The boutique property has been able to improve online reach and dramatically reduce time spent on manual repetitive channel management tasks.
The Property
Located in a quiet part of the Lincoln City Centre (UK), The Poplars Lincoln B&B is a Victorian style accommodation that offers all comforts of a home, is modern and popular with travellers looking for a clean, comfortable and easy-going space to stay.
The Poplars was born nearly 12 years ago when owners, Martin and Heike, were persuaded by visiting friends that their house, boasting old-world charm and located near the historic part of the town, was an ideal B&B. Having travelled extensively around the world, the duo knew it was the kind of cosy and convenient accommodation they themselves would choose as a traveller.
And so The Poplars Lincoln B&B opened its doors to visitors in 2005. As business grew – quickly too! – the couple purchased the neighbouring property that was similar in style and character. They haven’t looked back since, offering fantastic service and making Poplars into a place they would want to stay as a guest.
The Need for Efficiency
From the very start, Martin and Heike knew that internet is where the future of hospitality lay. They focused their distribution strategy on this dynamic platform, listing their property on multiple booking websites or online travel agents (OTAs).
“I don’t know how I managed a 100% no double booking record!” says Martin. “Updating multiple sites is a highly laborious manual task and making errors or getting overbooked as updates are not instant is not uncommon.”
Martin was sure that investing in a solution that would help us manage these platforms would be an investment that is well worth every pound.
The Relationship with STAAH
The Poplars Lincoln B&B connected to the STAAH Instant Channel Manager in 2016.
“STAAH has been a godsend for my staff and our sanity,” says Martin. “It is easy-to-use and makes instant updates to multiple channels from one dashboard.”
“We have been able to increase our online reach by listing with additional booking channels and the efficiency barometre is improved dramatically as our staff spends very less time updating rates and inventory.”
In addition to this Martin and Heike now benefit from insights that help them make better pricing and revenue decisions.
What makes STAAH attractive – besides its stellar features – to boutique B&B and hotel operators like Poplars is the price.
“STAAH is very reasonable compared to some of the other channel management solutions available in the market. We tried one, but it was expensive. STAAH offers everything we require to grow our online business, yet we don’t need to break the bank for it,” says Martin.
The happy customers would recommend STAAH to any operator who wants to improve efficiency, see the results and pay a reasonable price for fantastic service.
The Poplars is a private period guest house on the Roman Trail & in a quiet part of Lincoln City centre, near to Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Castle and the Bailgate (Historic Old Town).