Case Study: Classik Hotel Collection

The Museum Island, the Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom), the Television Tower, and the Berlin Wall – are just a few of the sights which attract numerous tourists to the German capital every year. Right in the middle of the lively city centre, which never seems to sleep, the Classik Hotel Collection offers an oasis of peace. The 4* boutique hotel “Alexander Plaza” and the limited-service hotel “Hackescher Markt” are located on the famous Hackescher Markt square and offer business guests and tourists a place where they can feel completely at home. 

Individuality, innovation, sustainability – for this hotel group, now 25 years old, these are the values it rates most highly and distinguish the five Classik Hotel Collection hotels in Berlin, Magdeburg, Cologne and Munich from conventional chain hotels. The hotel group also succeeds in combining a feeling of welcome, familiarity and cosiness with the professionalism of a large hotel chain.

Many employees of Classik Hotels have gained previous experience in large hotel chains. Still, the desire for more closeness and individuality has brought them to the family-run Classik Hotel Collection. This was the case for Eric Neumann, Managing Director of Classik Hotels Berlin: "By far the nicest aspect of my work is working with my colleagues. In previous jobs, I was often less operationally active and more of a project leader – so I missed the closeness and cooperation of teamwork. This interaction with the team, and the contact with our guests, is at the centre of all my work.” It stands to reason that every decision Neumann makes is aimed at improving his team's work and his guests' experience.

When looking for a new PMS, Neumann thought it was essential for the user interface to be designed as intuitively as possible so that new colleagues with little experience in hospitality could get swift access to critical systems and processes: "The situation on the employment market is different from how it used to be. We often train new staff in only two weeks – and that's not in an office at the back; it's at the front, at the front desk. I've had trainees who've been interacting with guests on their second day, even if it's for a short time. And that's when the PMS comes into play."

In Neumann's view, a good PMS should not just fulfil all the essential functions – that is a minimum requirement as far as he is concerned. It needs to support staff in offering guests the most pleasant experience possible and the best possible service. This could mean filling in the registration form, checking in and out, or settling the bill. "Since we transferred to Guestline, it's become clear that the new system makes interaction with the guests go more smoothly and naturally. That's the most important benefit for me," says Neumann, pleased. He says that one new staff member joined his team when the PMS transfer was introduced and needed considerably less induction training than other staff members had required with the old system. This proved to Neumann that he had made the right decision.

Even if a change of PMS is no walk in the park, as any hotelier should know, Eric Neumann has positive memories of it: "The transfer to Guestline was a well-supported process in our experience. Right from the start, we felt we could turn to Guestline with all our questions, and they always had staff on site to help us. We developed a strong personal relationship with them in this short but intensive period."

But Neumann and his team had some challenges: "Anybody who has ever experienced that sort of a transfer knows that data import and export involve a lot of work. At the same time, there is immense pressure on the team because, of course, the hotels don't close during the transfer. Our two hotels in Berlin went through the PMS transfer with over 85 per cent occupancy. In other words, we were working to capacity while putting the team through induction training and training them on the new PMS. That was a huge challenge, which we managed thanks to the continual support we had from Guestline. They had a project manager looking after the process from our side and monitoring the Guestline team simultaneously, enabling us to react very quickly to any stumbling blocks. It helped us a lot."

Thanks to Guestline, the guests' digital journey at Classik Hotels Berlin was further improved and more comprehensive. The journey begins when someone looks online for a booking option. The online booking system on the website can be used to enquire about availability, book rooms direct, select upgrades and make special requests. After the booking, guests are automatically sent a booking confirmation and a pre-stay email via GuestStay, and the latter offers them the opportunity to complete their registration form in advance. In this way, valuable time is saved at check-in, and the details are usually more accurate, complete, and recorded in the system immediately.

As a rule, guests can carry out the check-in process online in advance, so when they arrive at the hotel, they need only to pick up their room card. Guests then receive an account balance the evening before departure to check the bill and settle it online via GuestPay on their devices. Again, this saves time when checking out. Finally, guests receive a survey by email, and after giving some brief feedback, their journey is complete. So the whole digital guest journey is mapped out uniformly, brand-compliantly.

The Classik Hotel "Hackescher Markt" is part of a wider, innovative project. This limited-service hotel is the first in Germany to have installed a Guestline self-check-in kiosk. At the start of the project, Eric Neumann had doubts because about a year before, he had implemented a self-check-in kiosk in another company, and the guests' evaluations had immediately decreased by 2 points. One look at the Guestline kiosk made Neumann more confident: "My first impression of the self-check-in was that it was user-friendly and probably efficient. But I was still very cautious."

Fortunately, Neumann's doubts proved to be unfounded. His conclusion is positive, only a few weeks since the kiosk was introduced: "This project has made a fantastic start. I’m surprised to see how positively our guests receive the kiosk. Features I had viewed as more of a challenge don't pose a problem for the guests. The check-in process, in particular, is running smoothly and working well. When they come to check out, the guests are proactive and go straight to the kiosk to pay – that also surprised me."

The kiosk in the "Hackescher Markt" hotel is not staffed for most of the day, and guests who want to check out are not specifically directed to use the kiosk. However, in the first four weeks since the kiosk was introduced, not one guest has left the hotel without using it – and the feedback is consistently positive. The kiosk represents a huge reduction in work for the staff. Eric Neumann is now so positive about the kiosk that he has already ordered a second model.

Eric Neumann describes the transfer to Guestline as a very positive experience. Any challenges have been solved as a team, and stumbling blocks have cleared. In the end, one main benefit for Neumann and his team: "Guestline has helped us gain more time. I have more time for my team, and my team has more time to offer our guests excellent service and an enjoyable stay – and that's the most important thing."

As well as the PMS, the kiosk, GuestStay and GuestPay, Berlin Classik Hotels also use Guestline's Channel Manager, the booking engine and the conference and banquet module for planning events. All systems are directly connected to the PMS, which increases flexibility, minimizes interface problems and offers Classik Hotels the advantage of not having to interact with numerous partners simultaneously.

Eric Neumann, clearly satisfied, summarizes his experience: “The Classik Hotel Collection stands for innovation, individuality and sustainability. Individuality is especially important for us – and for me as General Manager, it matters which partners we're working with. With Guestline, we’re leading a partnership at eye level; our whole team can confirm that. Together we’re creating a better experience for our guests and staff.”

Type of company

Hotel group (5 hotels, 1 business space)

Guestline customer since

2023

Motto

Individual. Innovative. Sustainable.

Locations

Berlin, Magdeburg, Munich, Cologne

Classik Hotel Berlin

• Classik Hotel Alexander Plaza 4* (upscale boutique hotel)
• Classik Hotel Hackescher Markt (limited-service hotel)