Hotels Without Reception: How Hey Lou and Other New Chains Automate 90% of Processes

Martin Kemmer, head of Hey Lou Hotel in Monheim, opened in 2024 between Cologne and Düsseldorf, says: "90% of our processes are automated." Instead of a reception desk, there are terminals, guests check in themselves, and in the evening they enter the building via smartphone. For 178 rooms, seven people work per shift – with an industry ratio of 0.5 employees per room in the mid-range and 1.2–2 in luxury. The bed linen is equipped with sensors: if the guest hasn't used it, washing is unnecessary. Kemmer plans to soon launch a video chat bot for requests like an extra bed or a hypoallergenic pillow. Locations for the seven hotels in the chain were chosen based on data.

Moritz Dietl from the consulting firm Treugast explains the pressure on the industry: "The margin has significantly shrunk due to inflation, indexation in lease agreements, and new tariff agreements." According to him, only the booking process is mostly digitized, while internal communication and self-check-in have been implemented by less than half of the hotels. The self-assessment of digitalization among a hundred respondents is 3.4 out of 5 stars, although two-thirds consider AI important over the next two years.

Tini Diekmann, head of Oderberger in Berlin, has implemented a cloud-based PMS and Smart Host system but limits herself to two new tools a year to avoid overloading guests and staff. According to the Oracle Hospitality Report, 53.6% of travelers want contactless check-in and check-out, as well as voice control in the room, and more than 10% want facial recognition. Dietl believes that personal service will become a paid option: "The more personal service, the higher the price." Similar models are used by Koncept Hotels in Leverkusen, Stayery, and the Finnish-Estonian Bob W, which acquired Charity Hotels in 2023.