MEWSFLASH - How Mews and Oaky are transforming the way hotels upsell and serve their Millennial travellers

-      Mews Systems and Oaky have fine-tuned their connection to help real-time data deliver results for hotel operators

-      Part of the larger industry trend of open APIs making it easier for start-ups to work together and deliver greater value to the customer

-      The adoption of new, open technologies in hotels can completely shake up the hotel experience as we know it today

AMSTERDAM, 12 JULY 2017: Today’s travellers are accustomed to receiving a more personalised and on-demand experience. They now expect that their accommodation providers are able to provide the services which cater to this. However, many hotels are providing guests with an experience that is not consistent with these expectations as data flows on legacy platforms can be static and slow, and they are yet to fully embrace the power of a cloud-first infrastructure.

As part of a new breed of cloud solutions, Mews Systems and Oaky have teamed up to make it easier than ever to provide on-demand, personal customer service to hotel guests from the minute the reservation is made to after checking out. The Mews Commander property management system (PMS) integrates with Oaky to put the guest in control of taking in-house services and room upgrades at the click of a button, and its Open API delivers any changes within milliseconds to make sure that the customer data is updated.

“When speaking with hoteliers, I often hear the same challenge: legacy systems are hindering hotel innovation because integrations are expensive and time-consuming.” says Erik Tengen, Co-Founder of Oaky, “I think it’s amazing to see how start-ups are now able to provide hoteliers with more flexibility. With open platforms like Mews and specialised SaaS solutions like Oaky - hotels can now in a matter of minutes completely customise their technology stack to best fit their needs.”

As more and more hotels leave the one-size-fits-all approach to their central databases, modern platforms, such as Mews, make adaptation and adoption an easy process. Integration between these platforms makes it possible for hotels to simplify the load on staff and make sure that there is consistency across all platforms. The transition to SaaS (Software as a Service) models also makes downgrading or upscaling easier than ever and hotels now only need to pay for the features that they want to use.

“We’ve been able to grow so fast in the hotel space because of our open APIs as there is now such a great eco-system of developers in the industry,” says Matthijs Welle, CEO of Mews Systems, “We are now seeing hoteliers get creative with their technology infrastructure, working with exciting start-ups, like Oaky, and hiring in-house developers who are able to deliver better features and more value to the businesses.”

Hotels are going through a period of significant reinvention, challenged by the growth of online travel agents to the increasing popularity of AirBnB, forcing hotels to move beyond relying on their brand name and focus on providing the guest with the most personalised, on-demand customer service experience through the use of smart technology.

The future of the hotel industry is not far from a world in which guests are simply messaging a hotel through Whatsapp or Facebook in order to make a reservation. The hotel’s technology stack should be in a position to automatically make that reservation, charge the guest, send a receipt and obtain the necessary personal details required to check in. Through smart AI tools and open connections, hotels should be in a position to deliver ever-greater value as systems such as Mews help them understand their customers’ needs and desires better. Hotels will need to upgrade their technology stack in order to have the tools necessary to connect to these online travellers and to service the ever-changing needs of the millennial traveller. It is not a matter of if but when.

The Hotel Technology Revolution Forum:

Mews, Oaky and thirteen other hotel technology start-ups are joining forces to host The Hotel Technology Revolution Forum in Amsterdam on 5 September 2017. Hoteliers and platform providers alike will come together to discuss what the future of the hotel technology looks like.

About Oaky:

Oaky is the commission-free and personalised upsell platform for hotels to maximise profit and enhance the guest experience. With a high conversion, Oaky put guests in control of completely designing their upcoming stay with upgrades, offers and services. Using the online dashboard, hoteliers add new guest-facing deals in just one minute. Real-time revenue reports help Revenue Managers maximise profit.

About Mews Systems:

Mews Systems uses technology to provide hoteliers with the tools to offer personalised guest experiences in a digital world. The Mews Commander Property Management System was built to suit the needs of modern hotels. Founded by ex-hoteliers who were frustrated by the lack of suitable platform on the market, Mews Systems focused heavily on building a modern, intuitive user interface with user experience at the core. With time saving features, including online check-in and real-time housekeeping, Mews provides hotels with the tools to save more, sell more and provide their guests with a modern, personalised experience.

For more information please contact:

Laura Culmer - [email protected]