YHA Australia gets big results through automation
YHA Australia (member of the global youth hostel association Hostelling International) completed a tech transformation during the most challenging time in its history due to the pandemic.
YHA Australia customer story
payment request completion rate
87%
booking engine conversion.
16%
in multiple properties
chargeback rate
0.04%
About YHA Australia
YHA Australia is the largest provider of low-cost travel accommodation in Australia, with more than 45 properties across the country in urban and regional areas. Each year they welcome guests from over 80 nationalities and they currently have around 8,000 beds available through Mews, and in a normal year, YHA records well over a million overnight stays in Australia.
Stays at YHA are a holistic experience: community and culture are hugely important, as is a focus on regenerative sustainable travel. With a vast number of beds and stays, the group requires a robust and modern cloud-based hospitality solution that empowers them with integrated digital tools to operate efficiently while keeping guests happy.
The benefits of their recent technology transformation include driving operating efficiencies, reducing costs, and delivering new capabilities to boost revenue, improve customer service and scale quickly for when the travel market returns post-pandemic.
“We’ve been able to turn a crisis into an opportunity to grow our capabilities and transform our whole tech stack in 12 months, giving us a modern operational platform to adapt to modern guest requirements quickly and deliver huge efficiencies internally. Mews is a big part of our transformation, as it gives us the power to be more agile and aligns with our motto: simpler, leaner and stronger.”
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A summer of rapid onboarding
Challenge
Implementing new hospitality clouds has – traditionally – been a lengthy process that disrupts operations.
Solution
Onboarding with Mews can be done completely remotely with a comprehensive timeline agreed upon in a welcome call. Because it’s entirely cloud-based, there is no onsite installation required, and the set-up, testing and training can be undertaken online without interference to the outgoing PMS.
Result
• The first 21 properties went live over three months in 2021, with many more to come
• Remote onboarding meant that properties could go live despite the country’s strict Covid regulations and lockdowns
Easy connection with enterprise solutions
Challenge
YHA Australia is a large membership organization with over 400,000 members, which creates vast amounts of guest data that could be difficult to manage and analyze.
Solution
Mews Open API gives YHA Australia the power to easily connect to powerful enterprise solutions. They developed a scalable integration using the MuleSoft API platform, which seamlessly integrates Mews and enterprise software, such as Salesforce, Pardot and Microsoft Dynamics. With Salesforce as a CRM, they can view KPIs such as lifetime value and guest spend with reliable data that comes from Mews and other sources.
Result
• Custom and reusable APIs can be built to Mews’ open platform, speeding up development
• Zero Mews connection fees for integrating or building new platforms
High conversions while promoting sustainability
Challenge
Converting website visitors to guests is difficult, with an average industry conversion rate of around 2%, and YHA Australia were hosting their own booking engine and PMS which meant continually maintaining code and expensive IT infrastructure.
Solution
The Mews Booking Engine is fully optimized for desktop and mobile, with a clean UI and simple user journey that encourages visitors to make their reservation. Because it’s fully managed by Mews, there’s no need to do any development whenever new browser versions are released. Moreover, any number of add-ons can be included in the user journey, allowing YHA Australia to promote their sustainability program. Upsell items include a donation to the Sustainable Fund and branded reusable water bottles.
Result
• 16% booking engine conversion rate in properties such as Port Macquarie and Alice Springs
“By embracing a cloud first strategy, we were able to significantly simplify our technology operations and investments and switch our focus to driving real value through innovation and less on keeping the lights on. Mews helps us to become more efficient operationally while also giving guests a smoother, frictionless stay. This frees up our team members to focus on engaging and servicing our guests.”
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Secure payment automation that cuts errors and fraud
Challenge
Processing payments manually is time-consuming and can lead to errors, while weak security can lead to money lost through fraud and chargebacks.
Solution
Mews Payments uses automation to digitalize manual processes such as inputting card details, printing receipts, and nightly reconciliation. It incorporates the highest industry security standards, including PCI DSS and 3D Secure authentication, greatly reducing the chances of card fraud, theft, or human error.
Result
• 100% of credit card transactions are automated with Mews Payments
• 0.03% of transactions are chargebacks (0.5% is the travel industry average chargeback value)
• 87% completion rate for payment requests (67% is the global average)
• Reduced administration and check-in time
Looking ahead
YHA Australia has an ambitious digitization plan, which already included replacing legacy systems with leading cloud-based alternatives such as Mews, Pace, Salesforce and MuleSoft.
This will allow the business to scale quickly and efficiently as they further optimize their hospitality technology ecosystem. The brand are also partnering with Intouch BI and Goki smart locks to drive further innovation, a low-cost operation and their revenue recovery.
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Make it remarkable.
Ready to take the first step towards a more efficient, flexible, guest-centric approach to hospitality?