Independent hotels

From operational overload to full operational control: How SleepinRoomz saves over 50 hours a week with 80% automation

Anna Fechner

Anna Fechner

7/30/2026
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Digital transformation is no longer a nice-to-have for small and mid-sized hotels. It has become essential for staying efficient, profitable and competitive. Yet making that shift is rarely straightforward. Rising labour costs, ongoing staff shortages and outdated systems often make it difficult for hotels to modernise their operations. Without the flexibility to adapt and the right partners to guide the journey, building a future-ready business can feel out of reach.

Marc Steudle has experienced these challenges from both sides. As a hotelier, consultant and Apaleo implementation partner, he helps hotels develop digital strategies that support long-term growth. Working closely with his partner hotels, he designs tailored tech stacks, connects the right solutions and lays the foundation for streamlined operations.

His approach to modernising hotel operations was shaped by his own experience. When he introduced Apaleo in one of his hotels at the end of 2021, he quickly realised what an open platform could offer. Rather than working within the limitations of a all-in-one PMS, he was able to integrate best-of-breed applications, adapt workflows to the hotel's individual needs and automate repetitive processes across the entire operation.

"It's always worth thinking in processes. And when you can digitise and automate those processes with Apaleo, the value is enormous. In the end, you gain what matters most to many hoteliers: time," Marc said.

Together with profitize, we spoke with Marc and Jakob Spiewak, Managing Director of SleepinRoomz, a 57-room boutique hotel in Dortmund. They shared how they built a connected tech stack around Apaleo, why they chose an open platform over a traditional PMS and how automation has become a key driver of more efficient operations and sustainable growth.

Challenge: Disconnected systems holding back automation

SleepinRoomz had already implemented Apaleo before partnering with Marc. After becoming independent from its franchise, Jakob deliberately chose the open platform because it offered the flexibility he was looking for to support the hotel's future. Its API-first architecture and the ability to build a tailored tech stack were key factors in that decision.

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Moving to Apaleo, however, was only the first step. While the platform provided a solid starting point, everyday operations revealed there was still room for improvement. Processes such as room allocation and invoice adjustments were still handled manually, while additional opportunities for automation and integrations remained untapped.

Together with Marc, SleepinRoomz began fine-tuning its workflows, rate plans and tech stack to unlock further automation opportunities. That's how the team gradually reduced manual work, connected more applications and built a digitally enabled operation.

Solution: Unlocking intelligent automation with a connected tech stack

With Apaleo at the core of its tech stack, Jakob and Marc integrated n8n and Make.com to eliminate repetitive tasks across the hotel. They started by automating room allocation, with invoice corrections following shortly afterwards. Instead of manually cancelling, editing and resending invoices, guests now provide the required information through a digital form. Once submitted, it is transferred to Apaleo, where corrected invoices are created automatically.

Payments were another area Jakob wanted to simplify. By introducing Apaleo Pay, he made payments a natural part of the hotel's day-to-day workflows. This eliminated much of the manual reconciliation and administrative work, creating a smoother experience for both staff and guests.

As automation became part of everyday operations, the focus naturally shifted towards making better use of the hotel's data. To gain deeper insights into financial performance, reporting and forecasting, SleepinRoomz added profitize to its Apaleo ecosystem. The AI-powered financial planning and analytics platform helps hoteliers optimise costs, increase revenue and make more informed business decisions.

Thanks to Apaleo's open APIs, profitize can access reservation and payment data in one place, making it easier to analyse and giving the team a clear view of business performance, thereby providing a reliable basis for decisions on staffing, budgeting and future investments.

Result: Greater efficiency, data-driven decisions and €140,000 in annual savings

Today, around 80% of SleepinRoomz's daily operations are fully automated. For Jakob, however, the real value goes far beyond the time savings that come with such a high degree of automation. Digitalisation has given the team a level of structure, transparency and control that simply wasn't there before.

“Our business finally has a clear structure thanks to the high level of digitalisation. That's exactly what we were missing before,”Jakob said.

The way decisions are made has also fundamentally changed. With profitize, the team now has a centralised view of key performance indicators, AI-powered forecasts and the hotel's financial performance. Instead of relying on experience or simply checking the bank account, they can identify opportunities earlier, plan with greater confidence and make better-informed business decisions.

The impact is visible across the entire operation. Despite maintaining an occupancy rate of more than 70%, clearly defined responsibilities and automated workflows have made the hotel easier to manage. Routine administrative tasks now happen largely in the background, allowing the team to spend more time with guests while keeping day-to-day work lean and efficient. Together, these improvements have enabled SleepinRoomz to save around €140,000 every year.

The administrative burden has been reduced significantly. Invoice corrections, which previously required several minutes of manual work for every request and occurred multiple times a day, are now processed automatically. Apaleo Pay has delivered similar improvements by automating payment reconciliation, processing and related back-office tasks, saving the team up to an hour of work every day.

“The connection between payments and the PMS gives us incredible transparency, greater accuracy and saves us a huge amount of time,” Jakob explained.

For Jakob personally, the transformation has been just as significant. What once required around 70 working hours each week now takes roughly 20. More importantly, he has gained a level of oversight and control that simply wasn't possible before. With reliable systems, connected data and well-established processes keeping the hotel running smoothly, he no longer needs to be involved in every operational detail. Instead, he can focus on new projects, long-term planning and strategic decisions that strengthen the hotel's future.

Looking ahead: Agentic operations

SleepinRoomz's digital transformation is far from over. With most day-to-day processes already automated, the next step is fine-tuning workflows and making AI a natural part of everyday hotel operations.

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Both Marc and Jakob are already using AI-powered email, WhatsApp and voice agents built on Apaleo. These agents can respond to guest enquiries autonomously, check live availability and rates, and create personalised offers without requiring manual input.

As AI becomes more deeply integrated into hotel operations, access to the right information becomes essential. Open platforms like Apaleo connect hotel systems, providing access to live information across the hotel. This enables AI agents to take on more complex tasks over time, while solutions like profitize help hoteliers turn that information into faster, more confident decisions.

“Data is becoming more important. The better and more accurately I can access and analyse my data, especially when it comes to forecasting, the better the decisions I can make and the better I can plan for the future of my hotel,” Marc concluded..

A dive into the tech stack of SleepinRoomz:

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Browse apps in the Apaleo Store:

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