Customer Spotlight: Maison Nationale City Flats & Suites

Key Results:

• Time savings: Streamlined daily operations by consolidating bookings and automating manual tasks, freeing up valuable time for strategic focus.

• Operational efficiency: Centralized management of multiple booking platforms, reducing the risk of double bookings and improving team coordination.

• Enhanced guest experience: Delivered seamless communication and professional service, reinforcing the boutique hotel’s reputation for personalized hospitality.

Background

Maison Nationale City Flats & Suites is a boutique hotel located in the historic center of Antwerp, Belgium, near the city’s renowned fashion museum. Owned and operated by Tom Volders and his wife Karen, the hotel occupies a beautifully renovated mansion that has been in Tom’s family for over a century. Featuring eight luxurious suites and a ground-floor fashion store, the property offers a unique blend of historic charm and modern amenities, attracting both leisure and business travelers.

Tom and Karen’s vision for Maison Nationale was to combine the intimacy of a boutique experience with the professionalism of a larger hotel. Over the past decade, the hotel has become a go-to destination for visitors seeking high-quality accommodations in a central location. However, as demand grew, the need for more efficient operational tools became apparent.

Managing Operations Without a Centralized System

Challenge

In its early days, Maison Nationale operated without a channel manager, relying on manual processes for booking management and guest communication. Tom recalled the process: “Managing bookings through multiple platforms and manually sending guest communications quickly became unsustainable as the business grew.”

Without a centralized system, Tom had to manually update availability across various OTAs, which was time-consuming and prone to errors. This manual approach not only increased the administrative burden but also raised the risk of overbookings.

Solution

Starting in 2016, Tom implemented Lighthouse’s Channel Manager, which immediately transformed the way Maison Nationale managed its operations. By consolidating bookings from platforms like Airbnb, Expedia, and Booking.com into a single system, Lighthouse eliminated the inefficiencies of juggling multiple platforms. Channel Manager in combination with Reservation Manager further streamlined and automated daily tasks, allowing Tom and his team to focus on enhancing the guest experience.

Results

By automating OTA synchronization, Maison Nationale saved hours of manual updates each week, allowing Tom to focus on guests. The centralized system also eliminated overbooking errors, ensuring a seamless experience for both the staff and guests.

Risk of Double Bookings and Inefficient Coordination

Challenge

Without a centralized platform, managing availability across OTAs and coordinating team efforts was challenging. “Double bookings were a real risk,” Tom says, “and daily coordination with cleaning staff and other team members often involved unnecessary back-and-forth.”

This inefficiency not only complicated day-to-day operations but also had the potential to negatively impact the guest experience. Ensuring a smooth check-in process and avoiding operational delays required a more reliable system.

Solution

Lighthouse provided a centralized system that synchronized bookings across OTAs, ensuring availability was always up-to-date. This eliminated the risk of double bookings and simplified team coordination. “We use it daily,” Tom says

By providing a clear daily and weekly calendar overview of bookings, Lighthouse enabled the team to allocate resources effectively. Tasks such as assigning rooms and monitoring guest check-ins became seamless and error-free. “We start the day and end the day with Lighthouse,” Tom adds, highlighting the platform’s integral role in their operations via Channel Manager and Reservation Manager.

Results

Lighthouse virtually eliminated double bookings, improving the guest experience and reducing operational disruptions. Its centralized system ensured real-time availability updates, enabling them to respond quickly to last-minute changes.

Final thoughts

Maison Nationale’s journey illustrates how Lighthouse solutions empower independent hoteliers to overcome challenges and compete with larger chains by providing powerful, user-friendly tools that streamline operations and enhance guest experiences. “Lighthouse is definitely contributing to the professionalism of the way we work,” Tom concludes.

Whether you’re managing a boutique hotel or a guesthouse, Lighthouse offers the technology and support to help you save time, operate efficiently, and deliver exceptional guest experiences—all while staying true to your unique vision as an independent hotelier.