Bergwelt Grindelwald | Alpine Design Resort is a modern 4-star superior resort in the heart of the Swiss Alps, known for its world-class spa, curated packages and easy access to Alpine adventures. As a member of the Swiss Design Collection AG, the hotel has always prioritized the guest experience. That, combined with their commitment to sustainability, pushed them to explore modern solutions for a more eco-friendly and enjoyable guest journey.
We spoke with the hotel’s leadership team to learn how they combined Canary Technologies’ Guest Management System with Protel’s Property Management System (PMS) to power that transformation.
Before Canary, Bergwelt Grindelwald’s check-in process was slow and manual. Staff spent hours per shift collecting IDs, printing registration forms and managing confirmation emails. With Canary’s Mobile Check-In, those pain points are gone. Guests now complete registration in advance from their phones, which instantly syncs with Protel, saving the front desk valuable time and significantly reducing waste from paper registration cards.
“Before Canary, we used email for all of our pre-arrival communication,” General Manager Tanja Münker told us. “It was time-consuming and inconsistent. We estimate that Canary saved our front desk over 25 hours of labor last month.”
With an on-site spa, multiple restaurants and curated in-stay experiences, Bergwelt Grindelwald has plenty of upsell potential, but historically lacked the tools to promote offers effectively. Since adopting Canary’s Dynamic Upsells in November 2024, the hotel has generated over CHF 500’000 (~ USD 630,500 at the time of writing) in add-on requests, elevating ancillary revenue as a consistent source of income.
“Guests love being able to add upgrades from their phones,” said Raphael Foller, Guest Relations Manager. “It’s just as intuitive as using an app to request a car or order food. That’s what Canary is doing for hotels.”
Keeping the lines of communication open has always been a priority at Bergwelt Grindelwald, and Canary’s Guest Messaging lets them engage guests at scale. For a recent hotel anniversary celebration featuring cake, themed drinks and restaurant specials, they sent a broadcast message to all the guests. The result? A packed bar and nearly double the restaurant reservations of a typical night.
“We love using broadcast messages to promote events, send special notifications and highlight on-site experiences,” said Tanja. “It makes it so much easier to communicate and keep guests informed of everything going on.”
Bergwelt Grindelwald has relied on Protel as their PMS for years, so a seamless integration was essential when evaluating guest management solutions. Canary’s robust integration capabilities were a key reason the team chose the platform over other options. Jana Baumann, the Administration & Project Manager at Swiss Design Collection AG, oversaw the integration process.
“The hotel’s information flows effortlessly between Canary and Protel,” she said. “The setup was so smooth. We didn’t have a single service interruption on the day of integration. One day it was just done.”
Since implementing Canary’s solutions, Bergwelt Grindelwald now benefits from streamlined workflows, more intuitive operations and a modern, tech-forward guest experience. They’ve worked closely with Canary and Protel to transform their guest-facing operations and they’re excited to keep building on that momentum.
“From training to support to daily usage, everything just works,” said Tanja. “It feels like a partnership, not a product. Our feedback is always heard and acted on, and we really feel that we’re working together for the shared goal of great guest service.”
