b_smart’s growth with a scalable and modern tech stack

What started as an in-house tech innovation for their own hotels has become a powerful blueprint that’s catching the attention of hoteliers across the industry. b_smart is a forward-thinking hotel group with around 25 of its own properties in the DACH region, having built a cutting-edge reception hub that consolidates all essential front-office tasks into one centralised location. The reception hub is fully digital, runs 24/7, and is designed for maximum efficiency. From phone and email support to handling reservations, registration, and guest cards, as well as distribution and numerous back-office tasks, all of this is centralised by b_smart in one place. This keeps processes streamlined, ensures quick response times, and guarantees that guests are always given the best possible care.

With b_smart services, this proven concept is now even available to hoteliers, hosts, and serviced apartment operators. These partners benefit from this fully digital, centrally managed reception available 24/7, a perfectly aligned tech stack, and a service model that is already delivering results across a total of over 65 properties. The billing model is as flexible as the operation itself: instead of fixed costs, partners pay a transparent share of their actual revenue. This means that costs automatically adjust to occupancy and season, offering a fair, predictable, and entirely risk-free approach. The outcome is a scalable service structure that grows with your hotel business, activates as needed, and ensures full performance and cost control. And the impact is definitely clear: smoother operations, reduced labor costs, increased profits, and the peace of mind that your guests will always enjoy reliable service, no matter the staffing situation.

Switching to Apaleo: building a modern and scalable tech stack

As b_smart expanded to over 65 properties, their tech stack needed to evolve too. For Roman Lengwiler, Head of Service Solutions, and Peter Ritsch, Head of Services Partner, it quickly became clear that their existing PMS solution had reached its limits. Missing interfaces, limited flexibility, and restricted development options were making daily operations increasingly complex and no longer aligned with their digital strategy.

We spoke with Roman and Peter about their journey. They shared with us how the switch to Apaleo was successfully executed and how they built a modern best-of-breed tech stack using RoomPriceGenie and straiv. The result? A powerful technology foundation that gives b_smart greater flexibility and long-term agility, while streamlining internal workflows for staff and delivering a smooth, end-to-end guest experience.

“As part of a large-scale project, we took a deep dive into our tech stack, analysing, challenging, and rethinking every component from the ground up. I already knew Apaleo from the past, so we understood exactly what was possible with the platform and the kind of efficiency gains we could unlock,” Roman explained.

Challenge: Manual, process-heavy payment workflows

Through the years, b_smart’s payment handling became increasingly time-consuming and inefficient. The existing workflows were fragmented and lacked automation, impacting not only speed, but also the reliability and accuracy of transactions. On top of that, the processes were only loosely integrated with accounting, leading to additional admin overhead and a higher risk of errors.

As the hotel group prepared for further growth, it became clear that the payment handling needed a complete redesign and a more modern, automated approach.

Solution: Automated payment processing with Apaleo Pay

With Apaleo Pay, b_smart has completely modernised and automated its payment workflows. Its seamless integration with Apaleo directly links reservations to accounting, streamlining processes and noticeably reducing manual effort. As a result, processes now run more smoothly, transparently, and efficiently, while operational workload for staff has been noticeably reduced. At the same time, b_smart has established a future-proof tech foundation that can evolve continuously and flexibly adapt to new business requirements.

The implementation of Apaleo Pay was fast and hassle-free, with minimal administrative effort. Any questions or requests were handled quickly and professionally by the support team.

Result: Fewer errors, higher efficiency, and time savings for guests

Thanks to Apaleo Pay, b_smart has streamlined accounting and payment handling, significantly reducing manual effort. Payments are now automatically recorded, processes run reliably, and common sources of error have been eliminated. As a concrete result, manual booking steps that once took up to three minutes can today be completed automatically in just a few seconds.

This efficiency extends to the guest experience as well: payments no longer need to be made on-site during self-check-in. Instead, guests can pay in advance using a range of convenient payment methods, resulting in a faster, safer, and more seamless check-in experience, one that sets the tone for a smooth and stress-free stay.

Challenge: Static pricing and untapped revenue potential

Before implementing a revenue management system (RMS), b_smart relied on a simplified pricing model, based mainly on weekend vs. weekday rates. There was little to no dynamic or automated pricing in place, and yield management wasn’t actively applied. While this approach reduced manual workload in the short term, it ultimately led to missed revenue opportunities, squeezed margins, and lower occupancy rates.

At the same time, it became increasingly clear that static and manual pricing no longer matched the realities of a fast-moving hospitality market. b_smart needed a smart RMS to build an automated, data-driven pricing strategy, fully aligned with their broader goals of automation, standardisation, and scalability.

Solution: Simple and intuitive revenue management with RoomPriceGenie

b_smart deliberately chose RoomPriceGenie as their RMS for its ease, flexibility, and efficiency in managing pricing for small to mid-sized hotel groups. Thanks to Apaleo’s open APIs, the integration was quick and required minimal technical effort.

“For us and our service partners, efficiency and ease of use are key. There are more complex RMS solutions out there, but they require specialised resources that simply aren’t viable for every property. RoomPriceGenie strikes the perfect balance between control, automation, and usability,” Roman mentioned.

Beyond the functionality, b_smart was also impressed by the collaborative approach: feedback was taken seriously, co-developed improvements were implemented quickly, and new features were rolled out with a clear focus on real operational needs.

Result: More control, less effort, and a revenue manager who can finally breathe easy

Since integrating RoomPriceGenie, b_smart’s pricing has become highly automated. The central revenue manager just needs to monitor performance across all properties occasionally, stepping in only when necessary. This has significantly reduced manual work while maintaining full control.

In addition, advanced features like segmentation and yielding are used regularly, enabling b_smart to increase revenue and optimise occupancy with far less hands-on effort.

“We’re absolutely convinced it adds real value,” Peter added.

Challenge: High manual workload and a fragmented guest journey

Although b_smart had embraced a digital guest journey from the outset, the manual workload for staff remained significant. Time-consuming and repetitive tasks, such as sending invoices and booking confirmations, still had to be handled manually. During busy periods or staff absences, delays were thereby common, often impacting guest satisfaction.

On top of that, the guest journey was fragmented across multiple tools: the digital guestbook was only accessible via a QR code, check-in happened through a kiosk, and invoices or booking confirmations were generated directly from the PMS. This complexity was not only challenging for staff, but it was also clearly noticeable to guests.

Solution: Automation and seamless experiences with the integration of straiv

By integrating straiv, a tool for creating a digital guest journey as part of the Apaleo tech stack, b_smart was able to deliver a seamless digital guest experience. Automated workflows now handle tasks such as sending invoices and booking confirmations.

Also, in properties equipped with the necessary technology, mobile keys further enhance the digital experience, adding convenience and efficiency throughout the guest’s stay.

Result: Greater efficiency and a seamless guest journey — cancellation confirmations in just 30 seconds

With straiv, b_smart has been able to drastically reduce, and in many cases fully eliminate, the manual effort involved in managing the digital guest journey. For instance, a cancellation confirmation that once took up to a full day is now automatically sent to the guest within just 30 seconds, with no manual intervention required.

The automated processes run seamlessly and error-free, powered by Apaleo’s open APIs, ensuring a flawless alignment between data and workflows.

Today, straiv covers all key touchpoints along the guest journey at b_smart, from booking confirmations and digital registration forms to invoice delivery, all managed through a single, centralised interface. This ensures a consistently smooth and accessible guest journey, delivering a noticeably enhanced experience.

Looking ahead

By consistently standardising and automating their custom-built tech stack, b_smart is now able to move faster and scale more efficiently. This not only supports the long-term growth, it also enabled the rapid chain rollout of over 65 properties in just three months.

“Our current setup forms the foundation for staying competitive in the future. It gives us the flexibility to keep evolving, implement tailored solutions, integrate new technologies, and continuously optimise our processes. That’s how we create the conditions to grow, with new hotels and strong service partners,” Roman shared.

b_smart is now focused on further evolving its tech stack, developing custom solutions, expanding automation and standardisation, while refining tools for its partners. Among other things, new Apaleo-based tools are being developed to give partners more efficient access to reporting and business intelligence.

The existing tech stack, featuring Apaleo, RoomPriceGenie, and straiv, thereby remains the shared foundation for all partners. It was developed by an interdisciplinary core team, going through a structured selection and pilot phase to ensure a robust, scalable, and future-proof solution.

“Our service depends on a reliable tech stack. That’s the only way we can guarantee high standards for our partners. Every new tool and improvement builds on this foundation, that’s how we can keep enhancing and adapting our services with full flexibility,” Peter explained.

Keen to connect, get inspired, and explore smart hotel tech?

Then join us on the road with b_smart, RoomPriceGenie, and straiv as we tour through Innsbruck, Linz, Graz, and Vienna! From September 2nd to 5th, we’ll be part of the HotelTech Roadshow hosted by Each Hotel.

Gain hands-on insights into smart best practices and see how technology not only streamlines operations but also gives you the freedom to shape your hotel experience exactly in the way you want.

Grab your free ticket here!