Germany: Serviced apartment brand SMARTments business is collaborating with open software platform apaleo.
SMARTments says the apaleo platform links together all of the technology necessary for the brand’s business operations and property management. This includes all the systems pertaining to the guest journey, from booking and reservations to sending out an invoice and processing payments.
It also includes flexible room management with the planning of inventory adjustments, reservation and rate management, as well as the processes for accounting and invoicing. The platform also enables operational planning and optimisation of staff tasks. Most importantly, apaleo enables unlimited integration possibilities to all of the best hospitality software, third-party applications, and makes it easy to create custom in-house solutions.
apaleo powers all six SMARTments business properties, with a total of 752 rooms in Munich, Vienna, Hamburg, and Berlin (Prenzlauer Berg, Karlshorst, and City West). The software integration will also be implemented during the construction phase for the properties in Mannheim and again Vienna, which will open next year. The same applies to all properties planned as part of the company’s further expansion, including Frankfurt Airport.
“The cooperation with apaleo is the central component of our digitisation strategy,” said Burak Ünver, managing director of SMARTments business: “Our brand has relied heavily on automated processes since our start. However, our experience during the Corona-pandemic has amplified our technology adoption to meet guest needs. For example, contactless check-in and check-out has become a vital criterion for booking for many guests.” Against this background, serviced apartments with kitchen facilities are particularly ideal for travel in times of a pandemic. Which enables meal-preparation much easier with individual kitchens.
Ulrich Pillau, co-founder of apaleo, said: “Our software pursues two goals at once. On the one hand, thanks to digitalization, the needs of guests are able to be met even more precisely and effectively. On the other hand, cost savings are to be enabled and passed on, benefiting both guests and operators. The payment processes, and thus the billing, also run via apaleo. The hotel operators must be able to rely on the fact that we have all relevant procedures in view and control.”
Both parties say the cooperation between SMARTments business and apaleo is particularly effective because both companies simultaneously cooperate with hotelbird, which has developed a digital key that allows guests to open the room door using their smartphones. In addition, hotelbird is setting up self-service terminals throughout SMARTments business-properties where guests can check-in and use pay contactless payments without using a smartphone.
The hotelbird terminals generate contactless key cards for the room. “This means that even smartphone avoiders and unlucky people with defective or lost devices can still check into the room without contact,” said Daniel Zawe, commercial director at SMARTments business. “Our technology stack is the perfect example of how all digitisation options should interact with each other for the benefit of guests. SMARTments business, apaleo, and hotelbird are the perfect trio.”</p
