Less admin, more revenue: HOLI City Apart Hotel's success on Mews

About HOLI City Apart Hotel

HOLI City Apart Hotel, a family-run property in Berlin, has been welcoming guests since 2010. Housed in a former government building, the hotel and its restaurant continuously find ways to innovate hospitality. Sustainability is a core value at HOLI City Apart Hotel, with a carbon-neutral energy supply that covers most of their energy needs through solar power. They also partner with Too Good To Go to combat food waste. With a small but dedicated team of 20, they needed a PMS that could support their seamless, guest-centric approach.

The decision to switch from HS3 to Mews was mainly driven by the ability to automate tasks and connect to over 1,000 integrations without any connection fees.

Overcoming PMS switching anxiety

Challenge

The prospect of migrating data from their previous system and switching to a new PMS in December - one of the busiest time of year - kept some team members up at night.

Solution

The onboarding was very structured, with clear deadlines and comprehensive task lists guiding the team through the transition. The team found training through Mews University particularly effective, as the role-based courses mirror the actual interface and tasks. Live sessions helped deepen their understanding of the system, making it easy for everyone to get up to speed quickly. And for quick questions, the team relies on the Mews chatbot, which effortlessly directs them to the right Help articles.

Result

• On the day of migration, all data was successfully transferred within a few hours
• The whole process was straightforward and user-friendly

Boosting revenue with Atomize

Challenge

With fluctuating demand and the need for real-time data, manual revenue management is no longer viable - especially in competitive markets like Berlin.

Solution

With 12 different room types, HOLI City Apart Hotel uses Atomize to dynamically adjust pricing based on real-time market demand. While their previous PMS limited Atomize's capabilities, switching to Mews unlocked its full potential. For a family-run hotel without 24/7 revenue management, this is a game-changer. When Taylor Swift announces a concert or the NFL schedules a game in Berlin, no one is awake to react, but Atomize has them covered. It analyzes market trends, competitor pricing and historical data, ensuring they stay competitive without manual intervention.

Result

• A team member previously responsible for revenue management can now focus on improving guest experience

From manual to automated with Mews Payments

Challenge

Their previous PMS couldn't process virtual credit cards, forcing the team to spend an hour each day manually handling payments. It led to inefficiencies and human error.

Solution

With Mews Payments, automation took over, freeing staff to focus on guests rather than data entry. Check-in became smoother, as guests could complete everything (including payment) in advance through automated communication. Automated pre-payments also make it easy to post additional charges when needed, such as for room damages. To further streamline transactions, the team adopted Mews Terminal S2, an all-in-one payment terminal that integrates ePOS functionality with payment processing capabilities.

Result

• 1 hour saved daily by automating virtual credit card processing
• More guest-oriented focus due to reduced admin work
• Staff can take orders and process payments from one singular device

Mews POS reduces the complexity of F&B operations

Challenge

Complexity in the POS system can significantly increase costs, as managing various systems and transactions requires more time and resources.

Solution

Mews POS transformed HOLI City Apart Hotel's operations, particularly on the bookkeeping side. Now, tracking sales is effortless, as the system consolidates all transaction data into a single, streamlined output for their bookkeeping office. Every morning, the manager receives a detailed report covering product sales, POS revenue and more. Even months later, retrieving an invoice copy is quick and hassle-free.

Result

• Simplified accounting processes
• Remote access to real-time POS reports

Making group and family stays a breeze

Challenge

A team member who handled group bookings used to dread the process - it was complicated and time-consuming to calculate everything manually.

Solution

Atomize provides a powerful tool for simplifying group booking pricing. The team can easily factor in F&B costs for events like weddings and family gatherings, which helps adjust room pricing accordingly. Mews makes it effortless to link rooms and bookings to a group, assign a booker separately from the payer and split payments with ease. Setting up invoices and managing group bookings - whether combining or separating them - is seamless, making front desk operations much more efficient.

Result

• Simplified management of group bookings

Integration spotlight

HOLI City Apart Hotel wanted flexibility in choosing hospitality solutions without incurring high integration costs. Mews Marketplace enables them to effortlessly test and implement new technologies. 

Betterspace

Betterspace helps hotels drive sustainability with smart solutions, from guest communication to energy management and hotel infrastructure. Their technology improves efficiency, reduces waste and supports eco-friendly hospitality.

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Datev

The Mews to Datev connection, powered by Omniboost, enables seamless accounting data transfer between both systems. At HOLI City Apart Hotel, it automates the export of financial data into a format that can be easily imported into their accounting software, ensuring accuracy and efficiency.

Learn more