How hoteliers are rethinking PMS with Apaleo

For UK hoteliers facing tighter margins, rising labour costs and increasingly tech-savvy guests, running a lean, digital-first operation has become critical to protecting profit.

 

Yet many are still constrained by “all-in-one” property management systems (PMS) that promise simplicity but deliver rigidity. They bundle functions like reservations, payments and communication into one. Convenient at first glance – until hoteliers realise they can’t adapt or upgrade without overhauling the whole stack.

 

Apaleo takes a different approach. As a modular, API-first platform used by over 1,700 properties – including citizenM, Mollie’s, easyHotel, Limehome and Numa – it allows operators to build their own tech ecosystem. Separate tools like AI pricing, guest messaging and automation apps can be plugged in and swapped out, with no vendor lock-in.

 

This flexibility helps future-proof operations while directly impacting the bottom line. At citizenM, Apaleo enables rapid innovation across its global portfolio. “Our decision to adopt an API-first platform is futureproofing our business and guaranteeing our ability to create exactly the kind of experience we want for our guests,” says chief information officer Mike Rawson.

 

For Mollie’s, the Soho House-backed brand, Apaleo’s modular technology makes “affordable luxury” operationally viable, empowering their small teams to roll out new tools in days and maintain premium service levels without high overheads.

 

Automation is central to Apaleo’s impact. Hotels can automate up to 80% of manual processes, including payments, cancellations, night audits and housekeeping triggers. This means fewer errors, faster service and staff freed to focus on high-value tasks.

 

easyHotel used Apaleo to halve check-in times and migrate 4,000 rooms across 11 countries in just seven months. “We needed a very robust PMS, and we now have a tech stack that is evolving all the time with Apaleo at its foundation. It has fundamentally altered how we interact with customers, train staff and manage all areas of our operations,” says chief operating officer Louis Poisson.

 

Fully staffless operator Limehome saves £150-£200 per unit/month by automating its entire digital guest journey – fuel for its 400% growth since adopting Apaleo. “It’s a construction kit that complements our own tech. Without it, we couldn’t grow at this pace,” says co-founder Josef Vollmayr.

 

With Agent Hub and the MCP server, Apaleo also makes AI adoption easier. Hotels can deploy agents for pricing, bookings and CRM and integrate them without a single line of code.

 

Today, agility and automation are profitability levers. The real question isn’t which PMS to use, but what kind of infrastructure will enable leaner operations.

 

Discover more at Apaleo.com

 

Case study: How Apaleo enabled Mollie’s ‘affordable luxury’ expansion 

With UK hoteliers facing higher operational costs, Mollie’s, the fast-growing, Soho House–backed brand, needed technology that could deliver premium experiences without premium overheads. After becoming independent, it switched its all-in-one PMS to Apaleo’s open, modular platform and reduced costs by 30%, paying only for the features it actually needs.

 

Mollie’s uses Apaleo to centralise its operations and run lean, guest-focused teams across all properties. The flexible architecture also lets Mollie’s assemble a custom ecosystem of the best tools, deploy new solutions in days and maintain consistent service standards as the brand scales. 

 

The results are significant: Mollie’s can open new sites quickly – including its biggest Manchester property – while protecting margins. Automation reduces administrative load so staff can focus on delivering the unique Mollie’s experience, and centralised data gives leadership real-time insight.

 

By building on Apaleo, Mollie’s proves that affordable luxury hotels can scale efficiently while still delivering standout stays.

 

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