South Wind Motel revives the mid-century motel experience backed by modern technology

The South Wind Motel, located in the historic German Village just south of downtown Columbus, Ohio, gives travelers a revived and reimagined mid-century motel experience. The motel, originally built in 1959, brings all of its original charms but, after significant renovations, has been elevated to include unique contemporary touches like custom walnut furniture, sustainable and ethical skincare products, Chemex coffee makers with local coffee, and solar panels powering 100% of its electricity.

Michael Kelley, Owner of the South Wind Motel, is an active member of the Columbus community, having participated in multiple development projects in the area. He saw a gap in the market and wanted to bring something new to the community. Michael says that “as a consumer, there’s something about the excitement of going out of town and finding something that’s independent and unique, and we wanted to bring that to Columbus.”

Not much about the property had changed between 1959 and when Michael purchased the South Wind Motel, and he knew that “there was very little that we could reuse – both physically and technology-wise.” He did some initial research, and Cloudbeds stood out as a leader in the industry. After an introductory call, he immediately knew that “Cloudbeds checked all of the boxes for what we needed, and it seemed like a reliable and safe partner due to its wide use across the industry.”

Cloudbeds checked all of the boxes for what we needed, and it seemed like a reliable and safe partner due to its wide use across the industry.

Michael Kelley, Owner of South Wind Motel

Michael and his team were onboarded with Cloudbeds throughout the renovation process so they’d be up and running as soon as rooms were ready. Michael decided that self-service technology would be crucial in modernizing their business and reducing operational costs. In addition to the Cloudbeds platform, The South Wind Motel offers self-check-in and keyless entry powered by Lynx and Akia, Cloudbeds’ Marketplace integration partners.

With these integrations, guests receive a text message morning of check-in from Akia to gather all of the necessary information through a form link. From here, they’re sent an access code that they can use on arrival to the property to open their room. The guest gets a personalized digital key from Lynx to open the door and do not need to download an app. Michael says, “guests have really liked this option and several have said it’s been easier to use than Hilton’s mobile app.”

As a 22-room property, Michael would not be able to staff the motel 24/7 economically. Akia and Lynx allow his team “to handle guest communication remotely, and we don’t need to be behind a desk which has been super helpful in keeping our labor costs down.” With these integrations, staff don’t need to be on-site after 8 pm. Instead, guests can check in with their codes if they arrive late, and if they have an issue, can text the staff member on call to get an immediate response.

Since reopening with new management, renovations, and modern technology, South Wind Motel has achieved an unbelievable 99% direct booking rate! Direct bookings are critical for South Wind as they need to communicate directly with guests, which can often be challenging with intermediaries involved. With Cloudbeds’ Booking Engine, integration with Google Business, and features across local media outlets, Michael says:

We get almost all of our booking from direct channels.

Michael Kelley, Owner of South Wind Motel

South Wind’s average nightly rate has also exceeded projections which Michael says can be attributed to the quality of the property. He plans to further optimize their rate plans using Cloudbeds’ Pricing Intelligence Engine (PIE) as they get more comfortable in the system.

With Cloudbeds Payments, they’ve been able to relax their initially strict cancellation and deposit policy, giving travelers more flexibility. It’s been easy to pull reports and bank reconciliations have been pretty seamless across the board.

Since opening, South Wind Motel has increased revenue by 4X and has already received amazing feedback from guests, leaving them with a 4.9-star rating on Google. Michael says that his experience with Cloudbeds “has been solid, everyone has been great to work with, and it’s allowed us to run a business that keeps our costs low and drives direct bookings. The team has been really reliable and has helped us achieve our hybrid model backed by technology.”