Sem Schuurkes, CityHub Hotels.
Smart hotel to engage with guests on a more personalised and local-level to enhance guest satisfaction and the hotel experience through digital guest service delivery.
MALMO, SWEDEN – Tech-driven hotel group, CityHub, has partnered with Bookboost to advance its guest communication platform as part of its forward-thinking smart hotel strategy to drive deeper connections with guests.
CityHub, a pioneer in the lifestyle economy hotel segment and a visionary hospitality brand driven by the most advanced technologies, is building out its tech stack to provide a more sophisticated hotel stay experience and location-sharing technology to deliver more personalised experiences. Sharing the aim to create a global network of smart hotels, Bookboost will facilitate CityHub with the most innovative guest messaging technologies. CityHost’s will be able to deliver a more efficient and personalised guest services while always providing the human-touch.
"We believe that direct messaging represents the future of customer service. Bookboost guest messaging platform complements our existing communication technologies" said Sem Schuurkes, CityHub Hotels. "We will now have a unified messaging platform where travellers can engage with our staff on their preferred messaging channel. Our CityHosts will be available anytime through every channel able to provide real-time, personal and location-based support enhancing their guests' experience."
CityHub hotels, located in the center of large gateway cities, offers both the privacy and comfort of a hotel together with the sense of community and affordability of a hostel. Currently, CityHub is operating two hotels in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with 50 and 126 hubs in each property respectively. Next summer, CityHub will open in Copenhagen, marking the first step towards international expansion.
Bookboost will provide CityHub hotel portfolio with the most advanced Guest Messaging solution, including Omnichannel Website Chat, to deliver full service for web visitor enquiries – guests can then continue the conversation on the messaging channel of their choice. CityHub will also benefit from Proactive Direct Messaging in order to send personalized messages to guests via SMS, Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, Web Messenger, iOS and Android App integration.
"We will be working with CityHub so its team can take full advantage of Guest Messaging technology to provide individualized services to guests while improving operational efficiency," said Daan de Bruijn, CEO of Bookboost. "Not only will web visitors receive the answers to their questions, but CityHosts from front of house to reservation office will be able to step away from the reception and handle guest enquiries entirely through messaging apps. It will really help CityHub meet their ultimate goal of being a smart hotel."
Direct messaging is beginning to replace email as the communication channel of choice for guests, Bookboost connects to a variety of messaging apps including the most popular ones as well as Twitter DM, Wechat, Telegram, Viber to give guests choice, and accommodation providers flexibility. The messaging platform connects to hotel systems including lead property management systems (PMS) such as Clock PMS, MEWS, Opera PMS, Protel, among others to make the experience seamless.
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