HOTEL CASE STUDY
VIVE LA VIE GUESTHOUSE | THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE FRENCH CORNER
Visiting Franschhoek is even more special with a stay at the renowned Vive La Vie guesthouse. The guesthouse has experienced tremendous success since using RoomRaccoon, with an increase in RevPAR and a year-on-year direct booking increase. This case study explores the features and tools utilized by Vive La Vie Guest House to achieve this success.
About Vive La Vie Guesthouse
The Western Cape’s stunning mountain views, renowned wineries, and acclaimed eateries make Franschhoek an ideal destination for any traveler wishing to experience South Africa’s natural beauty. Operated by HJN Property Management Group as part of their extensive portfolio, Vive La Vie stands out as a tranquil getaway on the outskirts of Franschhoek. From its lavish pool to its private outdoor patio, this accommodation provides a tranquil atmosphere for exploring all the French Corner offers.
Revenue Reaches New Heights
Challenge
Like many other accommodation businesses, Vive La Vie faced a challenge with the commission structures imposed by online travel agencies (OTAs) like Booking.com. As international travel began to recover post-Covid, the commission rates charged by OTAs increased, significantly impacting Vive La Vie’s expenses and reducing its revenue per available room (RevPAR). While OTAs provided increased visibility and searchability for the hotel, the commission structures attached to bookings needed to be more sustainable, as it was hindering their financial performance.
Solution
By leveraging RoomRaccoon’s integrated channel manager, Vive La Vie gained access to Expedia, Agoda, and Booking.com while maintaining control over their rates and distribution. Vive La Vie strategically decided to remove discounting rates from OTAs and exclusively offer discounted rates and specials through RoomRaccoon’s built-in booking engine. This approach encouraged guests to book directly with Vive La Vie, minimising the reliance on expensive OTA bookings and reducing commission expenses.
Result
The strategic implementation of RoomRaccoon brought remarkable results for Vive La Vie. Between 2021 and 2022, they achieved a staggering 331% increase in RevPAR.
“RoomRaccoon is a much easier system for our guests to work with, and for us to work with. RoomRaccoon was always one step ahead of what our previous provider had to offer. When we were with our previous provider, it was good, but we still had to manually execute a lot of our manual tasks. Now, we spend a lot more time on our marketing, because the system automates so many of our daily tasks for us.”
PETER WEIDEMAN - GENERAL PROPERTY MANAGER
Enhancing Guest Experiences
Challenge
Vive La Vie faced challenges with its previous hotel management system, which required the manual execution of many tasks, consuming valuable time and resources. This manual workload hindered their ability to focus on marketing efforts and other crucial aspects of their business. They sought a solution to simplify operations for guests and staff while automating daily tasks to save time for more important activities.
Solution
RoomRaccoon proved to be a step ahead, providing a more intuitive system for guests and staff. With RoomRaccoon, Vive La Vie was able to streamline its operations, automate daily tasks, and enhance guest experiences. The system’s automation features enabled them to implement online check-in, send automated pre-arrival emails, and offer upgrades through RaccoonUpsell, the automated guest service menu. This allowed Vive La Vie to focus more on marketing efforts, improve guest satisfaction, and better prepare for guest requirements.
Result
About 40% of guests use online check-in, saving time and driving upgrades.
Driving Direct Bookings
Challenge
As a tourist hotspot in South Africa, competition in Franschhoek is fierce. The team at Vive La Vie knew they had to stand out in the competitive market. To do this, they recognised that creating a connected guest experience from booking to post-stay was essential, with direct bookings playing a major role. They set out to strengthen their brand and ensure guests had an enjoyable stay.
Solution
RoomRaccoon was an obvious choice for Vive La Vie due to its guest-facing booking engine features. These include discount codes, Raccoon Price Checker, a multi-property drop-down feature, currency and language converter, as well as customisable booking confirmation templates. Even better, RoomRaccoon also offers advanced capabilities such as yield manager to ensure that Vive La Vie always gets optimum pricing for their rooms.
Result
With a website optimized to turn more visitors into paying guests, Vive La Vie experiences a 10% year-on-year increase in direct bookings.
“About 40% of our guests use online check-in. We can set up an automated pre-arrival email to send out to guests 7 days before they arrive to remind them of their booking at Vive La Vie with a check-in link. We can also offer them upgrades there, like added extras using RaccoonUpsell."
PETER WEIDEMAN - GENERAL PROPERTY MANAGER
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