Strawberry Hotels

Strawberry is a leading hospitality brand in the Nordics, known for its innovative approaches and commitment to delivering exceptional guest experiences.

Group bookings have long been bogged down by outdated processes. For Strawberry, one of the Nordics' leading hospitality brands, it was time to break the cycle. This is the story of how their sales, e-commerce and revenue teams came together to rethink the way group business is handled, delivering a faster, smarter and more guest-friendly experience.

The Frustration: Manual Processes and Long Response Times

Group bookings used to be one of the most frustrating parts of Strawberry’s commercial process. Customers would wait days for quotes. Sales teams juggled endless back-and-forth emails. And e-commerce had little visibility into what was going on. It was not just inefficient, it was a poor experience for everyone involved.

"In the past, the RFP process for groups was extremely slow and frustrating for the customer," says Daniel Ljungqvist, Director of Sales Development. "It could take two to three days before they even got a quote. That’s not acceptable anymore."

At the same time, customer behaviour had changed. "People are used to getting confirmations instantly. If they don’t get that experience, they drop off," adds Fredrik Hult, Head of eCommerce. "We saw a lot of leakage, especially in the small meetings segment."

The Shift: Instant Booking and Automation

The solution was not more staff or more manual effort. It was a strategic decision to automate. Strawberry launched a Groups, Meetings & Events Booking Engine, integrated with their tech stack, so customers could view availability, see pricing and confirm bookings on the spot.

The response was immediate. Customers appreciated the speed and transparency. Internally, it brought new visibility into meeting bookings.

"From a sales perspective, the big benefit is time saved," says Daniel. "We don’t need to spend hours quoting and following up for a three-person meeting. That time can go toward higher-value inquiries."

Fredrik agrees. "We suddenly had visibility into what was happening with meeting bookings. It gave our revenue managers new levers to control pricing, just like they do for rooms."

The team also saw increased conversions in the small meetings segment, where speed matters most.

Cross-Departmental Collaboration

More than just improving workflows, the shift changed how teams collaborated. Sales, revenue, and e-commerce started pulling in the same direction. Instead of working in silos, departments now shared goals and tools.

You can’t do this without close collaboration," says Øyvind Vassbotn, Director of Business Operation. "We had to agree on a shared goal, improving the booking experience for both customers and staff."

It helped that leadership supported the change from the start. Øyvind recalls, "We had backing from the top, which gave us the mandate to rethink how we do group business. That made a huge difference."

Weekly check-ins and open feedback loops helped the teams stay aligned and adjust quickly to new challenges.

The Impact: Speed, Visibility and Growth

The result has been a step change in how group business is handled:

• Booking times have become significantly faster

• Sales teams spend less time on admin and more time selling

• Revenue teams have more dynamic control over pricing

• Customers receive instant confirmation and a smoother experience

"We’ve moved from reactive to proactive," Fredrik says. "We now work more like a digital retailer, which is what today’s customer expects."

The system also reduced the number of missed opportunities. With real-time data and transparent workflows, nothing gets lost in the inbox anymore.

For Daniel, the improved efficiency is just the beginning. "We’re also giving our teams more energy to focus on what matters. Less email, more strategy."

Scaling the Approach Across the Portfolio

Strawberry is just getting started. More properties are being onboarded every month. The goal is simple but ambitious, to make booking a meeting room as smooth as booking a hotel night.

"We’re not fully there yet, but we’re getting close," says Daniel. "The feedback has been positive, and we are learning what works best for different types of hotels."

Fredrik adds, "It’s not just about technology. It’s about giving the customer back control and removing the friction that used to be normal in this space."

The next step? Continuing to optimise pricing logic, expanding integrations and offering even more self-service capabilities for planners and corporate clients.

A Scalable Model for the Hospitality Industry

Strawberry’s transformation shows that with the right strategy and tools, group bookings do not have to be complex or slow. By building a centralised, trackable and scalable system, the company has increased speed, transparency and revenue while freeing up their teams to focus on the work that drives real value.

Their journey highlights what’s possible when hospitality moves beyond outdated workflows and gives customers the simplicity they expect.