Raus provides 100% digital guest experience of remote off-grid cabins

Introducing Raus: Urban comfort meets nature

Local getaways not only address the urgent issue of climate change but also prompt us to reconsider our relationship with the environment. By being more sustainable and easily accessible, such getaways cater to our evolving needs. The mission of Raus is to bring city-dwellers closer to nature while raising awareness on the importance of preserving limited resources. Raus provides smart and carefully designed cabins through Germany, typically in high demand and frequently waitlisted. They’re creating a new category of lodging by choosing the ideal balance between modern comforts and nature’s benefits. 

Julian Trautwein, Co-Founder & CEO of Raus, shared his vision along with his two fellow Co-Founders, Johann Ahlers and Christopher Eilers, of creating a platform for nature immersion offering people the opportunity to take a spontaneous and uncomplicated break from big city life. With a fully digitised guest experience, paperwork and check-in hassles are a thing of the past. 

Nature-front-end enabled by a tech-back-end

Challenge: Remote management of off-grid cabins

Julian and his team faced the challenge of bringing technology to remote, off-grid cabins while maintaining centralised management of the units The solution required developing a powerful back-end ecosystem capable of integrating reliable technology to connect the isolated cabins. Given that each location had its unique setup, the need for tailored technology became even more crucial.

“We considered many solutions at the time, and there could have been many other easier systems for us to start with, where everything was pre-built for a fixed fee.That could have been the obvious choice for us. However, we found out that none of the systems provided us with the experience we were seeking.”

Solution: A platform that enables multi-property management and accessibility via APIs 

Raus has chosen to implement the Apaleo open hospitality platform, aligning with their vision for a tech-enabled hospitality experience. The cloud-native infrastructure is scalable and API-first, allowing Raus to manage all of their properties from one central location. With Apaleo's easily cloned templates, setting up new properties has become hassle-free and quick. This platform perfectly aligns with the company's objective of ensuring a seamless technical back-end for their operations.

Result: Speedy roll-outs and hassle-free management of remote cabins

Raus’ operations team increased speed in creating new properties: They are now able to roll out a property within a couple of hours by leveraging templates and no-code/low-code automations. The team discovered that setting up properties and creating low-code automation with Make and Retool was quick and straightforward, all without compromising on their innovative vision of the guest experience. 

“Apaleo serves as the backbone of our cabin management, seamlessly facilitating our operations in an effortless manner. The platform is exceptionally user-friendly, enabling us to swiftly and easily launch new locations. We appreciate how it streamlines our processes and saves us valuable time – we can effortlessly roll out dozens of new locations per month.”

Effortless and fully automated guest journey 

Challenge: Closed systems hinder choosing the best guest-facing applications

As an early employee of Airbnb and former Global Head of Communications & Brand at Tourlane, Julian brings extensive experience in the travel-tech industry to Raus. Alongside his co-founders, he places a strong emphasis on ensuring the comfort and satisfaction of their guests, striving to deliver exceptional experiences. Given the limited physical contact between guests and local hosts, automated guest communication holds immense significance for Raus. During their evaluation of other systems, Julian and his team faced a major challenge – all of the legacy systems they explored came pre-built with limited options for customisation, particularly regarding the selection of guest-facing applications. This would have entailed compromising the guest experience in order to achieve their desired fully automated guest journey.

Solution: Custom-built proprietary guest-facing technology thanks to APIs

Raus’ goal has been clear from the very beginning: "We have placed our guest experience  as our top priority and have been constantly investing in cutting-edge technology to exceed their expectations.” 

Apaleo proved to be the ideal match for Julian and his team, as it boasts a modular platform that is completely accessible via APIs. This allows them to leverage the best third-party apps available on the market. With the extensive functionality and data coverage of the Apaleo APIs, Raus was able to develop the Raus Companion app in-house.The mobile web app serves as a digital concierge, providing a comprehensive solution to meet all guest-facing needs.

Julian and his team took their digital guest experience to the next level by incorporating upselling both before and during guests' stays. In addition, they enhanced their offerings with mindfulness activities, such as the option to book online appointments for alpaca meet & feed sessions, horse-riding experiences, guided meditation sessions, or even renting a sauna.

“We chose Apaleo because it offered us the freedom to break free from the limitations of a single ecosystem. Apaleo offers endless possibilities, allowing us to customize our approach according to the specific requirements of our business.”

Result: 100% check-in, check-out & payment automations achieved by tech-enabled infrastructure

Raus has harnessed the power of an API-first approach to create a streamlined tech ecosystem. The Apaleo property management platform enables automatic, contactless connections between cabins and local hosts, as well as completely automating the guest journey. 

Achieving 100% online check-ins and payment transactions, keyless door access, and IoT-enabled smart technology for maintenance and cleanliness, Raus has revolutionised the guest experience resulting in a fully digital guest journey. 

Bridging the gap between city-dwellers and local communities

Raus is dedicated to mindful environmental practices by bringing city-dwellers closer to nature and offering an eco-friendly way of living. 

The cabins are designed with comfort and sustainability in mind. They're built according to a minimalistic approach, can function self-sufficiently and are powered by solar panels Through smart home technology, guests can monitor key features such as battery levels, energy and water consumption.

Julian and his co-founders strongly believe that being mindful of the environment starts with reconnecting people with nature. Mindfulness of limited resources guides their approach, emphasising conscious water and energy usage. Their heightened sense of ecological responsibility underscores the need for local getaways that provide access to nature while supporting farmers, foresters and agricultural businesses.