The newly built Ambassador residence has opened a luxurious 18-guest aparthotel, the Estonishing Stay Apart Hotel Ambassador, where all processes, including check-in and smart lock management, are automated. Estonishing Stay, the company that manages the aparthotel, started automation even before the coronavirus pandemic, with tech-savvy customers in mind. However, contactless accommodation has now become a significant advantage over competitors.
We meet Estonishing Stay partners Gerdi Arsti, Evelin Org, and Maaja Tuuling as the latest preparations are being made in the new aparthotel. As you move from room to room, you can see the detail with which things have found their own place. WebLock smart lock has already been installed. Although a porter will not greet guests at the hotel door, the luxury of this hotel will not be diminished.
Estonishing Stay started almost three years ago, half a year before the coronavirus pandemic began. At present, the apartments are managed in five different locations, and in total they have almost a hundred guest apartments. Only houses with at least 10 apartments will be included in the portfolio. These entrepreneurial women consider smart locks and automation to be an important part of their business. All guest apartments have code locks.
Automatic issuing of door codes saves days of work hours
If there were just a handful of guest apartments, it would be conceivable to manage visits without automating the processes, but in the case of the more than 50 Estonishing Stay apartments, this is no longer feasible. Evelin notes as an example that there are days when as many as 80 door codes might have to be generated. “It would take all day manually,” she explains. “Currently, we only intervene in the booking if the customer’s special wishes require, for example, later or earlier check-in, but in this case only the times are changed, everything else happens automatically.”
Estonishing Stay is very satisfied with WebLock smart locks. The company has experience with many smart locks, but the others solutions they tried didn’t enable full automation. However, WebLock meets all of their needs. “When a customer makes a reservation, they will automatically receive a link from our administration program for check-in, and once the form has been filled in, they will automatically receive a unique code to enter the apartment. The same code applies to the front door of the house,” says Maaja Tuuling, who is responsible for customer service in the company.
In addition to the new aparthotel, the WebLock solution is used in the guest apartments of Estonishing Stay Duo Lofts, which they also manage. “Based on our current experience, we know for sure that we will no longer use a solution that does not allow full automation in any location. Too much unnecessary work,” Evelin, Maaja, and Gerdi agree. “We are very pleased with WebLock’s solution.”
Automatic management works smoothly thanks to the interface between WebLock and the real estate management program Guesty. “We like that the codes are valid exactly at the time of the customer’s booking, they do not have to be generated manually, and if, for example, the customer cancels the booking, the customer’s access to the WebLock system is automatically canceled due to the Guesty interface.
Cleaners visit us with their codes and we’ll see exactly when they use them. Some cleaners also use chips, which is also convenient.” The interface between the Guesty and WebLock software was created by WebLock for Estonishing Stay.
People like to check-in online
Evelin Org has extensive experience in hotels and was a little sceptical at first about the lack of regular face-to-face communication. However, the experience with guest apartments so far has given her another perspective: “People like to check-in online and they don’t have to queue in the lobby when they arrive or leave.” Evelin also points out the environmental friendliness of automated customer management: “There is no need for paper or to use plastic cards to open doors, which customers often accidentally take with them when they leave.”
Based on our current experience, we know for sure that we will no longer use a solution that does not allow full automation in any location. Too much unnecessary work. We are very pleased with WebLock’s solution.
The ladies have also praised WebLock’s prompt and helpful customer service. All technical issues have been resolved very quickly. “All in all, full automation allows us to offer our customers a significantly better price-quality ratio than in a traditional hotel. The savings in labor costs are significant, and we can redirect these resources elsewhere,” say Estonishing Stay’s partners.