Let's talk about hotel technology

In our interview series "Let's talk about hotel technology", we talked to its CEO Sara Sanchez to explain the project and give us details about the new collaboration with GuestPro, its technological partner with whom they have implemented the new booking engine of the portal.

What is Rusticae and how was the project born?

Rusticae means quality selection, from here the project was born as a quality selection club of independent hotels. I sabel Llorens and Carlota Mateos, founders of the company, met at the London airport and it was there that the idea of managing a hotel for a whole summer was born. As a result of this experience, they realised that small hotels had many shortcomings and that these difficulties distanced them from the end customer.

"Spain needs a quality independent hotel project, outside of sun and beach tourism", they said to themselves 25 years ago. From there, these two visionary and pioneering women started visiting hotel by hotel to get to know their reality and realised that small independent hotels needed an umbrella to support them, to help them reach their potential clients.

Time proved them right and today there are already 240 accommodations in Spain and Portugal that are part of Rusticae.

What does an accommodation have to do to be part of Rusticae?

Sara Sánchez explains how the evaluation of hotels wishing to join the portal has evolved. "Before, they were audited with up to 300 requirements, they even measured the height of the bed", she tells us.

Things have been changing and nowadays we mainly select independent hotels, where the owner is involved in the management and gives a very personal treatment to his guests. "We find life projects, of small dimensions, between 15 and 20 rooms, where the owner is very involved in the business and gives a very personalised service", says Sara. They continue to carry out audits both online and in person in which they analyse 180 requirements that take into account quality of service, location of the establishment, that there is no other accommodation of the portal in the area... "We select very personal projects in which we see a lot of passion. We take great care in the process, which is why around 80% of the accommodations that want to join Rusticae are rejected".

Sustainability and the awareness of caring for the planet are also in the DNA of the project.

Rusticae's unique stories

In 2019 Rusticae set out a new brand positioning. "We knew that the user was not looking for simple accommodation, but for experiences that connected with them on an emotional level, to live a real transformation during the limited time they have for leisure". From here, Sara Sánchez tells us that they positioned themselves by discovering the unique stories behind each hotel because it is the best way to emotionally connect the guest with the accommodation. For example, she tells us the story of an establishment in Marina Alta, Alicante, in which its artist owner has decorated each room with paintings that are a tribute to the environment, the story "Mediterráneo de interior" is one of the more than 200 stories they tell us on the portal.

Rusticae City Seal

Contrary to what you might think, Rusticae accommodation is not only found in rural settings. In order to give visibility to charming hotels located in cities, they have recently created this seal. Independent city hotels are also part of the project, although 75% of them are located in rural areas.

Some particularly peculiar or out-of-the-ordinary accommodations

For Sara Sánchez, all the accommodation on the portal "is wonderful" and she speaks with special affection about a hotel in Torre do Río in Pontevedra that is located right on a river, from which you can hear the water falling. Or in Murcia, Bajo el Cejo, where the owner insisted on building his dream hotel right on a hill. He also tells us how spectacular it is to stay in one of the glamping tents in Alentejo, Portugal, enjoying sleeping under the stars in a unique experience.

"To be able to work on a project like this is a real privilege, it's a lot of kilometres travelled but it's wonderful to discover first hand the real and authentic side of the hosts with their life projects and illusions.

Let's talk about technology, how does Rusticae use technology?

Rusticae has always been a brand that gives a lot of visibility to the hotels but has not positioned them in direct sales until now. In this sense, Sánchez tells us about the evolution of the sector in 25 years, "at the beginning, bookings were made by telephone or email and then OTAs like Booking or Expedia burst in and changed the model and we had to adapt to them". Rusticae opted for channels as the best way to connect to their hotels, they obtained interesting rates and managed to put their accommodation at the forefront of technology, now their clients could book at the click of a button.

During this time Rusticae has stood out as a showcase, it has been increasing the number of visits with quality traffic but then the conversion was not so direct. The portal and its accommodations have seen how the user has become accustomed to OTAs for convenience and how these often leave the hotelier a little uncovered. "From this point on, our job is to support the accommodation so that they can achieve this direct booking and reduce the high intermediation costs that reduce the profitability of their offer". At this point, Rusticae is looking to technology as a tool to make this happen.

Implementation of the GuestPro booking engine

To improve direct sales, Rusticae has found the "perfect partner" in GuestPro. Sara Sánchez tells us how the collaboration came about: "We met GuestPro through one of our hotels that were their clients and they introduced us to Xavier Pallicer, we immediately understood each other and I saw that he would be our perfect technological partner".

"We had a top quality product, spectacular experiences and now we needed to improve the conversion part". Although the implementation of GuestPro's booking engine at Rusticae has only just started, a domino effect is occurring and many accommodations have already begun to change their own engines for GuestPro's. "It's about providing us with the most efficient and efficient booking engine in the market. "The aim is to provide us with the technological tool that will allow us to achieve greater direct sales that will make the accommodation more profitable and sustainable".

The first sensations after the implementation are very positive and there are high expectations in the improvement of conversion.

Other challenges and collaborations for 2022

Rusticae has always focused on the fact that tourism can be respectful with the planet, with the environment, taking care of the territory. On this point, without a doubt, they have been pioneers. In the line of sustainability, they are currently working on two projects.

On the one hand, they have an agreement with Eco Star, which is auditing their accommodation and they are proud to see that most of them have achieved a score of 4 stars, above average.

On the other hand, in the line of working on sustainability, they are collaborating with Eco Turismo, the Spanish association of nature linked to protected natural spaces, to which they are giving support in marketing and commercialisation by transmitting their know-how.

Technology to increase direct sales and sustainability as part of the project's DNA are the challenges for 2022, which is full of good news for Rusticae. They have recently received the nomination for the We are water - Best Corporate Social Responsibility Award at the Roca Awards for Hotel Initiative. From GuestPro we wish them the best of luck in this award and in what is to come.