Affittaly
I wondered whether it was really possible for outsiders to understand my business well enough to handle customer service. The Smartchat team proved that it is.
Bologna, Italy
20
Background
Affittaly is a property management company based in Bologna, active since 2015 and specialized in managing vacation rentals and guesthouses.
What started with a single property gradually grew over the years into a portfolio of twenty units, mostly located in the city center.
The guest mix includes both leisure and business travelers, with demand fluctuating significantly depending on trade fairs and local events.
The challenge
As the number of managed units increased, Affittaly faced growing difficulties in handling guest communication. The first solution was to hire a dedicated staff member.
“At first, we needed someone to handle check-ins. Once self check-in was implemented across all properties, her role shifted entirely to remote guest communication, answering chats and phone calls.
The problem was that, even though she could theoretically work independently, she constantly needed to check back with me. In the end, I was carrying most of the workload anyway, while also sustaining a significant personnel cost. At some point, I said: enough.”
With personnel costs becoming increasingly unsustainable and the workload remaining unchanged, the team began looking for alternative solutions.
“After ending that collaboration, I handled guest communication on my own. I could manage it—but at what cost? The volume of requests made it impossible to keep up with other tasks. That’s when I realized I needed a system that could respond autonomously.”
The solution
Affittaly started searching for a new provider and eventually found Smartchat, choosing the Ultra service—the only option that offered a dedicated external team capable of fully managing both phone calls and messages from email, WhatsApp, Booking.com, and Airbnb.
Given previous experiences with external staff, Affittaly initially had doubts about entrusting guest communication to a team unfamiliar with the property.
“At first, I had my doubts. I wondered whether it was really possible for outsiders to connect with my business well enough to manage customer service effectively.”
The Smartchat team completed training for all twenty Affittaly properties in just two days.
They began by thoroughly reviewing all documentation provided for each unit: operational instructions, templates, and the references used daily in guest communication.
They then created a dedicated internal workflow, validated directly by Affittaly. This preparatory work made it possible to fully understand and accurately replicate the client’s way of working from the very first days.
As a result, initial concerns quickly turned into trust:
“In the end, it went well—actually, very well. I thought it would be difficult to explain my way of working, but I realized I was dealing with professionals who do this for a living. They know exactly how to structure processes and where to intervene.”
The results
In a short time, the Smartchat Ultra team reached full operational autonomy, supporting Affittaly in a reliable and consistent way while ensuring high-quality responses and strong guest satisfaction.
Over 30,000 interactions handled in three months
During the first three months of use, Smartchat Ultra managed more than 30,000 interactions across messages and phone calls, averaging over 377 requests per day.
The largest share came from messaging: the Smartness team handled more than 29,000 messages across multiple channels, ensuring continuity, speed, and consistency in guest communication.
Phone support also reached significant volumes: 598 calls handled, for a total of over 24 hours on the phone, with an average waiting time of just 10 seconds before the call was answered.
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.
Homekeepers
It’s really the mix of everything—but the support makes the difference. Whenever we need something, we get a quick and reliable response.