Himmapana Villas eliminates overbookings and grows direct bookings with Cloudbeds

MARKETING

Located in the Kamala Beach area on the island of Phuket, Thailand are four dreamy luxury resorts that make up the Himmapana brand. In the five years since Thomas K. Petersen, Managing Partner at Himmapana, moved from Denmark to Phuket to help build the Himmapana brand, he and his business partners went from managing three villas to building their own resorts. Today, Himmapana consists of 41 high-end villas complete with private luxury pools, massage services, private chef bookings, transportation services, and much more.

Why it matters: Before switching to Cloudbeds four years ago, Thomas and his business partners used another system to manage their room inventory on OTAs. Unfortunately, that channel manager did not have a good API connection and that caused occasional overbookings. Thomas and his team prioritize flexibility and customer satisfaction above all else, and he knew they needed a reliable, accessible and comprehensive property management solution to effectively manage their bookings, guest experience, and growth.

After seeing Cloudbeds as the number one search result for hotel management software on Google and an impactful conversation with a local, beloved Cloudbeds Market Manager, Thomas and team made the switch. From the beginning, Thomas had an easy experience with Cloudbeds onboarding, sharing that he “had constant dialogue with some of the people from Cloudbeds, and they were very, very helpful.” Since he’s added more resorts to Cloudbeds, he’s taken on completing the onboarding process himself because it’s so intuitive.

Top 3 Core Objectives: By integrating Cloudbeds, Himmapana Villas achieved growth in direct bookings through an efficient booking engine, enabled remote operations via cloud-based access, and eliminated overbooking issues with a reliable channel manager, enhancing customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.

Increased direct bookings: Cloudbeds' booking engine and payment processing capabilities allowed Himmapana Villas to grow their direct bookings.
Remote operations enablement: The cloud-based access enabled Himmapana Villas to operate remotely, facilitating flexible and efficient management.
Elimination of overbookings: Cloudbeds' reliable channel manager, eliminated the risk of overbookings and helped in enhancing customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.

Innovators Mentioned

Cloudbeds

Thomas K. Petersen

Managing Partner

Himmapana Villas

"I have not worked with a company that has such good customer service as Cloudbeds has. It's miles ahead."

Thomas K. Petersen

Managing Partner

👍 Managing Partner Thomas K. Petersen said that the exceptional quality of Cloudbeds' customer service, is significantly better than any other company he has experienced:

"I have not worked with a company that has such good customer service as Cloudbeds has. It's miles ahead."

⚖️ The selection process: During their research process, Thomas K. Petersen evaluated Cloudbeds's product differentiators, customer support, and holistic value as a strategic partner and ultimately decided that Cloudbeds was the best fit solution:

Managing Partner Thomas K. Petersen said, about their decision: "The reason why we’re using Cloudbeds is because the most important thing for a channel manager is that it always works. We talk to our competitors and we know our competitors use a lot of other channel managers and they get overbookings."

📈 The results: In addition to eliminating overbookings, Thomas and team have seen massive growth in the volume of direct bookings over the past year. He attributes the increase to Himmapana’s strong presence on social media channels, like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, in conjunction with Cloudbeds’ booking engine and payment processing set up on their website, which allows them to take bookings 24/7.

Growth in direct bookings: the combination of a strong social media presence and an effective online booking and payment system has led to a significant increase in direct bookings.
Operational efficiency: the adoption of a simple yet effective hotel management system has streamlined day-to-day operations, efficiently handling over 2,000 bookings annually, including special guest requests.
Remote management flexibility: the use of a cloud-based platform allows for the convenient remote management of the property, enabling operations to be handled effectively both on-site and during travel.