Shortly after moving to Lapland, Finland for work at the end of 2013, Tinja stumbled upon an old property that she determined had a lot of potential. Having spent several years traveling and working in hostels around the world, Tinja knew exactly what she wanted to do with her diamond in the rough property. After her rental proposal was accepted, Tinja got to work renovating the property’s 8 rooms, 3 studio apartments, and cabin with a sauna so she could finally realize her dream of becoming a hostel owner.
Today, 7 Fells Hostel has about 40 available beds and every room, cabin, and apartment is uniquely decorated with recycled and refurbished furniture from second-hand shops. Tinja’s desire to create an unforgettable experience for travelers of every budget means that even the 6-bed dorm room offers views of the Northern Lights. She also keeps 7 Fells Hostel eco-friendly by using green energy, recycling, and only using eco-friendly cleaning products. The property is pet-friendly as well.
Normally, the high season in Lapland lasts from December to April, but 7 Fells Hostel has been so successful that guests are starting to stay through the summer, requiring Tinja to hire her second year-round employee. Tinja keeps her guests happy by offering a number of free perks like organic tea and coffee, bikes in the summer, kick sleds in the winter, and wi-fi in the lounge. Not mention a friendly (and sarcastic) sense of humor.
Tinja decided to make the switch to Cloudbeds because she was looking for something easier than what her previous PMS was offering and she also wanted to have her own reservation site that was better than before. Cloudbeds’ intuitive drag-and-drop interface and commission-free, mobile-friendly booking engine proved to be the perfect fit for 7 Fells Hostel. The booking engine integrates with your website so you can capture potential guests on different platforms.
When asked what parts of her daily operations Cloudbeds has improved, Tinja listed everything from bookings and housekeeping to finances and reports. Aside from a smart booking engine, Cloudbeds offers a housekeeping module that allows you to easily manage, organize, and assign room cleaning. Cloudbeds also offers access to a series of comprehensive reports and financial data so you can make informed business decisions for your property.
Since switching to Cloudbeds, the biggest change Tinja has seen at 7 Fells Hostel is the number of direct bookings. “Our direct bookings increased rapidly during the first months of having Cloudbeds,” she says. “Currently, 72% of all our reservations are booked directly with us.” Cloudbeds has a rate checker that allows people to compare prices right from your booking engine to keep them on your website and encourage them to book directly through your site.
“I really like that Cloudbeds is updating their software quite a lot and new useful features are coming in pretty often,” says Tinja. Some PMS providers make you wait until a new version of their software is available to update, but Cloudbeds is always working to make enhancements, with new updates and features being released regularly.
Tinja’s loyal dedication to creating a cozy and unique home away from home for backpackers visiting Lapland has resulted in the success of 7 Fells Hostel. By using Cloudbeds as her preferred PMS, she’s been able to grow her business, run a smooth operation, and attract more guests than ever before.