'Improving guest journey is key'

Access control specialist focuses on hotel industry

In the leisure sector, they have been a familiar name for years with their access control systems. From now on, Koole Controls from Goes in Zeeland, under the name HotelPro Group, will also focus more strongly on the hotel industry. "With our smart access control, we can further improve the guest journey at hotels while simultaneously streamlining operations more for hotel staff," says brand-new board member Michel Anusic.

Given his years of experience and background in the hotel locks industry, it was no surprise that Michel Anusic joined as commercial director of Koole Controls early this year. Because when it comes to access control, the Zeeland-based company has witnessed all the technical developments up close from the start. "Originally we come from mechanical engineering and at some point we also started working with barrier access control for the leisure industry," says operations director Niels van der Vliet. "Especially after we started investing in PIN code locks, we gained a firm foothold in the recreation market, especially that of holiday parks."

Wellness industry

"Over the years, we have continued to expand our access solutions," Van der Vliet continues. "This includes, for example, opening a door lock with your mobile phone and accessing a car park based on your license plate number. We also specialise in access and payment systems for the wellness sector, with the well-known wristbands. All these kinds of smart solutions, with which we have had over a quarter of a century of experience in the leisure sector, are of course also of added value for the hospitality sector. Our staff have a great deal of technical know-how in this field and are also more familiar than anyone else with the meaning of hospitality within the hospitality world. This gives us a solid basis to grow into the hotel market. Hence we are going to focus on that more strongly with HotelPro Group."

Reduce operational costs

According to Anusic, within the hotel industry, the need for digital access solutions will only grow. "Especially since the corona crisis, when guests had to check in and out without the intervention of the front desk, hotels have embraced this idea en masse. Logical, because with a PIN code or a digital key, a hotel can not only improve the guest experience, but in the process significantly reduce operational costs because you need fewer staff. Staff which, in this day and age, is also increasingly difficult to attract. The access solutions we offer with HotelPro Group consist of bringing together the various technologies available in the field of barriers, door locks and wellness access. In this, some solutions are more comprehensive than others; we leave that choice to the customer."

Multiple solutions

"For example, guests' expectations at a five-star hotel are different from those of a three-star hotel and more or less will be demanded of the access system to be applied. Think of online access control or applying check-in terminals. By the way, something that makes our hotel locks unique is that when the room door is opened for the first time, there is automatic feedback to the reservation system. That way, you always know when a hotel guest has entered their room, essential for security purposes."

Software integration

"Apart from digital access solutions, HotelPro Group is going to focus emphatically on unburdening the hotelier by offering a total solution, and the product range will be rapidly expanded in the coming period to include a wide variety of hotel products," stresses Anusic, who can already count renowned hotel chains such as Hampshire, Charme and Excite Hotels among his customers. "In addition, we work intensively with a variety of partners, including suppliers of Digital Guest Journey and PMS systems. Thanks to our extensive knowledge and our own in-house development team, we can effortlessly integrate our software with those of these partners."