From Rural Farmstead to 170+ Units: The Hügle Group's Tech-Driven Evolution

In the hospitality industry, scaling from a single location to a multi-site operation fundamentally changes the math of how a business is run. For the Hügle Group, based in the picturesque Lake Constance and Ravensburg region of Southern Germany, this transition required a complete operational overhaul.

What started as a personal project—founder and economist Wolfgang Hügle taking over his family's old farmstead—has blossomed over the past decade into a robust hospitality brand known as Gut Hügle.

Today, the business encompasses an expansive Erlebnishof (adventure farm) featuring a family spa, a restaurant, and a play barn, alongside chic city apartments in Ravensburg and Bad Waldsee. Spanning five properties and over 170 units, managing this massive expansion meant the ownership team had to abandon intuition-based spreadsheets and embrace a sophisticated, automated approach to dynamic rate management and property operations.

The Challenge: The Structural Bottleneck of Manual Pricing

In the early days of Gut Hügle, operations were entirely manual. Rates were set by hand, seasonality was managed through spreadsheets, and bookings were tracked without a centralized system.

"As the portfolio grew, it became clear that this approach was not just inefficient—it was a structural bottleneck. With 170+ units across multiple properties, manually maintaining rate calendars and managing bookings through disconnected channels was simply not viable."

Relying on human intervention for daily pricing across such a large and diverse portfolio—ranging from farmstead family rooms to urban lofts—quickly shifted from being a minor administrative task to an impossible burden.

The Solution: An Economist’s Approach to Software

Given Wolfgang's background in economics, the search for the right tech stack was highly analytical. He conducted a thorough market analysis of available platforms, prioritizing total cost of ownership and structural reliability.

Why SabeeApp? Native Integrations Over Middleware

The search for a Property Management System led Wolfgang directly to the founders of SabeeApp in Hungary. That conversation solidified his confidence in their product roadmap.

"One of SabeeApp's most tangible advantages is its native channel manager integration. Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, and others are connected directly, without requiring additional third-party middleware. In a market where competitors charge extra for these connections or rely on fragile API bridges, SabeeApp's approach is both technically sound and commercially sensible."

Having reservations, availability, and rates managed from a single, stable system immediately reduced the group's operational overhead.

Why PriceLabs? The Prerequisite for Yield Strategy

With the operational hub secured, PriceLabs was brought in as a natural extension to tackle the complexity of pricing at scale.

"Managing pricing across 170+ units in multiple locations means that a purely manual approach to rate setting is, frankly, impossible to do well. PriceLabs removed that burden entirely. Rates now adjust automatically based on demand signals, seasonality, and market dynamics. For an operation of our size, that's not a convenience, it's a prerequisite for running a professional yield strategy."

The Results: Reclaiming the Value of Hospitality

While the Hügle Group keeps its specific revenue figures private, the qualitative transformation of their business has been monumental. Operations that once required a small army of manual data entry now run largely on autopilot.

By pairing SabeeApp’s stable infrastructure with PriceLabs’ intelligent pricing engine, the team has successfully shifted their daily focus away from administrative screen-time. Instead, they can dedicate their energy back toward genuine hospitality—whether that’s organizing the farm-style breakfast buffet or perfecting the guest experience—which, as the team notes, is where true business value is created.

Pro Tips: The Gravity of Choosing a PMS

Having successfully navigated the complex journey of scaling a multi-property portfolio, the Hügle Group offers this crucial advice for fellow hosts and owners evaluating their software:

• Look Beyond the Headline Price

"Choosing a PMS is one of the most consequential infrastructure decisions a hospitality operator can make. A system that seems affordable but requires multiple add-ons to function properly is rarely a bargain."

• Evaluate Total Cost of Ownership

"Invest serious time upfront in evaluating what's available, what integrates well with your existing stack, and what the total cost of ownership looks like."

• Measure the Migration Cost

"Migrating away from an entrenched system is expensive, time-consuming, and disruptive. Make sure you get it right the first time."

By combining a highly analytical approach to software with an unwavering commitment to the guest experience, the Hügle Group has engineered a scalable, stress-free model for modern hospitality.

Discover how PriceLabs and SabeeApp help vacation rental managers boost occupancy, increase revenue, and simplify daily operations — explore the full PriceLabs and Sabeeapp integration story here and more customer success stories.