Pre-arrival, automated: less time responding, more revenue per stay.

Prior challenge before Akia.

Before using Akia, The Guesthouse Hotel didn’t have a consistent way to prepare guests ahead of arrival. Important steps like completing required information and understanding property-specific policies often happened during check-in instead of before arrivals, creating more bottlenecks and delays.

Because the property operates differently from a traditional hotel such as having later arrival times, earlier check-out times, and no daily housekeeping, setting expectations in advance was especially important but difficult to do consistently.

The team also didn’t have a way to introduce add-ons like parking or amenity packages before arrival, limiting opportunities to generate upsell revenue earlier in the guest journey.

Solution

Using Akia alongside Opera, The Guesthouse Hotel introduced a structured guest journey that shifted key arrival steps earlier in the stay and helped guests understand what to expect before they arrived. The team now uses automated pre-arrival messaging and AI Agents to answer common guest questions and reinforce policies before check-in.

Guests frequently ask about it before they arrive, and instead of staff responding to each inquiry, the AI Agent now provides details on pet policies, pricing, early check-in availability, and incidental holds early in the conversation. Guests arrive prepared, and the front desk stops answering the same multiple times a week. When the AI Agent drafts a reply, staff can approve it as-is or edit and send in a few seconds.

The property also introduces add-ons earlier in the journey. Parking and amenity packages: sauna blanket sessions, red light face mask treatments, and bundled experiences get presented before check-in instead of only being offered at arrival.

"We have seen an increase in upsells like parking and amenity packages."

The team also uses the AI Agent's intent tagging to understand what guests care about most. Every conversation gets categorized by what the guest is actually asking about — in-room assistance, room readiness and early check-in, local recommendations, valet and parking, and more, so the team can see at a glance where guest attention is going and where to focus their pre-arrival messaging next.

Together, these changes helped The Guesthouse Hotel set expectations earlier, reduce arrival confusion, and bring offers up before guests check in.