Host in Italy
Having Smartchat Ultra and Smartpricing Ultra means I no longer have to worry about anything. Whether I’m available or not, the business keeps running.
Padova
16
Background
Host in Italy is a property management company founded in Padua in 2023, specializing in the management of subleased properties.
In its first three years, the company grew from 0 to 16 managed units across Veneto and Puglia, with properties in Treviso, Jesolo, Eraclea, Lecce, and Martina Franca. The portfolio includes apartments, trulli, suites, and a luxury villa, with different stay types and operational complexities.
From the very beginning, Host in Italy chose to build an organization strongly supported by technology, with the goal of creating a lean, centralized, and scalable business while keeping internal resources to the bare minimum.
The challenge
Before founding Host in Italy, the owner had already built extensive experience as a property manager in other companies. For that reason, when launching his own business, he already had a clear vision of how it should be structured.
With 16 units spread across geographically distant areas — and two other jobs in addition to running the property management business — his priority was to automate and delegate as much of the operational workload as possible.
The first Smartness tools he implemented were Smartpms, the management software, and Smartpricing, the dynamic pricing software.
“In my previous experience, I used three of the most widely known PMS tools on the market. But for my own company, I chose Smartpms because it’s the most complete solution for property management: it has everything, from reporting to self check-in management.
On top of that, the user experience is extremely simple. For example, it was enough to create user accounts for my cleaning team to make them fully autonomous from day one. With properties spread so far apart, that’s a crucial aspect.”
Shortly after introducing Smartpms and Smartpricing, Host in Italy also adopted Smartpricing Ultra, delegating 100% of pricing strategy management to a professional Revenue Manager from the Smartness team.
“My Revenue Manager updates me every week on the progress, and I no longer have to think about pricing. That’s no small thing, because rate management is one of the most complex parts of the job. The financial results are visible and excellent. For me, it’s an investment that pays for itself.”
After optimizing daily operations and pricing strategy, Host in Italy found in Smartness the support it needed to solve another critical area: customer service.
“When I heard about Smartchat, I was already looking for a solution. I had tried to implement integrations with AI bots, but with a lot of difficulty. So I was considering hiring someone to answer the phone, but that comes with significant costs and in all likelihood, one person wouldn’t have been enough.”
The solution
Host in Italy chose Smartchat Ultra, the Smartness service that gives hospitality businesses access to a team of professionals who personally handle all phone calls and messages from Booking.com, WhatsApp, Airbnb, and email.
The sustainable cost and the uniqueness of the service were both key factors in the decision. But for the owner of Host in Italy, the real value was achieving his goal of freeing himself from operational work.
“I have two other businesses besides this one, and I’m now stepping into a third. Having Smartchat Ultra and Smartpricing Ultra means I no longer have to think about anything. For me, it means reaching the highest possible level of optimization for the business.
The business keeps running: whether I’m there or not, whether I’m well or not, it still runs. And that makes me very happy.”
The results
The Smartchat Ultra team learned the property documentation and all key information about Host in Italy’s portfolio during a single training day. Shortly afterward, they took over customer service management, with clear results on multiple fronts.
More than 51,000 interactions handled in four months
In the first four months of service, the Smartchat Ultra team handled a total of 51,593 interactions between messages and phone calls, with an average of 511 interactions per day.
The largest share came from messaging, with 50,936 messages handled.
Call volume was also significant: 657 total calls, including 424 inbound and 233 outbound, for a total of 23 hours and 40 minutes on the phone.
The average waiting time before receiving a response was just 10 seconds.
A noticeable improvement in service quality
For Host in Italy, one of the clearest effects of the service was the improvement in how guest conversations are handled, especially in the most delicate situations. It is not just about speed, but also about tone, consistency, and the ability to manage each situation appropriately.
“A few times I happened to answer before they did, but then I transferred the call to them because I can be too direct. I’m the kind of person who, after a bit too much insisting, ends up saying: that’s the door, I’ll give you a full refund, thank you, it’s been a pleasure, have a good day.
They, on the other hand, always respond with a smile — and you can hear it even on the phone — and they have a more tactful way of saying things. That has definitely also led to better reviews, precisely because certain messages are communicated differently.”
More time to work without interruptions
Another concrete impact concerns the time recovered and the reduction in mental load. Being able to work without constant operational interruptions makes a real difference, not only in day-to-day organization, but also in the ability to focus on other activities and on future growth.
“I’ve noticed 90% fewer problems to deal with, and I realized I’ve recovered a good amount of time. That means that, if I want to, I can put my phone on silent and get something done from A to Z without major urgencies.
I no longer have the worries I had before, and if something happens, I’m notified. I sleep much more peacefully now. Without Smartchat Ultra, I’d be in quite a difficult position.”
More direct bookings
Alongside the operational improvement, Host in Italy also saw an increase in direct bookings. According to the owner, this result comes from the combined effect of the Smartness solutions:
“The number of direct bookings has increased a lot. That’s probably due to the whole setup: on one side our Revenue Manager, who got the pricing right, and on the other the Smartchat team, who work to bring in as many direct bookings as possible.
And they do it with the greatest attention. For example, I had asked them to be cautious with messages from Airbnb, because I’m afraid of being penalized. They followed my request with complete care and availability. At the beginning I checked the messages more closely, but now I don’t anymore, not at all — I simply don’t look at them.
I really like how they work and, as a service, it is absolutely useful. I would never go back.”
H&Hotels Group
I have more free time than I had before, because I can rely on Smartpricing—it does your job and lets you focus on what really matters.
Garda Relais
Smartconnect allowed us to start a journey we had in mind but couldn’t put into practice. Now we know it’s possible to turn unused contacts into real guests.