Case Study

Mastering Digital Transformation: How OREA Hotels & Resorts Owns the Customer Journey with HotelTime Solutions

Veronika zarubova

HOTELTIME · סֶפּטֶמבֶּר 20, 2024

OREA Hotels & Resorts is the largest Czech hotel chain, with 17 hotels in the most picturesque places throughout the country. The diverse portfolio offers everything from business hotels in the centre of Prague and Brno to mountain and nature resorts in breathtaking scenery, luxury spa hotels, and cozy apartments. This is a story about a complex digital transformation driven mainly by Gorjan Lazarov (CEO of OREA), Tomáš Holan (Head of Digital) and their selected PMS provider HotelTime Solutions.

Why it matters: OREA focused on improving the guest experience and realised that technology plays a vital role in improving it. That's why they undertook a comprehensive re-evaluation of hotel tech stack in order to elevate the brand. OREA has been cooperating with HotelTime Solutions since 2021. Currently, 17 hotels are served by HotelTime Solutions, streamlining operations in a total of 2,251 rooms and, thanks to Vento ePOS, also across 96 terminals.

OREA's hotel tech stack currently includes: HotelTime PMS, Vento ePOS, Libero SPA, Confero MICE HotelTime API to accounting system Own data storage and MyOREA guest app Automated payments with Adyen Grit - integration for automatic stocking Channel manager and web booking engine D-edge Locking system Czech Kiosk self-service reception HotelTime Housekeeping and Maintenance application Integration to revenue management system Atomize and Hotellab STR benchmarking Integration to online voucher shop Automatic export for foreign police Document readers TrustYou reputation management Medicus system for medical records management

Top 3 Core Objectives: The main goal of the digital transformation was to provide better guest services. OREA wanted to build its brand and deliver a better guest experience, primarily through more efficient use of data and internal technology. At the same time, it was crucial to unify all the technology and tools into one package that was easy to manage and delivered consistent results across the chain.

Brand building: OREA's previous on-premise system was holding OREA back. That's why they undertook a comprehensive re-evaluation of hotel tech in order to elevate the brand.
"Own the customer": At OREA, they want to have 100% control over the guest experience at every stage of their journey. This strategy required the unification of different systems and tools, which was only possible with the robust HotelTime PMS system. Through integration and API connectivity, OREA was able to efficiently manage guest data, build their own loyalty program, and even develop their own guest app - MyOREA.
Own platform on top: OREA decided to develop a platform on top of the PMS, which includes its own CRM system, MyOREA application and advanced reporting. MyOREA allows guests to not only manage their reservations, but also to earn points and view invoices from all hotels across the chain. The system is connected to the PMS and other APIs allowing guests’ activity to be tracked, such as restaurant visits or use of other services. OREA also uses performance data from HotelTime Solutions to create custom reports that are key to management decisions. This information helps define strategy and optimise service offerings.

"We focused on improving the guest experience and realised that technology plays a vital role in improving it. That's why we undertook a comprehensive re-evaluation of hotel tech in order to elevate the brand. Through lengthy discussions with Jan Hejny, it became clear that OREA's previous on-premise system was holding OREA back. Today, OREA is a recognized brand and a guarantee of exceptional guest experiences also thanks to HotelTime Solutions and hotel technology."

Gorjan Lazarov

CEO

👍 CEO Gorjan Lazarov said that OREA improved its guest experience and elevated its brand by transitioning from outdated on-premise systems to advanced hotel technology, notably with the help of HotelTime Solutions.:

"We focused on improving the guest experience and realised that technology plays a vital role in improving it. That's why we undertook a comprehensive re-evaluation of hotel tech in order to elevate the brand. Through lengthy discussions with Jan Hejny, it became clear that OREA's previous on-premise system was holding OREA back. Today, OREA is a recognized brand and a guarantee of exceptional guest experiences also thanks to HotelTime Solutions and hotel technology."

⚖️ The selection process: During their research process, Tomáš Holan evaluated HOTELTIME's product differentiators, customer support, and holistic value as a strategic partner and ultimately decided that HOTELTIME was the best fit solution:

Head of Digital Tomáš Holan said, about their decision: "We were only able to build what we built because of the HotelTime platform. From HotelTime we have all the data possible, especially guest data, which allows us to build our own CRM and really get to know our customers based on detailed data. I appreciate HotelTime's capacities, their API and the fact that we don't have to consolidate several systems but can rely on just 1 main platform. They provide us with a tool and data, and we can use it effectively to get to know our customers better and deliver better service."

📈 The results: This collaboration is an example of a successful digital transformation that has led to a significantly improved guest experience and brand reinforcement. With a robust PMS system and the ability to integrate their own technology, OREA has gained full control of their data and processes, allowing them to deliver the highest level of service and manage their business efficiently.

OREA switched to HotelTime Solutions in September 2021. The following data show the use of the HotelTime platform across the group from then until July 2024, when this case study was written: HotelTime PMS: 683 users of our systems 690 620 room check-ins and check-outs 1 265 775 guests 980 370 tax documents issued 318 115 securely and automatically tokenised cards 79 762 tokenised card transactions 1 486 341 rooms effectively cleaned also thanks to HotelTime Housekeeping app
Vento ePOS: 78 F&B centers 96 e-POS terminals 1 560 319 tables served 7 430 types of raw materials in stock 63 stocks in the system
Libero SPA: 13 wellness operations 89 rooms in Libero SPA system 25 345 reservations of wellness services Confero MICE: 11 conference locations 203 conference rooms 20 025 conference reservations