August 2024
In December 2022 Strawberry selected Zaplox as a partner for mobile keys to strengthen their digital guest journey. Since then, Zaplox mobile keys have been introduced at approximately 100 Strawberry hotels across the Nordics, and in June Zaplox enabled Strawberry to become the first hotel in the world to offer mobile keys in both Apple Wallet and Google Wallet.
Follow along as Christian Lundén, VP of Strategic Growth at Strawberry, shares his insights and the strategic decisions behind transitioning from building in-house to partnering with Zaplox.
How did Strawberry manage mobile keys before entering this collaboration?
Our app utilized mobile keys long before we started the collaboration with Zaplox. However, we were limited to only having one key vendor and one SDK which restricted our ability to deploy our digital guest journey across all hotels.
Back then managing upgrades and integrations was a challenge due to our limited internal expertise. This resulted in maintenance issues and an inability to utilize the latest features.
With the Zaplox integration, we now have a unified interface for all our key vendors. This eliminates the need for internal experts, allowing us to concentrate on what we do best – give service to our guests. Zaplox ensures that we are always up-to-date with the latest upgrades, security patches, and new functionalities for our guests. Additionally, we benefit from having a single point of contact, rather than coordinating with multiple vendors.
Why did you shift from building in-house to partnering with Zaplox?
Deciding whether to handle tasks internally or partner with experts is always a key consideration for us. We prefer to keep core activities in-house, while partnering with specialists for areas requiring specific expertise. Managing mobile keys in-house would have required additional hires and since building everything internally isn’t our core focus, we prioritize enhancing the guest journey in other ways. With Zaplox as our single point of contact, we streamline these processes and get to focus on our core business instead.
Why are technical partnerships crucial for your hotel operations?
Our partners bring 100 procent focus and expertise in their areas, something we can’t replicate internally. This collaboration ensures we stay up-to-date with the latest technologies and features, keeping us at the forefront of innovation.
Partners who understand our business well can contribute with new ideas and suggestions that help us move forward in the digital guest experience. It’s equally important that we support our partners’ growth, fostering a long-lasting and mutually beneficial collaboration for the future.
