The story of guesthouse Sternen, located in Germany’s Black Forest region, began more than 100 years ago – that’s how long guests have been visiting in search of nature and relaxation.

The Wofford family took over management of the property in the summer of 2020 and started an extensive renovation project, resulting in a guesthouse with four modern double rooms and holiday homes as well as a sauna and a common room. 

We recently spoke to owners Alexandra Klosok-Wofford and Michael Wofford, to find out how introducing Little Hotelier has optimised their online distribution and day-to-day efforts. 

All reservations are now 100 % digital

In the past Alexandra and Michael were capturing each reservation manually in their calendar. This was time-consuming and can be very confusing.

“My biggest worry was accidental double bookings. This would’ve been such an inconvenience for guests! Our guesthouse is in quite a remote location and there’s not a lot of alternative booking options nearby”, Alexandra said.

Since using Little Hotelier, bookings are going directly into their PMS via the property’s website and coming in from OTAs via the channel manager feature. Reservations are automatically reflected in the inventory and all guest data is being transferred as well. 

“It’s such a relief to know we’re not accidentally overbooking our property. Plus, we’re saving a lot of time with this new solution, because we don’t have to manually edit the bookings anymore”, Alexandra explained.  

Their online distribution is more diverse

Guesthouse Sternen is now using Little Hotelier‘s channel manager which allows guest to book online and via OTAs for the first time ever. This had a very positive effect on the total number of bookings – but it gets even better. 

“Together with the Little Hotelier team we’re working on an entirely new website. The templates and design options are attractive and very user-friendly. We’re confident that we’ll soon be able to generate even more bookings”, Alexandra said.

The two owners are planning to connect to additional OTAs in order to reach more markets. This takes only a few clicks with the channel manager.

“Currently we’re mostly welcoming guests from Germany. Our guesthouse has been around for many years, and we were able to build great relationships with our returning guests. However, it would be nice to also see some international travellers from time to time. That’s why we’re planning to test new distribution channels soon”, Michael said. 

The future is full of potential

Setting up Little Hotelier came with a few challenges, as Alexandra and Michael had no experience with PMSs or online distribution.

“The switch to the new system was a learning process for us. But I’m glad we took the step and now I even recommended Little Hotelier to others. I’m looking forward to learning more about the platform. Every time I log in, I discover another helpful feature”, Alexandra said.

And Michael agreed: “Now that we’ve set everything up and know how it works, I’m sure we can attract more guests with Little Hotelier and our new website.“

Thank you for talking to us Alexandra and Michael! We hope you’ll continue to have a great experience with Little Hotelier and wish you nothing but success with your new website. 

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