Strajerii Verzi is a cabin complex located just 3 hours from Bucharest, in Sirnea, the first tourist village in Romania.
Nestled between Piatra Craiului and Bucegi, in the heart of a vast forest of fir trees that inspired the business name, "Strajerii Verzi" has become a true retreat for tourists seeking peace, comfort, and reconnection with nature, away from the urban noise.
"Strajerii" is the heartfelt project of Brașov entrepreneur Catalin Ceposu, with experience in the construction industry.
Catalin Ceposu wanted to take advantage of land he owned in Sirnea and his knowledge of construction to develop a business that would highlight the beauty of the area. The complex developed in stages, now featuring 4 A-frame cabins.
The project was introduced into the tourism circuit in 2022 and offers accommodation with breakfast delivered to the room, as well as bicycle rentals and horseback riding, through collaborations with various partners.
The management of Strajerii Verzi turned to Pynbooking due to the need for automation. Catalin Ceposu manages other businesses, and time is a very important resource for him, so he needed solutions to make the project easier to manage.
Business Challenges
For the team at Strajerii Verzi, the automation of activities became a critical necessity because Catalin Ceposu, along with the operational team, is also involved in other businesses.
Therefore, they needed a digital platform to manage bookings. Manual processing had quickly become a problem as many guests discovered Strajerii Verzi via social media and sent booking requests via email, phone, and social media.
Thus, the actual processing of bookings, requesting client data, issuing proforma/invoices, and collecting deposits took a long time. Moreover, as with any manual activity, there was the risk of errors.
Beyond the waste of time, Catalin Ceposu and the team involved in the project wanted a digitalization solution that would eliminate any booking-related confusion, an essential aspect for the success of a business targeting a young audience accustomed to technology and digitalization.
“Many guests contacted us via email and social media, which involved manually processing requests. This process consumed time and inevitably led to errors, which was unacceptable, especially as we were addressing tourists educated in hospitality and accustomed to technology and digitalization.” – Catalin Ceposu, Strajerii Verzi
Additionally, they needed a solution to better leverage their own website to increase direct bookings.
The Solution
As a result, the relationship with Pynbooking began out of a clear need for digitalization. Catalin Ceposu learned about Pynbooking from several sources, both through his own Google search and from recommendations by other professionals in the industry. The first step was contacting the Pynbooking team.
Later, they participated in a convincing demo. Satisfied with the features and advantages presented, the team signed up on the spot.
The quick configuration of the property in the PMS (Property Management System) followed, and integration with the Channel Manager was completed. Using the Channel Manager allowed the resort to integrate with booking platforms, primarily Booking.com, for centralized and automated booking management.
By integrating Pynbooking's Booking Engine in the PMS, the team at Strajerii Verzi also achieved the goal of better leveraging their own website. Clients can now make direct bookings from any device, benefiting from a simplified and intuitive user experience.
The Booking Engine was essential for launching marketing campaigns directed toward their website, increasing traffic and direct bookings.
The cabin complex uses the GuestApp to offer self-service accommodation and improve communication with guests. GuestApp helps them manage the entire booking confirmation process remotely, as well as the check-in and check-out procedures.
Strajerii Verzi has a team of three people using Pynbooking, and their work is simplified by the fact that Pynbooking is 100% cloud-based and mobile. It works directly from a browser and requires no local installation.
Benefits
Pynbooking enabled the automation of all the processes for managing the Strajerii Verzi cabin complex. Currently, 60% of total bookings come from online platforms, mainly from Booking.com, with the process being fully automated through the Pynbooking Channel Manager.
The number of direct bookings has increased with the help of the Booking Engine, which redirects all requests coming through other channels, including email, phone, social media, or marketing campaigns, to their website.
Other significant benefits that the Strajerii Verzi team enjoys include:
- Complete automation of the booking process (including availability updates across all platforms and the website, check-in, check-out). Prices on Booking.com and the website are always synchronized, eliminating discrepancies.
- Data retrieval, automatic generation, and sending of invoices to clients via GuestApp. Additionally, invoices generated in Pynbooking are exported in Excel format and then re-imported into the Socrate ERP system for accounting records.
- Access to real-time activity reports, constantly used by the team to monitor occupancy rates, room availability, and trends over different periods of time.
- The cabin complex uses the “Discount” function to reward returning guests and promote offers, such as collaborations with influencers.
- Setting differentiated pricing based on season or periods with high demand, using the “Rate Optimizer” function in Pynbooking.
- Improved visibility, with a score of 9.8 thanks to GuestApp, which automatically sends review requests to clients.
- Simplification of official reporting by automating the process of collecting and organizing data for official reports. This significantly reduces manual work, minimizes the risk of human errors, and ensures the accuracy of the information submitted.
- Ease of use for any staff member, whether experienced or not, making it simple to use Pynbooking.
The management team aims to further increase direct bookings by integrating a "Book Now" button on their Facebook page, which directly links to their website, with the help of Pynbooking.
“With Pynbooking, we are in control, even when we are not physically present. It’s the ideal platform for entrepreneurs managing multiple businesses. It is also an indispensable tool.” – Catalin Ceposu, Strajerii Verzi
Managing multiple hotel locations? Request access to the right tools here!