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Tobias Köhler is the Chief Commercial Officer—or as he calls it, Chief Commercial Mama—at the BIG MAMA Hotels. He works in marketing, sales, and distribution, and is also responsible for IT.
“Ever since my school days, I’ve enjoyed creating experiences. Parties and such. I sold ski trips through a website I created myself,” Tobias recalls. He enjoys tinkering and always trying out new things—a true early adopter. “After entering the tourism industry, I realized how experiences combined with digitalization could offer a whole new kind of customer experience. My goal became to provide a great experience for hotel guests as well as employees.”
“After entering the tourism industry, I realized how experiences combined with digitalization could offer a whole new kind of customer experience.”
His employees are particularly important to Tobias. He is always looking to create offers that increase satisfaction within the team. “This then has a positive impact on how we interact with guests,” he explains. “I see it this way: our employees must have the opportunity to engage with the guests. This is achieved by relieving them of other tasks and work processes. Otherwise, the opposite might occur, and neither the employees nor the guests will be satisfied. Here, digital process optimizations can be helpful.”
“Our employees must have the opportunity to engage with the guests. This is achieved by relieving them of other tasks and work processes.”
One lever that Chief Commercial Mama implemented for relief was the integration of the DialogShift chatbot. Chatbot BIG MAMA should be involved in communication with the guest as early as possible. “For example, guests are redirected to the chatbot via a link in the reservation confirmation. We then receive information in the backend that guest Max Maier has a question about his reservation. This way, we can already see all the information about the guest, eliminating the need to ask for names and arrival dates. This saves guests and employees time and nerves,” Tobias grins.
What the IT enthusiast particularly likes about our chatbot are the various statistics from the live app, which give the hotels insights into how the chatbot is used. According to Tobias, the response time statistics for live chats and the AI statistics to identify content gaps in the chatbot are particularly useful tools for improving the user experience. “When integrating the chatbot for our new hotel in Dortmund, I was able to draw important conclusions from the AI statistics of our hotels in Berlin and Leipzig: What questions are asked most frequently? I then incorporated these as quick reply buttons in the Dortmund chatbot.”
When Tobias Köhler isn’t busy tinkering with new tools for his hotels, you’ll likely find him near the HSMA Germany, where he serves as a volunteer on the Technology Expert Board. Yes, Technology Expert Board. That deserves to be read twice. “In 2012, after graduating from university, I attended my first HSMA event. It was super exciting. I realized I was still at the very beginning. The people there openly shared their knowledge, so I always enjoyed getting involved and learning a lot from my colleagues,” Tobias recalls.
“The more personalities we brought from the industry, the bigger and more exciting the expert circles became. This constantly leads to impressive publications. The mix and exchange between hoteliers and hotel service providers in HSMA are certainly helpful and extremely fruitful.”
When it comes to the topic of the future and goals, Tobias appears cool and relaxed. “I’m happy when I can dedicate myself to something meaningful with joy and experience variety. When things go well professionally, it positively affects my private life and vice versa. If there are challenging phases, I greatly appreciate my family’s support, which helps me get through those times.”
We’re sure of that!
Dear Tobias, thank you very much for the exciting conversation and your time! 🚀💙
About the BIG MAMA Hotels:
BIG MAMA Hotels, with locations in Berlin, Leipzig, and Dortmund, was founded in 2013 by Clarissa Meier. Since 2016, her son, David-Friedemann Henning, has been the CEO of BIG MAMA Hotels. What started as a nickname is now the hotel's motto: Central location, really good beds, strong drinks, and a #mamamade breakfast. But above all, BIG MAMA is one thing: A place to stay, explore, come together, and simply have a good time. #bigmamacares - you can count on that.
