Haka House opens an exciting new chapter of tech-driven hospitality with Mews

OPERATIONS

These trailblazing hostels in New Zealand are on an impressive growth trajectory powered by Mews.

Why it matters: Haka House is a group of friendly hostels that are nestled in travel-worthy spots all over New Zealand, providing a home away from home to all adventurous explorers. With 14 laid-back hostels, guests can enjoy snug rooms, handy amenities and some of the best views right at their doorstep.

Haka House is more than a place to stay – it's a place where travellers meet, share stories, and celebrate the local Māori culture and traditions together. All Haka House hostels embrace eco-friendly practices like using solar power and outfitting their cosy retreats with bedding made from recycled plastics. It's the kind of initiative that has turned over 160,000 discarded bottles into snuggly duvets.

Top 3 Core Objectives: “Mews helps us fulfill our purpose – creating genuine connections between our Manuhiri (guests) and Manaki (hosts), our land and our culture through exceptional travel experiences.” Ryan Sanders, CEO

Rebuild, rebrand, relaunch: In October 2022, Haka House acquired nine former YHA properties that had been closed for over two years, many in remote environments and challenging weather conditions. The project involved implementing brand new systems and repairing key facilities, all while working on an extensive rebranding.
Speedy, efficient staff training: In addition to staffing shortages, managing hostels in remote areas makes it challenging to recruit and train staff. Teaching them to use a PMS takes up valuable time and energy from already busy colleagues.
Scalable tech stack: Before Mews, Haka House struggled with a lack of actionable data to drive their business forward. The team wanted easy, immediate access to their data. Building an integrated tech ecosystem was also high on their priority list.

Innovators Mentioned

Mews

Ryan Sanders

CEO

Haka House

"“Mews has enabled us to create a world class, guest-centric ecosystem that boosts efficiency and gives us real-time data to grow our business.”"

Ryan Sanders

CEO

👍 CEO Ryan Sanders said that “Mews has enabled us to create a world class, guest-centric ecosystem that boosts efficiency and gives us real-time data to grow our business.”:

"“Mews has enabled us to create a world class, guest-centric ecosystem that boosts efficiency and gives us real-time data to grow our business.”"

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

CEO Ryan Sanders said, about their decision: "“For ambitious brands like ours, scaling efficiently is a top priority. Mews removed any friction caused by slow staff training and manual data transfer.”"

📈 The results: Supported by Mews, the Haka House team redefined their customer experience proposition and adopted a group reservation model. Implementation with Mews can be done remotely, bringing down costs and speeding up onboarding time. Mews offers a wide selection of easy-to-use reports.

• 4% full funnel conversion rate (2% is considered great) • 21% online check-in rate • 50% improvement on bounce rate and time on site
• Fast and remote staff training across 14 properties
• 20+ dynamic reports in Mews, easily accessed from property dashboard • 10+ integrations • A flexible tech stack built on hospitality’s best solutions