Haka House opens an exciting new chapter of tech-driven hospitality with Mews

Challenge

In October 2022, Haka House acquired nine former YHA properties that had been closed for over two years, many in remote environments and challenging weather conditions. The project involved implementing brand new systems and repairing key facilities, all while working on an extensive rebranding. 

Solution

Supported by Mews, the Haka House team redefined their customer experience proposition and adopted a group reservation model. They replaced manual processes, which were far from guest-centric, with a lean and integrated suite of Mews business tools: PMS, POS, Kiosk, Payments, and BI reporting. Mews also seamlessly integrates with the Haka House Customer app, handling pre-arrival check-ins and payments, as well as issuing digital keys to rooms and communal spaces. Optimizing the website was a key part of the rebranding effort. This has yielded excellent results, with HiJiffy, an AI-driven chatbot, driving booking conversions and ensuring 24/7 customer support. 

Result

• 4% full funnel conversion rate (2% is considered great)

• 21% online check-in rate

• 50% improvement on bounce rate and time on site 

Challenge

In addition to staffing shortages, managing hostels in remote areas makes it challenging to recruit and train staff. Teaching them to use a PMS takes up valuable time and energy from already busy colleagues. 

Solution

Implementation with Mews can be done remotely, bringing down costs and speeding up onboarding time. Training with Mews University was a game-changer for Haka House, enabling remote teams across 14 properties to learn the system. Combined with video training, their teams could quickly and efficiently upskill while adopting the new tech suite. Role-specific learning paths empowered them to navigate Mews Hospitality Cloud independently, ensuring confident platform usage across the board.

Result

• Fast and remote staff training across 14 properties

Challenge

Before Mews, Haka House struggled with a lack of actionable data to drive their business forward. The team wanted easy, immediate access to their data. Building an integrated tech ecosystem was also high on their priority list. 

Solution

Mews offers a wide selection of easy-to-use reports. Haka House enjoys free, immediate access to all hostel data, including reservations, availability, room/bed status and customer information. From distribution to revenue management, they’ve connected various hospitality solutions across multiple departments via Mews Marketplace. The best part? The team can integrate their tech directly into the Mews ecosystem, relying on automation to avoid manual data migration. These streamlined, data-rich integrations provide a much greater understanding of the metrics that drive their business.

Result

• 20+ dynamic reports in Mews, easily accessed from property dashboard

• 10+ integrations

• A flexible tech stack built on hospitality’s best solutions