Hotel Scherlin

Tell us about your property.

My sister and I run Hotel Scherlin together with our parents – it’s now in its third generation.

We have 48 rooms in the main building, plus a chalet and additional vacation apartments. Altogether, that brings us to about 60 units, all managed with Smartpricing.

Our winter season runs from early December to early April, depending on the ski season. Summer kicks off in mid-May, and as one of the longest-operating properties in the area, we welcome guests all the way through mid-November.

Our hotel guests primarily come from the DACH region, while at the start of the year, we also see many visitors from Eastern Europe.

The vacation apartments attract a very international clientele, including guests from Israel and the U.S.

We work with Booking.com, which accounts for 30 to 40% of our bookings.

Direct bookings by phone or email make up less than 20%.

The rest comes through our channel manager, which connects not only to our website but also to a variety of regional booking portals.

People are often skeptical about dynamic pricing or AI. But no human can work as fast or take as many factors into account as necessary. Only software can calculate prices this accurately and effectively.

Since when have you been using Smartpricing?

I first came across Smartpricing at a trade fair in South Tyrol.

I always keep an eye on where innovation is headed, and I find automation particularly exciting for our industry.

Once we decided to give Smartpricing a try, I sat down with our hotel software provider and IT team, and integrating Smartpricing was smooth and seamless.

We’ve been using it since March 2023.

How did you handle pricing before Smartpricing?

We used a fixed price list, which we set up for the coming year.

At the end of each season, we’d manually compare our prices to occupancy levels to figure out where we had priced too high or too low.

But once the list was set, there wasn’t much we could change, and over the years, this led to inconsistent occupancy.

What need or problem were you trying to solve?

We’ve always performed well, but we wanted to optimize one key area – occupancy.

With our price list, the gap between high and low season rates was too narrow. We never dared to set really high prices during peak times because we couldn’t adjust them later.

And during the low season, we often priced too low, yet still found ourselves overpriced on certain days.

Take the second weekend in October, for example – that’s always a big event for us because of the Kastelruther Spatzen Festival. After that, though, we had to bridge three quieter weeks until All Saints’ Day.

It was always tricky to find the right price for that period.

Post-COVID, it became clear that we needed to be more flexible. Guests no longer book as far in advance as they used to – it’s more last-minute now. German tourists, for example, have shifted their travel patterns quite a bit.

For us, bookings today are heavily dependent on weather. We’re seeing inquiries coming in just three to four days ahead of arrival, no longer one to two months in advance like before.

What convinced you to start using Smartpricing?

I firmly believe you have to look ahead, and dynamic pricing is the future in our industry.

I first encountered dynamic pricing concepts at Tipworld or the Hotel trade fair in Bolzano.

It made perfect sense to me, so we decided to try Smartpricing – it had left a positive impression.

And now, after initial skepticism from staff and even other hotels in our vacation region like Val Gardena, it’s clear that this approach is catching on. Because, simply put, it works.

What results have you achieved with Smartpricing?

We’ve focused especially on improving occupancy because, compared to neighboring hotels that close in April, October, and November, we’re open much longer.

In a location like ours, January and February occupancy isn’t an issue. But there’s still a lot of untapped potential in the low season.

That’s where Smartpricing has really delivered – our low-season occupancy has been consistently strong, even excellent.

Looking ahead to next year, we’re already almost fully booked for January, February, July, and October.

We’ve also noticed a shift in our guests: In the past, people stayed a full week for sightseeing tours or hiking trips. Now, we’re seeing a younger crowd who stays for just three or four days but wants a premium experience – and they’re willing to pay more.

What’s great about Smartpricing is that it’s not afraid to push the rate higher for the last few rooms in January – and sure enough, someone always books them.

So our average daily rate has climbed nicely, which is a great added benefit.

For me, it’s also important to emphasize that Smartpricing works well for vacation hotels and for longer stays.

We have a large number of repeat guests, too.

And how do your regular guests react to dynamic pricing?

Honestly, they respond even better to it than to a fixed price list!

Because when they book a year in advance like they always have, they get a fantastic rate and feel appreciated and valued.

It’s with the last-minute guests where we can really maximize revenue.

So: Smartpricing is perfect even for vacation hotels.

Has Smartpricing helped you save time?

Absolutely – we’ve seen a big time savings. I no longer have to worry about maintaining a price list.

Before, it was always a back-and-forth. When it came time to set next year’s prices, everyone had a different opinion.

And now? If I ask my father what rate guests are currently paying, he wouldn’t know – because he trusts the software to handle it.

What do you like best about Smartpricing? What’s the biggest advantage for you?

First and foremost, the algorithm.

When I look at the current guest bookings, I can see they’ve paid very different rates – depending on when they booked and how long they’re staying.

That gives me a clear, concrete view of how Smartpricing works.

It’s the automation I value most. You always get the best price for each guest and can really maximize revenue.

Sometimes in September, we’ll tweak a few modifiers to fine-tune things, but otherwise, we don’t intervene anymore.

Smartpricing in one word?

Relaxing.

When a walk-in guest (or as we call them, a passerby) shows up, we don’t have to sit there debating, “What rate should we offer them?”

We just check the software and are consistently impressed by how well the prices are calculated.

It always fits, and we almost always book the room out.

I don’t need to step in – the system handles it all.

Would you ever go back to using a fixed price list?

No, definitely not.

People are always a bit skeptical about dynamic pricing or AI.

But no human could ever work as fast or process as many variables as needed. Only software can do that with such precision.

By the time I’d analyze occupancy trends and competitor data, it wouldn't even compare.

That’s why I believe you have to stay open to it. You can ease into it cautiously.

But once you experience the change, you won’t want to go back.