From legacy to cloud: How Best Western Premier Airporthotel transformed with Mews

By replacing a 20-year-old PMS, the hotel accelerated check-ins, increased revenue and built a more efficient, sustainable operation.

About Best Western Premier Airporthotel Berlin

Located just minutes from Berlin Brandenburg Airport, Best Western Premier Airporthotel Berlin welcomes business travelers, leisure guests, long-stay visitors and airport passengers. The hotel has 174 rooms, including suites and apartments, plus restaurant, bar, meeting facilities, sauna and gym. This diverse range of offerings makes operational efficiency essential.

But when Bee/Partment took over operations in 2023, they inherited a 20-year-old, server-based PMS that slowed teams down with manual, paper-heavy tasks. Not only did it pull attention away from guests, but the system didn't support the company’s sustainability goals.

So when BWH Hotels announced its partnership with Mews, the decision was clear. “As soon as Best Western partnered with Mews, we immediately wanted to switch from our legacy PMS,” says Daniel Klasing, CCO at Bee/Partment. “I called the team the same day to get started.”

With Mews, the hotel embraced a fully cloud-based platform that transformed day-to-day operations. Manual tasks disappeared, giving teams back valuable time. Every touchpoint, from online check-in to automated payments, became smoother and faster for both guests and staff. Mews also reinforced the hotel’s sustainability goals, while helping to drive higher revenue and long-term growth.

Cloud-based PMS unifies operations and boosts efficiency

Challenge

Best Western Premier Airporthotel relied on a 20-year-old, server-based PMS that required on-site access and manual processes. Because the system was inaccessible offsite, the hotel’s remote centralized reservations team was unable to support operations. Daily tasks such as printing registration cards, managing invoices in paper envelopes and manually handling reservations not only led to bottlenecks and inefficiencies, but were also misaligned with the hotel’s sustainability goals

“It was very old fashioned and didn’t meet our business goals or focus on sustainability,” says Daniel. “Our remote team couldn’t support the hotel because they needed to work on the server.”

Solution

Switching to Mews replaced the legacy system with a modern, cloud-based PMS, which meant the platform was accessible anytime and from anywhere. The centralized reservations team could now support the property remotely, freeing the on-site front office from reservation handling. Mews also eliminated paperwork by digitizing registration, invoicing and communication.

Result

• Remote reservations team fully supports the property
• Front office freed from manual admin tasks
• Operations run more efficiently with significantly less paper usage

Premium 24/7 support and self-guided online training ensure smooth onboarding

Challenge

Switching from a legacy PMS to a modern cloud system can feel like a big adjustment, especially as staff learn new workflows, payment automations and the BWH Hotels' processes.

Solution

Mews University provided self-guided online training and interactive live workshops. Best Western Premier Airporthotel also benefited from 24/7 premium support, with a live expert available to respond to any questions or issues in under one minute after go-live.

Result

• Smooth onboarding with minimal disruption to guest experience
• Core operations mastered within a few weeks, with full system adoption within three months
• Fast resolution of issues during and after go-live

Digital, self check-in/out speeds up processes and lets staff focus on guests

Challenge

With the hotel’s previous PMS, check-in was slow, clunky and paper-heavy, often taking up to 10 minutes per guest. Visitors had to complete printed registration forms, while staff manually typed in details, processed paperwork and handled printouts. First impressions of the hotel were anything but smooth.

Solution

Mews Kiosk and digital check-in/out transformed the arrival experience. Two kiosks enabled fast, flexible arrivals, letting guests choose self-service or staff assistance as needed. This freed staff to focus on genuine guest interactions instead of paperwork.

What’s more, the digital platform enabled upsell opportunities that were previously missed. Visitors are offered parking during online check-in, leading to a 15% increase in parking revenue, while also enhancing guest convenience.

Result

• Check-in reduced from 10 minutes to just 1
• 15% increase in parking revenue
• 30% guests self check-in and 50% guests self check-out with kiosks

Mews advances sustainability goals by digitizing and automating key processes

Challenge

Paper-heavy processes, like printed registration cards, invoices and envelopes, slowed operations and didn’t support the hotel’s sustainability goals. The legacy PMS also lacked the ability to automate housekeeping schedules, making the hotel’s environmentally conscious non-daily cleaning policy difficult to manage.

Solution

Mews digitized workflows and automated housekeeping schedules. With Mews Flexkeeping, rooms are now automatically marked for cleaning only when necessary, eliminating confusion, reducing unnecessary staff effort and minimizing environmental impact.

Result

• Reduced paper usage across check-in, check-out and back-office operations
• Automated housekeeping scheduling, which boosts efficiency and supports the hotel’s sustainable cleaning policy

Payment automation improves accuracy, revenue and guest experience

Challenge

Payments and reconciliation were previously handled manually, resulting in errors, inconsistencies and time-consuming financial management. Staff often couldn’t provide immediate answers to guests about charges, and advanced purchase bookings were not processed reliably.

Solution

Mews Payments automated all transactions, while integration with Omniboost streamlined accounting and end-of-month reporting.

Result

• Up to 50% potential time savings for finance teams
• Fewer guest billing errors and faster issue resolution
• Automated charging for advanced purchase bookings

Seamless integration with BWH Hotels' CRS enhances loyalty and streamlines operations

Challenge

Before Mews, handling Best Western Rewards loyalty program members and corporate bookings was manual and error-prone. Staff had to enroll members in the PMS separately, reconcile reservations and manage cancellations and payments across multiple platforms, leading to inefficiencies, mistakes and friction.

Solution

The two-way integration between the BWH Hotels' CRS and Mews automated these processes. Reservations, loyalty member data and corporate bookings now flow seamlessly between systems, while rate, payment and cancellation policies sync automatically. Staff can see loyalty members at check-in, manage enrollments quickly and always rely on accurate, up-to-date guest data.

“The integration with Best Western CRS is very stable and reliable. It makes managing reservations and loyalty data across properties much easier,” says Daniel.

Result

• Instant member recognition and simplified enrollment 
• Automated reservation syncing reduces errors and saves staff time
• Consistent, accurate cancellation and payment policies improve operational efficiency and guest experience

Looking ahead

With Mews, Best Western Premier Airporthotel Berlin now operates on a future-ready, scalable platform that aligns with both BWH Hotels' and Bee/Partment's growth ambitions. The seamless integration with the BWH Hotels' CRS, automation of key processes and digital guest journey lay the groundwork for expanding to more properties and managing increasingly complex business segments.

“Moving to a cloud-based system like Mews has completely transformed our operations and guest experience,” says Daniel.