Bangkok’s shophouses were built to support two purposes at once: a business on the ground floor and a family home above it. They are so familiar that most passers-by never give them a second glance, though the team behind Goose Living saw an opportunity in one to create something more special.
Goose Living Bangkok BTS Phra Khanong is an 18-room boutique hotel a short walk from Phra Khanong BTS station. The original shophouse has kept its character, now softened by modern design and a philosophy the team calls Organic & Natural Living, which runs from the layout of each room (with names such as Nest Box, Sky Light and Wild Balcony) to the hotel’s own brand of organic bath amenities. Downstairs, the in-house restaurant and café serves Asian Fusion dishes that borrow from culinary traditions across the region. It’s safe to say that a stay extends well beyond the bedroom door.
“We believe that an excellent stay doesn’t come solely from rooms or amenities, but from how guests feel throughout their entire stay, from before arrival until check-out,” says Chalita, Guest Service Agent at Goose Living.
Chalita sees the property’s boutique size as its greatest advantage, giving the team room to welcome guests warmly, listen closely to what they need, point them towards the best aspects of the neighbourhood and fix problems almost before they become one.
“As a small hotel, we can care for guests closely and in a more personal way,” she explains. “We want every element, from the design and atmosphere to our organic in-room products and the food in our restaurant, to reflect that attentiveness.”
“For us, seeing guests feel at ease, well cared for and eager to return is one of the clearest signs that our service is delivering a great experience.”
OTA management was eating into time meant for guests
That kind of hospitality depends on having time to give, however manually managing distribution channels chips away at this. Most of Goose Living’s guests book through online travel agents, with Thailand, China, Japan and South Korea its biggest source markets, so keeping rates and availability accurate on Agoda, Booking.com and Expedia was essential, but relentless.
“Managing data across multiple channels was time-consuming and involved numerous steps,” Chalita recalls.
“The team had to spend significant time updating and verifying information, so we needed a system that would reduce manual tasks and let us manage every sales channel easily from a single platform.”
A switch to SiteMinder automated inventory control
When Goose Living and SiteMinder were introduced, the conversation landed at the right moment. The hotel wanted a platform that could handle rates, availability and bookings across all of its channels in one place, and one that its small team would actually find easy to use.
It now runs SiteMinder’s channel manager to keep its OTA listings in sync, alongside SiteMinder’s booking engine on its own website to deliver direct bookings.
“We chose SiteMinder because it makes managing our online sales channels simpler and more systematic,” Chalita says. “The ease of use and the connectivity with different OTAs mean the team can spend more time focusing on guest care and the rest of the hotel’s operations.”
Small hotel, big channel reach, no extra admin
Goose Living keeps Agoda, Booking.com and Expedia in sync from one place. SiteMinder lets your team update rates once and spend the time saved where it counts: with your guests.
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Faster rate changes and fewer errors give time back
The change is felt most in the rhythm of the working day. Updates that once had to be repeated channel by channel now happen once, which means fewer chances for a typo or a missed update to become a double booking, and more freedom to respond when the market shifts.
“Since implementing SiteMinder, room and rate management has become much more convenient and agile,” Chalita observes. “We can adjust rates quickly according to market conditions and demand, and we have better control over sales through each channel.”
The benefits have reached further than the back office. The team has seen fewer overbookings and human errors, and more guests booking directly through the hotel’s website, leading to an uplift in revenue. Just as importantly for a property built on personal service, the hours saved have found their way back to the front desk.
“I can accomplish more in less time, and my guests are happier because I have more time for them.”
Sharper insight and new markets are the next goals to reach
With the daily juggling of channels under control, the team’s attention is turning to what the data can tell them. Chalita is keen to explore tools for analytics and revenue management that would help the hotel understand how its guests book, plan pricing with more confidence and fine-tune its sales strategy.
There are new audiences in view as well. European travellers currently make up a modest share of bookings compared with Asian markets, and the hotel is eager to grow that segment, while any future Goose Living property would run on the same platform so every location can share the same standards from day one.
“Overall, we’re satisfied with SiteMinder and see it as a system that makes managing our sales channels convenient and systematic,” Chalita notes.
It’s a fitting outcome for a hotel that took an everyday Bangkok building and gave it a second life, turning it into an efficient business that delivers warm hospitality.
Thank you, Chalita, for sharing the Goose Living story. It’s a pleasure for SiteMinder to support a hotel with so much character, and we look forward to seeing more travellers from near and far discover your corner of Phra Khanong.