Our hotel of the month in December is the ahead Burghotel, located between Berlin and Hamburg in the middle of the UNESCO biosphere reserve Flusslandschaft Elbe. From the room furnishings to the hotel kitchen, the ahead Burghotel consistently focuses on sustainability, ecology and digitalization.
An important component of the sustainable strategy is digitization. This is where the ahead Burghotel relies on a paperless reception and informs hotel guests digitally about tours, insider tips and so on. In addition, guests check-in either before arrival via their own smartphone or via a tablet at the reception. The administration and processing of the registration forms is completely digital.
The digital solutions make work easier for hotel staff, as many work steps have been automated – creating more flexibility for hotel guests and staff.
We interviewed Jonas Mog, one of the managing directors of ahead Burghotel, about the hotel concept and the use of digital solutions.
How do you get your guests to check in digitally in advance or fill out the registration form?
Guest Journey Messaging from straiv by CODE2ORDER plays a major role in communicating with our guests. With the large selection of messages, we explicitly point out the check-in to our hotel guests. This works very well for us. Already with other providers, such as airlines for example, there is also no other option left like checking in online. Therefore we are convinced that the hospitality industry will also follow this example and that hotel guests will adapt and be more aware of these developments.
For us, the digitalization of the check-in process means that we can create this in a whole experience in a completely new and relaxed manner for our guests.
We also work a lot with QR codes. For example, on the mirror in the hotel room. When hotel guests remember that they need an extra towel or have other requests, they can simply take their own smartphone and send a request to us.
What do you do when guests haven't checked in via smartphone?
We try to work completely paperless and save paper wherever it is possible. This means that we also rely on the Digital Registration Form during check-in at the reception desk. This can be filled out quite conveniently on a tablet while enjoying a welcome drink. We also show our site plan directly on the tablet – the complete check-in is accompanied by digital aids. This way we save paper and also unnecessary administrative tasks.
Anyone who has worked at the reception desk knows the scenario: You can’t always decipher the handwriting, and you always have to check whether all the information has been entered correctly. The digital solution eliminates all that. We can’t imagine anything else, as it is a great relief for us.
What are your future plans in terms of digital projects, what else do you want to implement?
We are currently planning to upgrade to a digital door opening system. We want to realize this project with our partners straiv by CODE2ORDER and Salto. With this, we want to enable our guests to open the room doors simply via their own smartphone. In addition, we would like to add to our Digital Guest Directory a chatbot to enable active communication with our guests.
What advantages do you see specifically in the straiv by CODE2ORDER solution?
It was very important for us that hotel guests don’t have to download an app, but that the whole check-in process can be done quickly and easily via the guests’ smartphones. What also excites me every month with straiv by CODE2ORDER are the updates. Improvements and new features are developed continuously. Things that are addressed are implemented and added quickly. You guys are really fun to work with. We’ll be sure to check out the latest update, the SMS-feature within the Guest Journey Messaging.
Digital systems in use
The ahead Burghotel uses the straiv by CODE2ORDER solution Digital Check-in & -out, as well as the Digital Guest Directory. The automation of the complete check-in process is done in cooperation with our partner apaleo (property management system).
