GuestHouse Hotels customer story

GuestHouse Hotels transform guest experience with Mews

Dutch hotel brand achieves big earnings through an upselling integration, improved the guest journey, and cleaned up their processes.

increase in direct bookings

45%

thanks to Mews Booking Engine

earned per month

€9,000

through upselling

of guests use online check-in

30% +

before they arrive

About GuestHouse Hotels

GuestHouse Hotels consists of two hotels in the Dutch town of Kaatsheuvel: GuestHouse Hotel and Hotel de Kroon. The company has been using Mews since 2017 and hosts over 75,000 guests every year. The brand combines the casual atmosphere of a guesthouse with the professional service of a hotel, with a guest-centric focus and a mixture of rooms and dorms. More than anything, they encourage guests to relax and enjoy a ‘hotel where you can be yourself’.

When choosing a new PMS, the team at GuestHouse was always thinking about the guest first. Rather than looking for specific features, GuestHouse Hotels knew that their new PMS had to improve the happiness of both guests and staff. This meant improving the guest journey from start to finish through a user-friendly, cloud-based platform that staff could learn quickly, with the ability to connect to other hospitality tools.

Removing cost with the Mews Housekeeping app

Pain

Previously, GuestHouse Hotels outsourced their housekeeping to a cleaning company.

Solution

In order to improve performance, reduce costs and make the most out of Mews, the hotels invested in tablets for every housekeeping cart and trained their own team on how to use the Mews housekeeping app.

Instead of a physical rooming list that has to be taken from housekeeping to reception and filled in manually, front desk staff are updated instantly via the app when rooms are cleaned. This means that if a guest wants to check in early, front desk staff can instantly see if a room is available and inspected.

Result

• Automatic updates on rooms for front of house
• No outsourcing costs
• Improved performance and guest satisfaction

“We want the hospitality industry to change for the better, to improve for the guests, so we have a lot of companies come over and we give them presentations about Mews! If we can help somebody make a good decision about their system, we’re happy.”

Coen Schelfhorst, Owner

Guesthouse Hotels

Mews Booking Engine increases direct bookings by 45%

Pain

When GuestHouse started Hotel de Kroon, they used a temporary booking engine for the first four months. In addition, traditional processes such as front desk check-ins meant that it was difficult for staff to be flexible for guests.

Solution

Moving to the Mews Booking Engine resulted in a sharp rise in direct bookings, meaning that the hotel received more direct bookings than through OTAs. Many guests use online check-in and check-out, and upon arrival, front desk staff now have the ability to come out from behind the desk and engage with guests more personably using laptops or tablets, with more time to ask meaningful questions.

Result

• 45% increase in direct bookings, making 60% total
• 30%+ of guests use online check-in
• 9.2 guest experience index on ReviewPro

“Guests tell us that the flow from reservation to stay to billing is a very logical and smooth experience. Mews plays a big part in that – it’s all about the guest.”

Coen Schelfhorst, Owner

GuestHouse Hotels

€9,000 per month revenue through a single integration

Pain

With multiple technologies used to power the hotel operations, Guesthouse were looking for a PMS that could robustly integrate with different providers and vendors.

Solution

Building a powerful tech stack was important for GuestHouse Hotels, and they have benefited from the 800+ integrations on offer via Mews Marketplace, available at no connection cost, many of which are plug-and-play. One of these integrations was Oaky, a leading upselling solution.

Guests are sent pre-arrival emails with practical upselling items like pushchairs for children and a rain package with umbrellas and ponchos. Because GuestHouse asks for lots of guest feedback, they are able to offer items that they know will be successful, meaning that emails through Oaky have a high conversion rate, generating significant extra income.

Result

• Up to €9,000 every month in upselling revenue
• Email conversion rate of 70% (compared to 8% for normal emails)
• Integrated custom chatbot by using open API

GuestHouse - 1076x1352 - Body Image 3 (1)

“I really couldn’t believe that with a few buttons, you could get an integration. I remember the days that if wanted an integration, it would cost you about €2,000 and six days of consultancy work.”

Coen Schelfhorst, Owner

Guesthouse Hotels

Integration spotlight

GuestHouse Hotels use nine integrations, from POS (point of sale) to dining reservations.

Pace

Pace is a revenue management tool that automates pricing and allows staff to devote more of their time to guests. GuestHouse trialed two revenue management tools, one in each hotel, to test which had better results, which ultimately led to implementing Pace across both properties.

Learn more

Looking ahead

By choosing Mews, Guesthouse Hotels has put their customer at the heart of its technology strategy. Gone are the manual tasks and the company is building out an integration strategy that is demonstrably impacting the bottom line.

With technology removing operating roadblocks the team can focus on being 'human', building relationships and ultimately driving loyalty so that guests can't wait to return.