Extreme conditions, effortless hospitality: Mews at Arctic SnowHotel & Glass Igloos

FOOD & BEVERAGE

Arctic SnowHotel & Glass Igloos is a one-of-a-kind destination in Finnish Lapland — a snow and ice hotel that offers immersive winter-wonderland experiences, from snowshoeing and ice sculpting to Northern Lights viewing. Operating in extreme cold, and seasonally rebuilding structures like the Ice Bar every year, they face unique operational and logistical challenges.

Why it matters: Their food & beverage operations are complex: multiple restaurants, bars, portable structures that change layout seasonally, and the need to handle orders, payments, table layouts, inventory, guest data — all under harsh environmental conditions. Traditional systems with separate devices for ordering and payment, manual inventory tracking, and disconnected workflows were creating friction, inefficiencies, and potential for error.

To meet guest expectations (smooth service even in sub-zero temperatures) and keep staff productivity high, Arctic SnowHotel adopted Mews’ integrated PMS, POS, payment terminals (Mews Terminal S2), and related tools. The goal: unify operations, reduce manual work, empower staff with reliable equipment, and make all of this work even in extreme cold.

Top 3 Core Objectives: Arctic SnowHotel aimed to streamline complex F&B operations in extreme conditions by integrating PMS and POS, automating manual tasks, and equipping staff with reliable, all-in-one devices. Their goal was to boost efficiency, reduce errors, and deliver a smooth guest experience even in sub-zero temperatures.

Optimize F&B Operations: Combine order taking and payment in one device, simplify table layout changes, and ensure reliable hardware that works even in sub-zero environments.
Unify Systems & Data: Integrate PMS and POS to sync guest data, orders, and payments in real time for smoother cross-department coordination.
Boost Staff Efficiency: Reduce manual work and errors to make daily tasks like reporting, inventory, and check-outs faster and more accurate.

Innovators Mentioned

Arctic SnowHotel & Glass Igloos

Mews

Suvi Ristiluoma

Head of Restaurant Operations & HR Manager

Arctic SnowHotel & Glass Igloos

"Mews Terminal S2 saves us so much time. Human errors have dropped significantly because everything goes directly into the system, making reporting easier. No more time wasted fixing mistakes."

Suvi Ristiluoma

Head of Restaurant Operations & HR Manager

👍 Head of Restaurant Operations & HR Manager Suvi Ristiluoma said that The team adopted the Mews Terminal S2, a portable handheld device that combines order-taking and payment processing in one easy-to-use system. With it, staff can take orders from anywhere in the restaurant that are sent directly to the kitchen or bar.:

"Mews Terminal S2 saves us so much time. Human errors have dropped significantly because everything goes directly into the system, making reporting easier. No more time wasted fixing mistakes."

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

Head of Restaurant Operations & HR Manager Suvi Ristiluoma said, about their decision: "It's very important for us that the technology and system work well, and, of course, for the customers too. Earlier, we had an old system, it was old-fashioned and not flexible. We needed a system that provides good reports because there was a lot of manual work before."

📈 The results: With Mews, the hotel saved time on daily operations, reduced errors, and improved service speed. Staff can now manage orders and payments on a single device, inventory tracking is faster, and overall workflows run smoothly even in sub-zero temperatures.

1h saved per staff member each day on manual tasks.
The Mews Terminal S2 devices (six of them) operate reliably even in extreme conditions, enabling order taking + payment in one portable device.
Greater wait-staff efficiency with digital order-taking and payment on one device.

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