Hiring and training new employees is an expensive business, both in recruiting costs and time invested. So, it’s not surprising that staff satisfaction and retention are priorities for hotels looking to drive profitability.
We get it. Both of our founders are former hoteliers and a huge number of the people who design and develop Mews come from the hospitality industry. That’s why we aim to make it as easy as possible and, dare we say, even fun to use. All with the goal of keeping staff (and, of course, guests) happy.
Did it work? According to our customers, yes.
Case 1: Reducing stress at EMA House
“Staff are less stressed and they’re happy to see customers. The atmosphere is much smoother now, even after only one month. It's kind of a miracle!”
Jonathan Anthamatten, General Manager
EMA House, Zurich
Too many tasks, not enough time. Sound familiar? For many hospitality professionals, feeling constantly rushed and under pressure translates into high stress levels.
EMA House, for example, is a hybrid of suites and apartments with hotel service at six locations across Zurich city center. With such varied operations, staff’s precious time was being taken up by never-ending admin. But things changed thanks to our time-saving automations. Can we interest anyone in ready-made reports that magically give you four hours of your week back? What about your choice of a channel manager integration that can save three hours every day?
Reducing manual tasks relieved pressure on the team at EMA House, so they were far less stressed day to day. The result? A more relaxed atmosphere where happier staff had more time to create remarkable experiences for their guests. Wins all around.
Case 2: More rewarding work at JO&JOE
“There’s more time for the staff to take care of guests and to have a real-life experience with them, rather than just a functional, work-like check-in experience. This is not just about the guest but also about ensuring our team members can do what they like to do.”
Valentin Babilliot, Head of Digital & Distribution
JO&JOE and Lifestyle Brands
If you love interacting with people, a hotel front desk could seem like your dream role. But instead of talking to guests, the real job (if the hotel is on a legacy system) can involve a lot of staring at screens, clicking around a clunky PMS, and performing mundane tasks like entering data and taking payments. Over and over again. While guests wait (patiently or otherwise) in line.
Lifestyle hospitality brand JO&JOE is an inspiring example of how hotels can leverage technology to improve the experience for these employees. By using a cloud-native, mobile-first PMS solution like Mews, staff were freed from the traditional front desk setup.
With four properties in France and Austria offering a mix of dorms and private rooms, and F&B heavily contributing to revenue, a more agile workforce helps JO&JOE optimize their operations. Staff are also empowered to engage more meaningfully with guests and ultimately experience greater job satisfaction.
Case 3: Increasing staff engagement at Oversight Hotel Management
“If you want your employees to develop and provide the best customer experience, then you need to provide the best tools and technology for them.”
Stanislas Wargny, Founder and CEO
Oversight Hotel Management, Paris
Oversight Hotel Management supports eight independent hotels based in Paris, including Victoria Palace Hotel, Le Tsuba Hotel, Hotel Opera Liege, and Hotel Villa Saxe. Each hotel has a unique identity, so a flexible PMS that could easily adapt to different operational needs was essential.
When Oversight switched their portfolio to Mews, it didn’t disappoint. But the team noticed something that surprised them: staff were logging into the system on their phones to check their tasks before arriving at work. Suddenly, it seemed employees were a lot more engaged.
You see, because Mews is cloud native, users can access the system securely from their device wherever they are. So, when the technology was there to enable it, staff at Oversight hotels actively chose to be more engaged. We also like to think that because Mews is so easy and fun to use, they couldn’t resist logging in again. And again.
See for yourself how easy Mews is to use. Take a self-guided tour.
Case 4: Reducing repetitive tasks at Hotel Maashof
“The front desk was very happy with Mews Kiosk because they didn't have to print out any documents and then manually type in all of the guest details into the computer. They can actually focus on the guest instead.”
Maurice Martens, Head of Marketing
Hotel Maashof, Netherlands
In green surroundings just outside the city of Venlo in the Netherlands, you’ll find the Hotel Maashof, an 85-room property that welcomes a mix of business and leisure travelers who enjoy the onsite restaurants and plentiful outdoor activities.
Before changing their PMS to Mews, administrative tasks dominated the day-to-day for front desk staff. At check-in, they’d print documents and then manually type guest details into the computer. It was repetitive, uninspiring, and morale-crushing: the nemesis of staff satisfaction.
Mews Kiosk, a self-check-in/out solution that gives guests a fast, frictionless experience, made a real difference to the front desk employee experience at the hotel. Now, guests who want to self-serve can find their reservation, purchase extras, pay for their stay, and even cut their own room keys, all from a tablet.
With admin for every single check-in no longer necessary, front desk staff can focus instead on engaging with guests who want face-to-face interaction.
Case 5: Boosting staff retention at UDS
“Mews has had an incredible impact on staff hiring and retention. Having streamlined, automated workflows eliminates all those data entry tasks that damage morale, and because it’s so logical to use we can widen our hiring pool beyond hospitality experience.”
Genki Takahashi, DX Strategy Team Manager
UDS, Japan
Japanese placemaking firm UDS runs 16 hotels across Japan and manages every stage, from design and construction to operation. But against a backdrop of staff shortages, they were struggling with significant overspend on HR management and overtime as well as poor staff morale.
Switching to Mews helped address these challenges in a couple of different ways. First, because of how easy Mews is to learn and use, UDS was able to widen their hiring pool to include candidates without previous experience in hospitality.
Second, through automation they’ve streamlined HR management and reduced manual data entry saving 25 hours per week in overtime. In terms of staff retention, it worked like a charm; in their first year, turnover at their new properties was zero (compared to the national average of 27% in Japan). And yes, we also thought that had to be wrong and double-checked, but it’s correct: not a single employee left their two new hotels in a whole year.
Case 6: Developing confidence and learning at The Regent
“The training at Mews University is seriously impressive. Not only is it a superb method of teaching, but it helps us generate in-house experts who know exactly how to use the PMS to generate the best results.”
Declan Fitzhenry, Managing Director
The Regent, Cambridge UK
With the fast (and sometimes furious) pace of a typical hotel day, great training isn’t always a given for new employees. But learning and confidence are so important to empower staff to do a great job. That’s why, as we build Mews, we develop learning materials that support our users.
The Regent, an innovative aparthotel in Cambridge UK, found that the role-specific learning paths in Mews University helped them create a team of in-house PMS experts. Given the opportunity to learn skills and build confidence with self-paced tutorials, staff know how to get the most out of the system and deliver results across departments.
Intrigued by how Mews could help increase staff satisfaction at your property?
Looking for all the customer stories in full? You’ll find all the links below.
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