How consolidating systems helped Buitenplaats de Bergse Bossen save the equivalent of a full-time employee in administrative work each year. 

Buitenplaats de Bergse Bossen is a mid-sized hotel located in national park the Utrechtse Heuvelrug, near the town of Driebergen. Surrounded by forest and greenery, the hotel offers a unique setting for both business and leisure guests.

With 70 hotel rooms, meeting facilities, and a restaurant, the hotel primarily caters to business travellers during the week, while weekends are largely occupied by leisure guests looking to enjoy nature.

This mix of guest types makes efficient, streamlined processes essential to ensure a smooth and stress-free guest experience.

The Challenge

Before working with Smarthotel / Net Affinity and Van Hessen, Buitenplaats de Bergse Bossen relied on two separate systems: one for individual reservations and another for group and event bookings.

This setup led to inconsistencies between systems, making operations prone to errors such as overlapping reservations and overbookings.

In addition, payment processes were not streamlined. Manual handling of payments and administration was time-consuming and inefficient, putting pressure on the team.

The Approach

To address these challenges, Buitenplaats de Bergse Bossen looked for a reliable partner to optimise both their operations and payment processes.

They partnered with Van Hessen to analyse their existing setup and consolidate all reservations into a single system. The implementation of Opera created a stable foundation by resolving the misalignment between systems.

With this in place, the next step was to improve how payments were handled. This is where Smarthotel / Net Affinity made the difference.

By implementing Smart Payments, the hotel was able to automate a large part of its payment flows. Thanks to the seamless integration with the existing setup, payments are now directly connected to reservations, removing manual steps and reducing the risk of errors.

The Result

Marie-France, Rooms Division Manager at Buitenplaats de Bergse Bossen, explains that a large part of their payment processes is now automated. This has significantly reduced administrative workload, allowing the team to focus more on the guest experience.

Vero Nater, Commercial Manager, highlights how the setup now feels like one unified system. Thanks to strong integrations, the team can manage the full guest journey, from reservation to restaurant payments and checkout, within one streamlined flow.

He explains:

“I think we easily save one to two minutes per reservation, especially with the payment links we use. If you multiply that across 70 rooms, 365 days a year, the time savings quickly add up. It’s comparable to the workload of a full-time employee.”

Beyond the operational improvements, Vero emphasises the value of working with partners who think ahead. Both Smarthotel / Net Affinity and Van Hessen continuously evolve their solutions, helping Buitenplaats de Bergse Bossen adapt to changing needs and further optimise their operations over time.

This forward-thinking approach ensures that the hotel is not only efficient today, but also well-prepared for the future.

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Smart Payments by Smarthotel / Net Affinity automates your payment flows, reduces manual work, and connects seamlessly with your existing systems.

Spend less time on administration and more time on your guests.

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