“Real-time internal communication, simply designed and accessible to all our employees – that was our goal. With hotelkit, we’ve gained much more: today the tool maps a wide range of our operational processes.”
Alex Obertop
General Manager
SIDE Design Hotel
Located in the vibrant city of Hamburg, SIDE Design Hotel combines contemporary design with Hanseatic hospitality. As part of the renowned Seaside Hotels group, the hotel offers exclusive stays with high standards in design, service, and comfort. To ensure seamless operations behind the scenes and meet the growing demands for internal communication, the team decided to implement hotelkit – a digital solution that quickly became an indispensable tool in daily hotel operations.
Challenge
Communication gaps in a shift-based operation
Like many hotels, SIDE Design Hotel faced the challenge of reliably and seamlessly communicating information across multiple departments. Due to shift work and the multitude of simultaneous tasks in day-to-day operations, there was a strong need for a system that would provide both transparency and efficiency. Existing communication methods had reached their limits, with information often failing to reach all relevant staff members or becoming outdated due to time delays. Task delegation, particularly in maintenance and recurring duties, was cumbersome and error-prone. The goal was to find an intuitive system that could support communication, task management, and documentation all in one – significantly improving operational workflows.
Solution
Task coordination at the touch of a button
Even during the one-month trial phase, the potential of hotelkit for daily operations became apparent. Within a short time, the tool was actively used across departments, prompting hotel management to roll it out to all employees ahead of schedule. With the introduction of hotelkit, internal communication was fully digitalized – shift handovers are now centralized, traceable, and independent of time and place. Employees can enter and access relevant information directly in the system, ensuring an unbroken chain of communication.
The maintenance department saw particularly tangible benefits. Issues are not only reported immediately but also documented with photos and forwarded directly to the responsible teams. This streamlined processes and significantly reduced response times. The introduction of digital checklists for recurring tasks such as flower arrangements, weekly schedules, or control rounds brought additional structure to daily routines – nothing gets forgotten, and new team members onboard faster and more effectively.
hotelkit also enables the targeted distribution of internal news. Important updates are created digitally and tailored to specific recipients based on department and responsibility. Employees receive only the information that’s relevant to them – efficiently, accurately, and transparently.
“Our focus was first and foremost on optimizing overall communication throughout the hotel – and that was clearly a success. At the same time, we managed to simplify processes like repair management.”
Hendrik Maas
Executive Chef
SIDE Design Hotel
Result
Tangible increase in efficiency
Since introducing hotelkit, daily operations at SIDE Design Hotel have transformed significantly. Internal communication now runs through a centralized platform accessible to all employees. On average, over one hundred digital handovers are created each month, ensuring that information is shared seamlessly across shifts and departments. Comments, questions, and additions are made directly in the system, resulting in a complete and transparent documentation trail.
In the maintenance area, the average completion time for repairs was reduced to under 24 hours – a number that eases the workload on the technical team and contributes to an improved guest experience. Digital task lists also help structure the workday: recurring routines are no longer overlooked and are clearly documented at all times. Visual documentation, such as photos of completed tasks or control points, further enhances transparency.
hotelkit is also used for larger projects, such as renovations, where it serves as the primary communication tool – even in collaboration with external partners and contractors. This demonstrates that the platform is not only invaluable in everyday operations but also in managing more complex, one-off initiatives.
