"Digitalization is driving innovation in the hospitality industry."
HOSPITALITY X as a Vodafone business case.

Vodafone Business profiles HOSPITALITY X as a digital pioneer in the hotel industry: The Zipper in Düsseldorf is fully digital—from check-in to parking—and operates with about a quarter of the staff typically required in the industry.

Vodafone x The Zipper A pioneer in digitalization.

When one of Europe’s largest technology conglomerates highlights a hotel company as a prime example of digital transformation, that makes a statement.

In the series “Business Cases – Digital Pioneers,” Vodafone Business tells the story of HOSPITALITY X and The Zipper: “Rethinking the Hotel.”

A hotel that operates entirely digitally.

At the 19-story The Zipper on the banks of the Rhine in Düsseldorf, guests check in and out digitally, their room key is on their smartphone, the staff can be reached via WhatsApp, and even parking is billed based on the license plate number.

With 168 serviced apartments, a coworking space, a fitness and wellness area, and 14 medical practices on-site, the concept is truly unique—about 70 percent of guest communication takes place via WhatsApp, a benchmark figure in the European hotel industry.

“Compared to other premium hotels of this size, The Zipper operates with only about a quarter of the staff.”
—Otto Konstantin Lindner, Founder and Managing Director, HOSPITALITY X

Focus on the core business.
IT as a managed service.

The foundation of the fully digital operation is a 10-gigabit Ethernet infrastructure that Vodafone Business installed during the renovation phase.

What makes this unique is that HOSPITALITY X does not operate its own IT department but has outsourced the complete management of its digital infrastructure to Vodafone Business as a managed service—based on the fundamental principle that everyone should focus on what they do best.

“Partnerships are at the heart of our business. Our goal is to create win-win situations.”

— Tobias Sebastian Oberdieck, Founder and Managing Director, HOSPITALITY X

The Impact

Worker Productivity

Operates with about a quarter of the staff of comparable premium hotels—while offering full concierge service through digital channels.
Visibility

Vodafone describes Zipper as the most digital hotel and apartment concept in Europe.
Scalable model

The managed services approach makes the operating model transferable to other facilities.