” Benoît adds. This has not only improved guest satisfaction but also boosted overall operational efficiency.

Effortless innovation with AI

The team of Korner Hotels is in the process of designing and developing a sophisticated array of AI agents aimed at automating repetitive administrative and operational tasks that currently consume valuable staff time. Benoît emphasises, “These AI agents can handle variability where structured automation cannot, effectively addressing diverse and unpredictable challenges.” 

This innovative approach allows Korner Hotels’ hosts to focus entirely on enhancing the guest experience, dedicating their time to delivering the best possible service without being bogged down by routine tasks.

Looking ahead, Korner Hotels envisions a future where personal AI assistants will be commonplace in both professional and personal settings. Benoît notes, “We foresee that within a few years, each of our hosts will have a personalised AI companion accompanying them throughout their journey at Korner.” They have built and deployed an AI chatbot that knows everything about each hotel - for example, where the elevator circuit breakers are located - as well as all procedures, customer instructions (guidelines between shifts), organisational news, and all operational activities (e.g., when maintenance is scheduled to repair the HVAC system). This assistant helps staff 24/7 when they need to find information.

The team views AI as a tool to augment human capabilities rather than replace them. They recognise that this shift is monumental and fundamentally different from past technological advancements, as the true value lies in integrating AI into business processes. While spearheading their AI initiatives internally, Korner Hotels collaborates with innovative tech partners, such as Theodo, a Data and AI consultancy, who share their vision. This collaboration ensures that they remain at the forefront of AI technology and can implement cutting-edge solutions.

With plans to open five new hotels by the end of 2024, Korner Hotels continues to innovate in the hospitality space. Using Apaleo’s API-first platform, they have successfully digitised their operations, improved guest satisfaction, and empowered their staff to focus on delivering exceptional experiences. “Apaleo is a key part of our growth strategy,” Benoît concludes, “and we’re excited about what the future holds.”

A dive into the tech stack of Korner Hotels:

Browse apps in the Apaleo Store:

• FLYR for Hospitality - Revenue Management System

• Booking.com - Channel Connect

• Make - Visual automation platform

• Open AI API - Artificial intelligence

• Airtable - Low-code platform

• Softr - No-code platform

• Weweb - No-code/low-code tool

• XANO - No-code/low-code tool