How smart hotel tech transformed WestCord Hotels
Major Dutch hotel chain embrace agile technology to digitalize their operations, from housekeeping to reservations.
WestCord Hotels customer story
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35%
of guests use online check-in
100%
paperless housekeeping
4 min
saved per check-in
About WestCord Hotels
WestCord Hotels is a Dutch hotel group who have been providing rooms for guests since 1968. The brand has 15 hotels across the Netherlands, in both city center locations such as Amsterdam, as well as in rural areas.
As well as providing outstanding hospitality, sustainability is core to WestCord’s beliefs. Their hotels are Green Key certified and have actioned a huge number of eco-friendly practices over recent years. Moving to a property management system that enabled green hospitality was key for the hotel chain, as was the use of technology to enable more efficient, guest-centric stays.
When it comes to marketing, their focus remains on Dutch customers and neighboring countries who can arrive by car or train.
“What I really liked about Mews is that I saw that that the new generation, the 16-17-year-old students, understood the system immediately because of its logical flow of work.”
WestCord Hotels clean up with Flexkeeping
Challenge
WestCord Hotels wanted their housekeeping team to go fully paperless as part of their sustainability goals. They also wanted to improve communication and make the team more efficient.
Solution
Flexkeeping was implemented to streamline housekeeping, eliminate paperwork and reduce the risk of human error. It's also helped boost overall efficiency and support sustainability efforts. With access to accurate, real-time data, WestCord Hotels can now make more informed decisions, leading to faster response times to guest requests and better performance.
Result
- 100% paperless housekeeping
- 30% increase in rooms ready by 3 PM at Hotel Jakarta in Amsterdam
"We were looking for a better way to manage day-to-day operations, especially housekeeping. Flexkeeping turned out to be the perfect fit."
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An agile, remarkable guest experience
Challenge
The traditional guest journey is inflexible and transactional. It often means long queues at reception during peak times, and staff are stuck performing impersonal administrative tasks.
Solution
Mews allows WestCord to provide a dynamic, personal guest experience. Many guests choose to check in online before arrival while the reception team has the flexibility to check in guests away from the front desk, in a more comfortable setting – and the same is true for checking out.
Result
- 35% of guests use online check-in
- Average check-in time has improved from six to two minutes
- Bills can be settled on mobile from anywhere, so guests can skip the queue at check-out
“My staff is better prepared at the beginning of the shift. They know who's coming and why they're coming. There's far more interaction between the guest and the hotel before the arrival.”
Time savings that benefit staff and guests
Challenge
With legacy hospitality software, staff are tied up in repetitive, manual tasks that take their time away from more important areas such as the guest experience.
Solution
Mews automates many of the administrative tasks that were previously time-consuming for staff. For instance, no night audit means that the Night Manager now prepares for the morning shift instead, and employees have been redeployed to areas where they better serve the hotels’ guests.
Result
- Automation saves the equivalent of one reservations employee per hotel, who can be better deployed providing excellent guest service
- Major time savings across multiple departments, resulting in better prepared, more effective teams
“Check-out and billing is really quick and friendly for both us and our guests. On a busy day, I can walk around, greet people, talk to them and settle their bills on my phone immediately, right before or after they have breakfast. Guests love it because they don't have to wait in line.”
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Make it remarkable.
Ready to take the first step towards a more efficient, flexible, guest-centric approach to hospitality?