CheckVienna

Tell us about your property.

I’ve been working at CheckVienna for 13 years. We started out—under a different name—with just three apartments.

Today, we manage close to 280 units, and more are being added.

I’d place our apartments at the level of a three-star hotel. We primarily focus on leisure travelers, people who are looking for excellent value—couples, families, and groups.

On average, our guests stay for about three nights. But we also have a block of 14 apartments listed for monthly rentals, which cater specifically to corporate clients.

Because our offering is so broad, we benefit from being able to offset a dip in one segment by filling it with another.

The majority of our bookings come through Booking.com—around 60%.

Next, about 20% come from Airbnb, maybe 5% from Expedia, and the rest are direct bookings, mostly from corporate clients and repeat guests.

For us, Smartpricing clearly delivers reduced stress, better pricing, and time savings. We’ve simply reached a point where the computer does it better—and anyone not using this kind of tool is already at a competitive disadvantage.

Since when have you been using Smartpricing?

We connected our first property—with 40 units—to Smartpricing in March 2023.

It worked so well that we soon rolled it out across all our other properties.

In the beginning, we spent some time fine-tuning the algorithm, but after that, the pricing aligned really well with our expectations.

Now, not only are we seeing strong rates in the classic tourist segment, but we’re also achieving good occupancy and competitive rates in our long-stay apartments—probably the best rates we’ve ever had there.

We’re looking forward to seeing how Smartpricing performs once it’s gone through all the seasons and can refine even further based on past data.

How did you handle pricing before Smartpricing?

We learned pricing over the years ourselves. Eventually, I had an Excel spreadsheet where each season was broken down day by day.

We analyzed what rates we had actually sold at and often copied prices from previous seasons.

From that, we calculated an average rate, set realistic revenue targets, added a markup, and of course factored in cleaning fees and other costs.

But even with all that, it was hard to keep constant oversight on occupancy levels. So, we also looked for technological support.

A few years ago, we even had a custom price crawler developed to monitor competitor rates and availability.

That helped us start adjusting rates—raising them when occupancy was high, lowering them when we still had plenty of availability.

Over time, we developed our own system that worked quite well.

Every time we tested other market analysis or pricing tools, they produced worse results than what we could do ourselves.

Smartpricing was the first solution that matched—and then exceeded—our own outcomes.

What need or challenge were you looking to address?

I’m very tech-driven, and we’ve already implemented IT solutions across many areas of our business.

Our goal is to automate as much as possible and operate with minimal staff.

We’re constantly working on optimizing and improving.

It’s part of our company culture: I don’t want to be doing things the same way next year as I did the year before—standing still isn’t an option.

In the search for the right tools, we’ve tried a lot—and, naturally, failed a few times too. That experience has made me quick to spot whether a provider truly understands their product.

With Smartpricing, that became clear right away. Plus, they had the connection to our channel manager, so we went for it.

What convinced you to choose Smartpricing?

Part of it comes down to our mindset: not believing we’re the best at everything, but asking, "Where in the company is there still room to improve?"

And pricing is something that technology can easily enhance.

What sold me on Smartpricing was that it wasn’t some small three-person operation working out of a garage anymore—it already had a solid track record and customer base.

I wanted a working product, not to be a guinea pig (though we were the first customer in Vienna!).

Another key point was how knowledgeable their sales rep was—she was able to answer all my questions. There are a lot of providers who focus solely on hotels and don’t consider the nuances of vacation rentals.

Smartpricing had already thought through these pain points.

What results have you achieved with Smartpricing?

Our revenue has increased by 41%. Even after factoring in inflation, we’re still up by around 30%.

In other words, we’re keeping our prices high enough to outpace inflation.

But it’s not just about revenue—Smartpricing also gives me peace of mind.

Before, I used to sit down every day, obsessing over prices. It was a stressful task because I knew if I made a mistake, it could cost us €50,000.

Now, with Smartpricing, I’m confident we won’t miss trends or key events.

It gives me the peace of mind to know I can sleep soundly without worrying something will spiral out of control.

It used to be: if we were well booked, I felt bad because I thought I’d priced too low. If we weren’t booked, I felt bad because we had empty units.

That pressure is gone. Smartpricing takes it off my shoulders—and that’s invaluable.

Have you saved time with Smartpricing?

Absolutely. Before, we updated prices twice a week, with two people, so we always had coverage even if someone was on vacation.

That took about 1.5 hours each time, plus one or two longer sessions each month for in-depth analysis.

Now, we still keep an eye on the system, but compared to before, we’re spending maybe one-fifth of the time.

It’s a huge time saver. But for me, the real value isn’t just in the time savings—it’s that pricing is such a crucial part of the business, and Smartpricing allows us to handle it without needing to hire a highly specialized expert.

What do you like most about Smartpricing?

The most important thing, of course, is the rates. If the rates weren’t good, nothing else would matter.

What I appreciate most is that we’re getting the right prices—both for short-term bookings and long-stay rentals.

Also crucial is that Smartpricing automatically syncs prices with our channel manager.

With Smartpricing, I know nothing will go wrong, even if I don’t touch anything for a month or if I’m suddenly out sick.

Smartpricing in one phrase?

It delivers what it promises.

Smartpricing says it provides intelligent pricing—and that’s exactly what it does.

Would you ever go back to your old system?

No, definitely not.

It’s clear: less stress for me, better prices, time savings.

We’ve simply reached the point where the computer does it better. And anyone not leveraging this kind of technology is already at a disadvantage.