The email advertisement for a brand new hotel voucher shop was actually already in the recycle bin. “Us and €50 vouchers? That’s just two glasses of champagne for us,” recalls Irmgard Wiener from the Hotel Edelweiss in Zürs of her initial scepticism. In the end, curiosity won out. “It’s better to try everything first. And if it doesn’t work, intervene.” Wiener describes her tactics. It looked good, the new voucher shop from HotelNetSolutions, she had to admit to herself. So the email was not deleted immediately after all. The rest is history. A rather successful one, as it turned out a few weeks later.
Two things happened that surprised the hotel manager. On the one hand, the voucher for a 3-course Gault Millau award-winning vegetarian top menu worth € 99 per person became a bestseller overnight. On the other hand, “the gift recipients – even from the immediate vicinity – simply treated themselves to another night at the hotel at their own expense to redeem the voucher,” says Wiener. Voucher sales opened the door to a whole new clientele.
The longer HotelNetSolutions’ gift voucher shop is in use, the more the tool turns out to be a win-win for everyone involved. “We love to advise people personally on a gift. But to be honest: people would rather experience our new voucher shop,” the experienced hostess tells us. VoucherBooking 3 not only presents the hotel’s gift ideas clearly in full size, the vouchers can also be created in a variety of ways. The fastest gift of all rings a few seconds later as a WhatsApp, email or SMS to the recipient. Smart Vouchers are just the thing when you’re running late again. Click on the link and the gift opens with fireworks.
Vouchers can also be sent classically by post: as a printed folding card. Soon, the vouchers will even be sent directly from the system without the hotelier having to send a single letter. A digital printing partner takes care of printing and dispatch. At the moment, vouchers for printing are the most successful at Hotel Edelweiss. “In addition to the modern look, these craft vouchers in particular made it easy for me to decide in favor of VoucherBooking 3: The folding templates, some of which still have to be cut out and glued by the purchasers, look great. They can also be equipped with your own photo and are simply something special,” said Irmgard Wiener enthusiastically.
While the voucher shop does its work completely independently, the core team of four has more time for the guests in the hotel. And even there, VoucherBooking 3 has something to offer. The tool offers the possibility of “backend booking”. With the help of this function, the team can create a DIN A4 voucher quickly and easily via the backend of VoucherBooking, print it out in the hotel with just a few clicks and present it. “Our seasonal workers are only with us for a short time. In order to avoid any fear of contact with the software, we are therefore dependent on intuitive solutions and good support. We find both with HotelNetSolutions, so that we are happy to receive several products from one source. We have already had very good experiences in this respect with OnePageBooking,” says Irmgard Wiener. Is there a voucher that has never been sold until now? “Yes,” smiles Irmgard Wiener, “party time at the Flexenhäusl: anyone who can remember was never there!” So a voucher doesn’t always have to be sold to be particularly valuable. It can also simply be a statement.
The hosts Irmgard and Karl Wiener have more than 20 years of experience on the Arlberg and have already brought their unconventional ideas to the table – first at the Tannbergerhof, and last season at the Hotel Flexen, which is currently being completely rebuilt. In nearby Warth am Arlberg, the two have also been active as managing directors and hosts: They accompanied the pre-opening of the Steffisalp from the ground-breaking ceremony to the successful concept – with summer and winter opening and excellent occupancy. Irmgard Wiener also has experience as a consultant and trainer (e.g. at the tourism consultancy Kohl&Partner) and Karl Wiener worked for many years as Head of Operations at Swarovski Tourism Services GmbH in Innsbruck.
Picture credits: Hotel Edelweiss
