How WestCord responds to guests 24/7 without overloading its front desks

WestCord Hotels is a family-owned Dutch hotel chain with 16 properties across the Netherlands, ranging from a former nautical school building on the island of Vlieland to a city centre hotel in Amsterdam. Every hotel is independently managed, but WestCord provides a centralized support when it comes to new technologies and learnings are shared across the group.

The Challenge: A post-COVID surge in guest queries that chatbots couldn’t resolve

Back in 2021, WestCord Hotels noticed a rise in phone calls from guests due to COVID-related queries. While the queries themselves were usually pretty straightforward to answer, it was taking up hours of the front desks’ time each day, particularly in locations like ss Rotterdam where conference postponements meant large numbers of guests needing to reschedule their stays.

As Maurits explains:

“For us, it wasn’t about reducing calls. It was about helping more guests, more easily in the same time. If we can be where the guest is, they don't even have to call us anymore. And we can lighten the workload of our teams.”

WestCord initially tried website chatbots to answer general queries from guests about health and safety precautions and changing their booking. However, the quality of responses was too low and resulted in many guests phoning the hotels anyway, sometimes already frustrated after wasting time trying to get an answer from the chatbot.

The influx of phone calls not only made front desks extra busy, but ultimately meant that staff had less time to spend with the guests in front of them, which could impact guest experience unless action was taken.

The Solution: Automated handling of 90%+ of guest requests, while keeping the human touch

Maurits looked at several AI chatbot and phone solutions, but none of these met the high standard of communication WestCord guests expect or helped free up time for front desk staff. So when he met Runnr.ai Co-founder Michiel de Vor, he was intrigued by the different proposition: talk to guests on the channels they already use.

Each WestCord hotel is managed independently but supported by a central IT team, so Maurits decided to propose it for one hotel first, WestCord Fashion Hotel Amsterdam, to see how it worked in practice. At that point, WestCord didn’t have documented knowledge bases or standard message flows at its hotels, so The Fashion Hotel served as the blueprint.

The first focus was automating responses to pre-check-in queries sent on WhatsApp, before expanding to cover queries at any stage of the guest journey, automated updates of the PMS based on guest requests, and automated messaging via OTA inboxes like Booking.com.

Unlike chatbots, Runnr.ai takes action based on guest requests by updating the hotel’s other systems, such as the PMS, restaurant reservation system, and housekeeping systems like Flexkeeping. If requests need approval, Runnr.ai flags them for staff to review before it confirms anything to the guest.

By the following month, WestCord City Centre Hotel was also using Runnr.ai, with learnings shared between the hotels to improve the guest experience at both locations. Maurits was involved in the set up for these two hotels which meant he was perfectly positioned to advise additional WestCord hotels who were considering using Runnr.ai.

Over three years later, Runnr.ai is used by WestCord hotels across the Netherlands to handle 90%+ of guest queries and ultimately provide a better service to guests. As Maurits puts it:

“If people have a question, it doesn't matter what time it is, it doesn't matter what language it is, there's an instant answer.”

Front desk staff feedback:

A technology is only ever going to work if it’s actually useful for the teams using it day-to-day, and at WestCord, the front office staff were quick to get onboard with it. This was mainly because they initially saw it as a quick-learning trainee for them to improve digital guest experiences and spend more time with guests in the hotel, rather than something that would replace them.

To ensure the teams get the most from tools like Runnr.ai, Maurits regularly brings front office managers together to share their learnings and explore new use cases, as he explains:

“If we can have these learning moments for each other, there’s only pluses that way. That helps build a community around the platform.”

The Result: A System Every Hotel Can Run Without Waiting on Head Office

With Runnr.ai handling the majority of guest requests across the WestCord hotels, staff spend less time switching between systems and more time to focus on the guests in front of them. And because each hotel is independently managed, they stay in full control of the guest journey and tone of voice for their messages.

Fast responses 24/7, in the channels guests are already using

Instead of guests having to visit the hotel’s website to find the email address, phone number, or webchat, Runnr.ai opens a conversation with them on their preferred channel the moment their booking is confirmed. While they may not have any questions initially, this conversation is always there for them from pre-check-in to after they check-out and they’ll get instant, context-aware responses in their own language.

As a Google reviewer said about Hotel Jakarta:

More time for meaningful guest interactions

Busy front desks result in delayed responses to guests’ queries and requests. With Runnr.ai autonomously handling 90%+ of messages, staff have more time to deal with the guests in front of them, while still ensuring that guests receive quick responses on digital channels. In just a 30-day period, Runnr.ai saved 3,277 hours—or 82 working weeks—of front desk time across the 16 hotels, with over 11 working weeks saved in Hotel Jakarta alone.

Accurate responses for every guest

The quality of Runnr.ai and staff’s responses depend heavily on whether the knowledge base is complete and up-to-date. That’s why Runnr.ai flags inconsistencies and missing details for front desk staff to review and update. This works well for independently managed hotels like WestCord hotels where the policies and details can vary quite a lot from property to property.

Extra revenue per room of up to €42

While WestCord’s main focus for guest communication is not to push upsells, Runnr.ai naturally prompts relevant, in-conversation upsells, such as breakfast and late check-outs, to guests when there are signs that they may want it. Once a guest confirms they’d like an additional service, it is automatically added to their booking in the PMS and the final invoice.

Maurits explains this approach:

“The majority of upsell tools are very much based conditionally if this and that, and are very rigid. With Runnr.ai, it’s frictionless. For example, if the guest is asking about wellness, we might say ‘Would you like me to make a reservation for a massage?’.”

What's Next: Becoming WestCord's Central Communications Hub

WestCord's ambition for Runnr.ai goes beyond answering guest questions. The next phase is turning it into a single communications hub across the business, supporting internal conversations between colleagues, arrival briefings for staff, and a way to nudge guests who book through OTAs toward WhatsApp, where response times and personalization tends to be stronger.

Maurits explains:

“It’s really about becoming that one centralized location where every interhuman connection that's not face to face is happening.”

Get Started with Runnr.ai

Used by 1,000+ accommodations across Europe, Runnr.ai is the platform of choice for hotels, holiday parks, and aparthotels to automate guest messaging across WhatsApp, OTA inboxes, webchat, and more, so hospitality teams can focus on real hospitality.

Ready to upgrade your guest communication? Book a demo or try Runnr.ai on WhatsApp.