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.
Würzburg, Germany
68
Background
Since 2017, Homekeepers has been active in the Mainfranken region, evolving from a vacation rental manager into the largest professional provider of accommodations in Würzburg and the surrounding area. The brand includes three divisions: hotel operations (Homey Hotel), lodging for workers, and the apartment line Homey Stay.
Homey Stay runs around 70 units in Würzburg and nearby towns—ranging from modern city apartments to properties in local wine villages. Würzburg is known as a strong hospitality market with stable business and leisure demand. The target groups are equally broad, from business travelers to weekend groups and leisure guests exploring the region.
What sets Homey Stay apart from others is its strong local foundation. New locations are only opened in areas the team knows well—because, as they believe, that’s the only way to offer truly authentic recommendations and genuine local flavor. Most bookings still come via OTAs like Booking.com and Expedia, but direct bookings are steadily growing.
The challenge
Before switching to Smartpricing, Homey Stay managed prices manually—a time-consuming and error-prone process. The team worked with Excel spreadsheets and had to manually enter rates into their PMS. Every change meant hours of clicking. There were no automations available.
This approach became particularly problematic during sudden demand shifts or when team members were unavailable. Prices stayed too high, and bookings didn’t come in. On the flip side, strong demand peaks often went unnoticed, leading to underpriced units.
Key factors like market occupancy or competitor rates were nearly impossible to monitor. The pricing strategy remained reactive instead of forward-thinking, and much of the potential went untapped.
“You’re not doing anything wrong by setting prices manually—but you’re not doing it entirely right either.”
The solution
Homekeepers first began exploring dynamic pricing on the hotel side. The positive experience with software-based price management sparked interest in applying the same model to the Homey Stay apartment line.
So they started looking for the right tool. In the end, the deciding factors for choosing Smartpricing were its intuitive interface and German-speaking support.
“I speak English well, but when it comes to technical topics, I prefer having a German-speaking contact. We work with a large tech stack and often had support issues with other providers. With Smartpricing, we immediately felt like it was a great fit at a human level, too.”
Today, nearly the entire Homey Stay portfolio runs on Smartpricing, and usage is growing. A new team member will soon take over pricing—and here too, Smartpricing supports onboarding with a resource center, live trainings, webinars, and tutorials.
The results
Using Smartpricing has transformed not just how Homey Stay handles pricing, but also streamlined processes and relieved the team. The effects are visible across the board—from performance to internal workflows.
More time for strategic tasks
Before Smartpricing, every price change required manual PMS input. Now, a quick look at the system is often enough to make all adjustments efficiently.
“We used to spend three to five hours a week. Now it’s maybe 30 to 45 minutes.”
A system with a human touch
Despite the automation, Smartpricing isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it solution. At Homey Stay, the team actively monitors and adjusts pricing as needed.
“Smartpricing is super easy to handle, but it’s not a system you configure once and never touch again. You need to stay involved—especially if you’re working toward specific goals. But the effort is manageable and well worth it.”
Tangible impact on margins and workflows
Smartpricing has improved profit margins and helped capitalize on demand peaks.
But for Homey Stay, success isn’t just about the numbers:
“At some point, whether the prices are much better optimized became less important to me. What really mattered was that our processes are clearer, and we make fewer mistakes. That changed more for us than any single metric.”
The biggest advantage? The mix of everything.
In the end, it’s not one feature that made the difference, but the combination of technology, support, and ease of use.
“For us, it’s the mix of everything—but the support makes the difference. Whenever we need something, we get a quick and reliable response. That’s something I really value.”