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About The Central House
The Central House is a chain of premium hostels that provide the services and amenities of a hotel – bars, restaurants, pool – but with the ethos of a hostel. They welcome 200,000 guests every year across their six properties located in five countries. When searching for a new property management system, The Central House was looking for a cloud-based solution that would enable an improved guest experience through payment automation and effective personalization.
"Mews is incredibly easy to use. The Open API is fantastic - rather than spending thousands of euros on a new integration, you can be up and running with a new app in just two days."
Mews Payments transformed staff's day-to-day
Challenge
The lack of a modern payment solution hinders operational efficiency, increases the risk of errors in transactions, and can lead to a subpar guest experience due to delays and limited payment options.
Solution
Mews Payments integrates all payment processes into one system, eliminating the need for multiple platforms. This creates a frictionless experience for both staff and guests staying at The Central House. All bookings and payments can be centralized in the head office, and there are no longer difficulties in managing and transferring multiple currencies. Plus, all transactions are secure and compliant with industry standards, protecting sensitive payment information.
Result
- 6 hours saved per week by every front of house staff through automation
- The hostels are almost entirely cashless
- 93% of payments are automated
More personalized guest interactions, from emails to front desk
Challenge
Traditional check-in processes and generic guest engagement methods often focus on transactional interactions rather than meaningful ones, weakening the guest experience.
Solution
Mews Operations allows The Central House staff to be flexible and accommodating when they welcome guests. If the reception is busy, staff can take guests to a quieter area where they sit down together and check in with a tablet. It's also easy to send emails prior to arrival, leveraging pre-captured guest data and smart upselling tools to begin a more personalized, targeted guest relationship.
Result
- 36% of guests buy upgrades during online check-in
- Guest ratings on Booking.com have increased from 9.0 to 9.2 in Barcelona, and 9.1 to 9.3 in Marrakech
"We start our relationship with the guest much earlier now, and the process is significantly easier than before. We can focus on welcoming our guests instead of handling check-in admin."
Integration spotlight
Through Mews Marketplace, The Central House uses several integrations, from customer management to business accounting.
ReviewPro
ReviewPro is a customer management tool that lets The Central House build effective in-stay or post-stay surveys to identify detailed insight into what guests like or dislike. Customized reports and alerts make it easy to act quickly on feedback, helping to boost their online reputation.
SiteMinder
The Central House uses SiteMinder to automate room and apartment distribution across a wide variety of OTA channels. Thanks to its live two-way connection with Mews, inventory is always kept up to date without the need for manual input, reducing workload and overbookings.