Vök Baths connects ticketing, bar and bookings on one platform
Vök Baths is the only geothermal floating-pool spa in Iceland, opened in 2019 on the stunning banks of Lake Urridavatn in the east of the country. With two floating pools, a sauna, a cold-water spray tunnel, a tea bar, an in-water pool bar and an on-site restaurant, it welcomes over 100,000 visitors a year.
It is the only Icelandic geothermal pool with certified drinkable water, unlike other geothermal pools in the country, which are high in sulfur. That special quality has let the company get more creative with its offering: it has collaborated with a local microbrewery on two specialty beers made from the geothermal water at Lake Urridavatn, and with a local farmer who supplies herbs for its tea bar, where customers can try an array of teas filled with piping hot geothermal water straight from the tap.
As demand grew for added services such as treatments, from both locals and travelers from around the world, Vök Baths needed a system to connect ticketing, food and drink, retail and other services and to grow with it effortlessly. Having run Navision and an older LS Retail solution, it upgraded to LS Central and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, with local LS Retail partner Tegra.
Sales and bookings in one system
LS Central unifies retail, restaurant, activities, inventory and member management on one platform, and is modular, so Vök Baths can add functionality without having to invest time and effort into complex integrations. With Bookings for LS Central, the spa tracks daily reservations, from admission packages and annual passes to restaurant services and planned treatments such as massages, in the same software it uses for sales and accounting. Its hotel functionality (PMS) also leaves room to expand.
Simpler work and richer data
LS Central and Business Central together have made it much easier for Vök Baths to get the business insight it needs. "We now have comprehensive reports that give us a lot of information at a glance, whether it be KPIs, finance, booking or retail sales information," says Kristín Halldórsdóttir, CEO of Vök Baths. "In turn, that allows for simpler, data-driven decision making and planning for the future growth and success of the business."
Personal service across guest types
With LS Central, Vök Baths serves both one-time tourists and locals with annual passes and now communicates with specific groups more precisely. "With all information in our system, we can now better communicate with specific groups like annual passholders," says Halldórsdóttir. "We can send them personalized offers, such as an invite to test out a new product, and we understand them better, to make sure we always deliver the right services." "Technology plays a huge role in a smooth guest experience," she adds. "Some customers like to speak to an employee. Others prefer to get to the baths quickly so they can relax. LS Retail software has made it possible for us to deliver what our customers want."
The decision and the foundation
Vök Baths chose LS Central with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central for its unified, modular design and the option to expand into areas such as hotel management. Powerful reservation software mattered, given the many bookings it already manages. Tegra ran the implementation smoothly. "We wanted a solution that would give us the possibility to expand into other directions in the future," says Halldórsdóttir.
Q&A: insights from Vök Baths' implementation
Why did Vök Baths change systems?
Vök Baths had run Navision and an older LS Retail solution. With demand growing for added services such as treatments, it needed a system to connect ticketing, food and drink, retail and services, and to grow with it.
What does Vök Baths run now, and how does it relate to its ERP?
Vök Baths runs LS Central with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, plus Bookings for LS Central. It unifies retail, restaurant, activities, inventory and member management, with reservations handled in the same system as sales.
How does the system use guest data?
Guests at Vök Baths use contactless bracelets that link bar purchases to them. The spa can report on what is popular with different groups, prepare for peak times, and send personalized offers to groups such as annual passholders.
