Zur Post Hotel: open 24/7 without round-the-clock reception
Who they are
Zur Post Hotel is a historic hotel near Cologne, Germany, built in 1847. It has 22 rooms, a restaurant with terrace and a conference hall. The hotel is managed by Romica Simescu, a Romanian citizen settled in Germany since 1991, who combines German hospitality experience with openness to solutions from the Romanian market.
The challenge
The main problem was simple but costly: guests frequently arrived after the front desk closed. A 22-room hotel cannot afford round-the-clock reception, but it also cannot turn away guests who arrive late in the evening.
Romica looked for a self check-in solution that would allow the hotel to operate without permanent reception staff. He evaluated offers from the German market, but had the inspiration to also search the Romanian market.
I had the inspiration to look for a modern PMS on the Romanian market as well. I discovered Pynbooking, which was exactly the right solution. The quality-to-features ratio is far above what's offered in Germany.
— Romica Simescu, administrator Zur Post Hotel
The solution
In December 2021, Zur Post Hotel signed the contract with Pynbooking. They implemented Cloud PMS, Channel Manager (connected to Booking.com and their own website), Booking Engine and Romdaf smart locks. Through GuestApp, guests receive access codes directly on their phone.
The results
Before:
- Guests arriving after the front desk closed and unable to get in
- Need for permanent reception staff
- High operational costs for a 22-room hotel
After Pynbooking:
- Hotel operational 24/7 without round-the-clock reception
- Complete self check-in via GuestApp and access codes on phone
- Romdaf smart locks integrated with the PMS
- Bookings automatically synchronized between Booking.com and website
The quality-to-features ratio is far above what's offered in Germany. The hotel now operates open 24/7 without permanent reception.
— Romica Simescu, administrator Zur Post Hotel
What's next
Zur Post Hotel demonstrates that a historic hotel can operate in a modern and efficient way, with reduced operational costs, using self-service technology.
