Trauffer Erlebniswelt and Arcavis in the middle of it all

Concrete meets wood

You are greeted at Holzkuhplatz 1 in the dreamy village of Hofstetten near Brienz by an imposing eye-catcher. An XXL version of the famous cow, weighing almost 30 tons, stands right at the entrance. Each wooden figure is still cut, sanded and painted by hand. The basis for this is always a wooden board made from 100% FSC-certified Swiss wood. This is how the concept of the wooden hotel came about. Concrete, solid wood and black elements give the interior an industrial touch, yet the atmosphere is warm and cozy. Incidentally, the interior was not designed by an interior designer, but by Brigitte herself.

However, to create a pleasant environment for everyone, it is not only the external factors that are important, but also smooth processes. These can be supported by various software systems that work in the background and increase the efficiency of operations. However, if each system works independently, "just for itself", this can significantly limit the efficiency of the operation. How do you get the systems to work together, to communicate with each other?

The solution: building bridges

Interfaces are needed to connect and coordinate different systems. They serve as bridges, allowing information and data to be exchanged quickly and easily. Arcavis can be networked with a wide variety of systems. In the Bretterhotel with its world of experience, with several:

Mews

Mews is a property management system. The mission of the founders of Mews (real insiders as former hoteliers): To simplify and automate processes for guests and hoteliers. From the booking engine to check-out, from reception to revenue management, every process is simpler, faster and more connected. Thanks to the Mews-Arcavis integration, guests can make purchases at any Arcavis point of sale and be billed via Mews. At the POS, a guest can be searched for by name or room number. When the sale is completed, the product data and the total amount are transferred to Mews. This enables simple and uncomplicated billing on departure.

nTree

nTree Ticketing handles visitor management for the Trauffer Erlebniswelt. Thanks to the interface, tickets are sold directly at the point of sale with Arcavis. The ticket with access QR code is printed, scanned at the turnstile and you are granted access to the adventure.

Webshop

Arcavis can be connected to any webshop. So it doesn't matter whether a wooden cow is sold in the local store or in the webshop, the stocks always match.

5 questions for the hostess

© by Adrian Bretscher / Hangar Ent. Group

Brigitte Trauffer was born in the Rhine Valley and trained as a journalist at Ringier AG after completing her teacher training. In addition to her work as a teacher, she wrote articles as a freelance editor for various magazines such as "Glückspost", "Gesundheit Sprechstunde" and "Migros Magazin". A few years ago, she founded her own text agency and has written three biographies, including that of her husband. On June 4, she opened a new chapter and took over the operational management of the Adventure World and the Bretterhotel.

First of all, congratulations on the successful launch of the Trauffer Erlebniswelt + Bretterhotel, it's brilliant what you've achieved! How did it all start?

Thank you, it's a real pleasure to finally see the world of experience and the Bretterhotel filled with guests! We originally planned to build just a small adventure world with a small store and offer carving courses and factory tours in a separate room. The idea came about because we were receiving more and more requests for guided tours and courses. During the planning phase, the world of experience grew bigger and bigger, and two restaurants, event rooms and a hotel with 31 rooms were added. And here we are now.

A few months have passed since the opening, what has been the best experience so far?

I can't pick just one, there have been so many great moments and encounters since June 4! In general, it's just wonderful that we've been able to welcome so many guests and receive so much positive feedback. And: the spirit in the team was excellent despite the opening and the difficult times. Everyone helps everyone else and so we have successfully "rocked" the first six months together in a good atmosphere.

You have integrated a village store in the middle of your business, including self-checkout. What's the story behind it?

We had a village store in Hofstetten, but it closed in June shortly before we opened. The owner no longer had time for it because he became our chef and his father, with whom he ran the store, retired. So we felt a bit responsible for the fact that Hofstetten would no longer have a village store and decided to integrate one into the Erlebniswelt, including a post office.

You work with the Arcavis checkout system. What tipped the scales in favor of the decision and how does Arcavis make your day-to-day work easier?

We were very quickly impressed by the user-friendly operation of Arcavis. We have a lot of part-time employees and, time and again, employees from Holzspielwaren or we from the office take over the point of sale in the bistro or store for a while if we have an unexpectedly large number of visitors on site at short notice. Thanks to the simple software, this is no problem. The back-end is also very user-friendly and easy to understand.

Last but not least, what is your vision for the next few years?

We still have lots and lots of ideas and visions for further projects - but my husband and I will only talk about these in private for the time being. For now, we are working hard to continue as well as we started. In other words, we want to be able to welcome as many guests again in 2023, even if "the allure of the new" is over by then. That's why we focus on top quality, personal contact with our guests and lots of experiences that should characterize a visit with us.

Easily integrate Arcavis into existing processes

Arcavis is suitable for companies of all sizes that offer goods or services in a retail outlet. The checkout stations can be operated by employees (point of sale) or by customers themselves (self-checkout). Arcavis is scalable and therefore ideal for companies with one or more checkout stations and also for companies with several branches.

Interfaces are used to exchange customer and supplier information quickly, easily and automatically. Here are some examples of our interfaces: