Staysouth has specialised in offering outstanding accommodation in the heart of Queenstown to suit the needs of discerning holidaymakers since 2006. Making its selection of hillside villas, penthouse apartments and lakefront townhouses visible and easy for guests to book requires the support of a world-class property management system – a role that’s been fulfilled by Seekom for the best part of the past decade.

General Manager Sonya Archibald says the accommodation preferences of visitors to Queenstown have changed over the years and even vary from season to season, making it essential to be able to move with the times to meet customer expectations.

“We needed software to be able to grow with us and be flexible to better capture the demands of the market.”

Seekom’s support has helped Staysouth expand its portfolio to manage more than 50 high-quality apartments and villas, all the while maintaining its signature superior standards of service, presentation and customer communications.

As well as exceptional service, Staysouth prides itself on its concierge team of long-term locals who are on hand to dish out insider information on anything from the hottest night spots and best-suited fine dining experiences to general advice on where to shop for a particular item.

Sonya says Staysouth inherited Seekom when it bought the management rights to a villa complex in 2016. However, it wasn’t being used to its full potential to begin with.

“Over time we’ve dug deep to find out what the system can do for us to maximise its functionality – we try to stay ahead of the game.”

Sonya says she appreciates the way the team at Seekom listens to Staysouth’s queries, takes on board suggestions from her team and involves them in beta testing for new features. She says this mutually beneficial working relationship has resulted in new functionality and other improvements that add value for StaySouth, as well as the wider community of Seekom software users.

Many members of Staysouth’s team, from its operations manager to its reservations team, use Seekom in different capacities to make sure that the experience guests have is memorable.

Seekom’s multi-property booking calendar is a vital tool for the team, Sonya says. This allows Staysouth staff to view bookings across their properties and easily understand which ones are available or booked on any given day.

“The booking calendar is what we start the day with – it’s basically my screen saver.”

Sonya says another crucial tool is Seekom’s sales channel manager that enables Staysouth to upload its availability and pricing and then integrate the data with multiple booking websites. When a booking is made on one site the other sites are automatically updated, creating consistency and saving time.

“We couldn’t operate without Seekom’s channel manager. It makes perfect sense to have it as part of the reservation system rather than go through a third-party provider.”

Sonya says she is looking forward to working with Seekom to save her team time by improving the format of the ‘owner report statements' Staysouth issues each month to the owners of the properties it manages on their behalf. These reports provide owners with a summary of their property’s performance, making decision making and financial planning easier.

Another way she plans to streamline operations is by implementing Seekom’s Xero integration, Sonya says.

The future is bright for Staysouth, with a host of improvements on the go to ensure that its high-end accommodation experience in one of New Zealand’s most breathtaking holiday destinations continues to stand out from the rest.