Schloss Elmau, the renowned luxury hideaway, cultural retreat, and host to multiple G7 Summits in the Bavarian Alps, has implemented Oracle Hospitality OPERA Cloud platform as part of a broader effort to modernize the management of its highly specialized resort operation. With OPERA Cloud Property Management (PMS) and Sales and Events Management, the resort has built a flexible cloud foundation that streamlines operations while enabling continued innovation across guest experiences, events, and day-to-day operations.
“For me, the decision came down to trust,” said Dietmar Mueller-Elmau, CEO and owner, Schloss Elmau. “The Oracle Hospitality team listened to what we needed, understood the complexity of our operation, and delivered on its commitments. We initially thought that if OPERA Cloud could give us everything we valued in our previous solution, that would already be a success. What we found was something much more powerful. OPERA Cloud has afforded us the flexibility to rethink and automate processes around how we want to operate, rather than adapting our hotel to the limitations of the technology.”
Rethinking operations in the cloud
After decades of using the same property management solution, Schloss Elmau worked closely with Oracle Hospitality to reimagine how work gets done across the resort. Instead of replicating its previous operating environment, the teams took the opportunity to redesign processes, validate configurations, and prepare more than 100 team members for the transition to OPERA Cloud.
Since going live, Schloss Elmau has automated more administrative tasks across reservations, guest communications, reporting, and other areas. This has helped to reduce the workload in the reservations department by 50 percent, giving staff more time to engage with guests.
“The real opportunity with cloud technology is not to replicate the way you worked before. It is to use the move as an opportunity to rethink your business,” added Mueller-Elmau. “For a hotel like ours, the goal of automation is to reduce busy work and empower our employees to spend more time doing what matters most: engaging with our guests and delivering exceptional service.”
Schloss Elmau also hosts concerts, leisure activities, and other guest experiences, creating technology needs that go well beyond conventional room operations. Schloss Elmau uses OPERA Cloud Sales and Events Management to manage its meetings and other. In tandem, the open integration capabilities delivered through the Oracle Hospitality Integration Platform, have allowed the resort to connect highly specialized capabilities in ways not previously possible.
“Schloss Elmau demonstrates what modern hospitality technology should enable – giving operators the freedom to adapt technology to the needs of its business and guests,” said Laura Calin, senior vice president, Oracle Consumer Industries. “Dietmar and his team bring a rare combination of hospitality and technology expertise, and their perspective has made this a valuable collaboration. We look forward to continuing to innovate together and helping the Schloss Elmau team spend less time on administration and more time creating memorable guest experiences.”
