1Dest
With Smartchat Ultra, we save 20 hours a month previously spent on phone calls, and customer service has improved: average response time is now just 11 seconds.
Riva del Garda
120
Background
1Dest is a property management company operating in the northern area of Lake Garda, where it manages apartments under a full-management model, handling 100% of operations on behalf of property owners.
Founded in 2018 with 15 apartments, the company set an ambitious goal from the start: grow quickly without compromising service quality.
To support this vision, 1Dest began early on to look for a technology partner and became the very first customer of Smartpricing, even before Smartness existed as an all-in-one platform.
Over time, alongside pricing management, 1Dest adopted Smartpms, Smartconnect, and Smartchat, turning Smartness from a simple software provider into a true 360-degree operational partner. Thanks in part to this technology ecosystem, 1Dest has grown to manage 120 apartments in just a few years.
The challenge
To support its growth, 1Dest identified three key areas that needed improvement.
Operational management
Until 2023, the company used a PMS combined with a proprietary solution that still required most bureaucratic, accounting, and guest communication tasks to be handled manually. This approach was no longer sustainable, especially as the number of managed apartments increased.
Pricing strategy
Smartpricing had been in place since day one, but managing differentiated pricing strategies for each apartment internally was becoming increasingly complex. The team spent about two hours per week managing rates, but wanted a more advanced, fully data-driven approach.
Customer service
With a high volume of guests and requests, part of the operations team was also responsible for customer service, providing coverage seven days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. This dual responsibility made it difficult to manage other daily operations efficiently, especially during peak periods.
The solution
To make growth sustainable and simplify operations, in 2023 1Dest decided to completely overhaul its digital infrastructure. After a detailed evaluation comparing ten different PMS solutions, the company chose the all-in-one PMS Ciaobooking, now Smartpms, with the goal of centralizing bureaucracy, communication, and accounting in a single system.
At the same time, 1Dest strengthened its pricing approach by upgrading to Smartpricing Ultra and fully delegating both pricing and distribution strategy to a dedicated revenue manager from the Smartness team.
Finally, to improve customer service efficiency, the company introduced Smartchat Ultra. The Smartness team now handles guest chats and phone calls, allowing 1Dest to redistribute responsibilities, reorganize workflows, and reduce operational costs.
“We want to grow, and we know that without testing new solutions, growth isn’t possible. That’s why we followed Smartness’ evolution and adopted all their products with enthusiasm. Today, having a single partner supporting us across all strategic areas is an advantage we couldn’t give up.”
The results
Customer service: 20 hours of calls per month and 113 messages per day
Smartchat Ultra has helped 1Dest significantly improve both efficiency and service quality, while reducing the time and budget dedicated to customer support.
Thanks to the new setup, the team members who previously handled customer service no longer have to juggle calls and chats throughout the day. They can now focus on higher-value activities, such as sourcing and onboarding new properties.
“Only now have we realized how much time we were actually spending on customer service. In the first four months alone, the team handled an average of 129 guest contacts per day on our behalf.
Just phone calls saved us 20 hours per month, but the biggest impact is on messaging: around 113 messages per day across OTAs, email, and WhatsApp. Channels we previously had to open and monitor one by one. An endless task.
The best part? Customer service quality has improved dramatically. Today, our guests wait an average of just 11 seconds for a reply. We didn’t think this was even possible.”
Revenue: +31% in one year
Thanks to the decision to work with a dedicated revenue manager, 1Dest was able to define tailored pricing strategies for each individual property, achieving a +31% increase in revenue and a +23% increase in occupancy within one year.
“We were already satisfied with Smartpricing, but with such a high number of apartments we still had to spend about two hours a week reviewing the strategy. There was always the feeling that we weren’t fully exploiting the algorithm’s potential.
Now, with a revenue manager handling everything for us, we feel more confident and can finally think long term. For example, we’re already working on stimulating bookings for the next low season.”
Operations and sales: +13% direct bookings
The introduction of Smartpms delivered immediate operational benefits for 1Dest. Bureaucratic processes such as guest registration, statistics reporting, and regulatory requirements were fully automated, while templates and automated messages streamlined all guest communication.
An additional advantage came from the direct integration with the Italian Revenue Agency’s electronic cash register, eliminating several accounting issues that previously required manual checks and reconciliations.
At the same time, thanks to the integration with Smartconnect and the Smartsite service, 1Dest was able to build a more structured and effective marketing strategy focused on reducing the reliance on online travel agencies. In a short time, the company launched a renewed, SEO-optimized website, email marketing campaigns to its own database, and advertising campaigns on Google and Meta.
“In the past, we had run internal tests with Google Ads, but we weren’t structured enough and the results were disappointing. Now that we’ve implemented a truly complete system, we’re starting to see the first results, with direct bookings up by 13%. There’s still work to do, but we’re clearly moving in the right direction.”
GoHost
Smartchat Ultra freed up three to six hours a day that we used to spend on customer service. Now we have more time to grow the company and fewer negative review scores.
Mamaco
When I saw how the Smartchat Ultra team was responding to guests, I was won over. From the very beginning, they helped us reduce OTA dependency. We had never seen so many direct bookings.