Digital Transformation at Strawberry yields results

Over the past 18 months, Strawberry has undertaken one of Europe’s largest digitalization projects in the hotel industry. A comprehensive renewal of all digital tools within the group has simplified daily operations for employees at over 200 hotels and enabled new revenue streams.

The digital overhaul benefits 9 million guests per year with improved self-service solutions and enhances the employees' ability to focus on guests as administrative processes are automated and simplified.

- When we began implementing the Strawberry Tech Stack in January 2023, we had a clear vision to make things better and easier for guests, customers, and employees. Now, 18 months later, as we reach the finish line of the industry’s largest digitalization project, we have not only achieved increased efficiency but also opened doors to new revenue and business areas. We are already seeing the results of the transformation and look forward to everything we will launch in the future now that we have a completely new and modern cloud-based technology platform, says Eirik Bogsnes, CEO of Hotel Services at Strawberry.

Strawberry started mapping out the new technology platform in 2020 and instead of gradually changing and adapting old systems, the group invested in new solutions and built an entirely new system platform. Significant investments went into the digital transformation, combined with nearly 20,000 employees receiving brand-new tools to contribute to a better guest experience and a more optimal daily routine.

Strawberry had a team designing the architecture, handling data migration and integration, as well as a team for the actual implementation at the hotels. Additionally, the hotels within the chain have shared their own experiences to help each other in the transition process.

- The new platform is on a completely different level than what we have had before and what we see in much of the rest of the industry. This is next-level technology and provides enormous opportunities for the company's growth moving forward. The work has been very complex and demanding, and implementing new systems requires both courage and effort from everyone involved. Fortunately, we have many brave, dedicated, and knowledgeable people in the company. The entire implementation has been a gigantic and impressive agile change project. In true Strawberry spirit, we have tried to celebrate every milestone along the way and look back on the past 18 months as a roller coaster of fantastic experiences, says Kari Anna Fiskvik, SVP Technology at Strawberry.

The latest hotel in the portfolio, Comfort Hotel Solna, will adopt the new systems on June 4th. The investment in the new technology platform is part of the company’s future strategy where climate-smart technological solutions are a step towards the company’s goal of being climate neutral in its operations by 2030. Strawberry has also been recognized for its work on the new technology platform and, during Mews Unfold in Amsterdam on May 29th, Strawberry received the Trailblazer of the Year award for the collective effort across the entire company in working on the new technology platform.

- It is, of course, a great honor that we are now being contacted by other companies working with technology, including those in healthcare, who want to learn from us how we put people, experiences, and service at the center when developing and implementing new technology. That we can inspire those working on such vital tasks for people is a great acknowledgment to everyone who has been part of the project, concludes Fiskvik.