How Buitenplaats de Bergse Bossen reduced administrative workload by integrating reservations and payments into one connected system. 

Buitenplaats de Bergse Bossen is a four-star hotel located on the Utrechtse Heuvelrug, close to the town of Driebergen. Surrounded by nature and woodland, the hotel welcomes a mix of business and leisure guests throughout the year. 

The hotel features 70 rooms, meeting and event facilities, and an on-site restaurant. During the week, the focus is mainly on corporate stays and meetings, while weekends attract guests looking to relax and explore the surrounding area. 

Managing these different guest journeys efficiently requires reliable systems and streamlined operations to ensure a consistent guest experience at every stage of the stay. 

The Challenge

Prior to working with Net Affinity / Smarthotel and Van Hessen, Buitenplaats de Bergse Bossen was operating with separate platforms for individual reservations and group or event bookings. 

Managing bookings across disconnected systems made day-to-day operations unnecessarily complex. Information did not always sync correctly, increasing the likelihood of booking conflicts and operational errors. 

The hotel also faced challenges when it came to payment processing. Many payment and reconciliation tasks were handled manually, which took up valuable time and added extra administrative pressure for the team.  

The Approach

To create a more efficient and connected way of working, Buitenplaats de Bergse Bossen set out to find partners that could help streamline both operations and payment management. 

Together with Van Hessen, the hotel reviewed its existing processes and worked towards bringing all reservation flows together within one central system. By implementing Opera, the disconnect between booking systems was resolved, creating a more reliable operational setup. 

Once the reservation side was optimised, the focus shifted towards improving payment processes. Smarthotel / Net Affinity supported the hotel in further automating operations through Smart Payments. 

With Smart Payments fully integrated into the existing environment, payment processing became directly linked to reservations and guest journeys. This significantly reduced manual handling, improved efficiency, and minimised the chance of administrative errors. 

The result 

According to Marie-France, Rooms Division Manager at Buitenplaats de Bergse Bossen, automating payment processes has had a major impact on the day-to-day operation of the hotel. By reducing the amount of manual administration, the team now has more time to dedicate to guests and service. 

For Vero Nater, Commercial Manager, one of the biggest improvements is the way all systems now work together as one connected environment. From the moment a reservation is made through to restaurant payments and check-out, the entire guest journey can be managed within a single streamlined workflow. 

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 efficiencies, Vero values the long-term collaboration and future-focused mindset of both Smarthotel / Net Affinity and Van Hessen. By continuously improving integrations and adapting to changing hotel needs, both partners help Buitenplaats de Bergse Bossen keep optimising its operations over time. 

As a result, the hotel benefits not only from greater efficiency today, but also from a setup designed to support future growth and evolving guest expectations. 

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Looking to streamline your hotel payment operations? 

Smart Payments by Smarthotel / Net Affinity helps hotels automate payment processing, reduce manual administration, and connect payments seamlessly with existing hotel systems. 

By simplifying operational workflows, your team can spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time delivering a great guest experience. 

Book a demo to see how Smart Payments can support your hotel operations.