Sumatra Surf Camp is the perfect location for keen surfers, who will appreciate the 200m long waves that front the property. Located on the stunning west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, the surf camp is locally designed, featuring 11 twin-share and three queen bungalows, where up to 28 guests can comfortably settle into the natural beauty Indonesia has to offer.

Owner Michael Maxwell operates the resort remotely. His trusty management team are responsible for the day-to-day management of the guests, ensuring they receive the best experience possible including; the maintenance of hire gear, managing reservations, providing wholesome meals three times a day, and providing transport for guest pick-ups.

What’s the biggest challenge of operating a small resort like this?

To begin with, it was very hard to manually process bookings, even with a few rooms. Keeping a manual calendar was just as tricky to keep on top of.

What convinced you to look for a technology-based solution?

If I didn’t do anything about it, I’d have less hair and a lot less customers! We found we were losing bookings due to the time it was taking to manually process reservations and complete bookings.

What should owners and managers look for when choosing a provider?

Practicality. I was attracted to Little Hotelier because it was suitable for our size and operation. I looked at other software providers and Little Hotelier was the easiest to use.

How does hotel technology like this help small hotels and B&Bs?

The time-saving is enormous – virtually everything is done for me. I’m saving a lot of time as I don’t have to manually process bookings. We used to use Excel spreadsheets which was really difficult, now we can just log in with no need to download booking sheets. We also get fewer customer emails about how to book and pay and I’d say this is due to the mobile booking engine opening up easily. Finding bookings and managing them is now a breeze.

Sumatra Surf Camp uses Little Hotelier software to manage reservations

Does it help you manage your business remotely?

It’s a big, big plus. I’m glad we chose Little Hotelier for our property. It is perfect for businesses our size and really easy to work with. We were up and running in no time too. The support team guided me through every step of the process.

By Dean Elphick

Dean is the Senior Content Marketing Specialist of Little Hotelier, the all-in-one software solution purpose-built to make the lives of small accommodation providers easier. Dean has made writing and creating content his passion for the entirety of his professional life, which includes more than six years at Little Hotelier. Through content, Dean aims to provide education, inspiration, assistance, and, ultimately, value for small accommodation businesses looking to improve the way they run their operations (and live their life).