In the East Frisian town of Norden, in the district of Norddeich and just a few steps from the lido, Heike Kremer-Roolfs is the host of the vacation home “Hein Mück”, originally named after the Bremerhaven town. The modern and recently renovated vacation home on the North Sea, with a view of the spa gardens, allows guests to enjoy a wonderful vacation on the Lower Saxon Wadden Sea at any time of the year. 

In the conversation with Heike, we learn what makes a vacation in Norddeich special and how the collaboration with Bookiply has made her everyday life easier since the beginning of 2021.

Background

Heike and her husband live on the car-free island of Baltrum, between Norderney and Langeoog, where they also run the “Surferhus” – a guesthouse affiliated with a kite school. In Norddeich, the seaside resort belonging to Norden, is where you will find Heike’s parents’ house, which she inherited, rebuilt and renovated. After Heike had already gained experience as a hostess on Baltrum, it was only logical to create a familiar vacation home for North Sea visitors on the mainland as well.

Between dunes, seals and kite surfing

Only 250 meters from the Norddeich beach, guests can not only spend a relaxing family vacation, but they are also spoiled for choice with a variety of leisure activities. Whether it’s building sandcastles with the kids among the dunes, taking advantage of the North Sea winds for kitesurfing, or visiting the exhibition on “Wadden Sea World Heritage” in Lower Saxony’s only care station for seals and grey seals – Norddeich has a lot to offer.

What would a vacation to the North Sea be without a mudflat hike? A guided tour through the mudflats and to the East Frisian Islands should be part of any vacation in Norddeich. A vacation home in East Frisia is the ideal starting point to fully explore the North Sea Coast of Germany.

Vacations with friends

“Hein Mück”, is bright and modern in style, and offers guests a relaxing family vacation on the North Sea. The charming house with a garden and a sunny terrace welcomes guests at the end of a dead-end street. Its location is especially pleasing to families with children, whereby kids can let off steam here without any worries. Since the whole family should feel comfortable here, pets are also welcomed guests. Situated in the middle of the cozy Norddeich means that guests can enjoy an authentic vacation in East Frisia.

“The house is located in a neighborhood where many long-time residents from Norddeich still live. It is just not a vacation home settlement, but you have direct contact with the neighbors and I think that will certainly please one or the other guest.” 

For the guests it should feel as if they are having “a vacation with friends”, says Heike. As you would always like to fulfill your friends’ wishes, it’s the same even when a guest has a somewhat unusual request. 

“A guest asked if he could bring a portable pasture fence to fence in the property so his dogs couldn’t run away, we found that very interesting.”

More reach and less time spent with Bookiply 

In early 2021, Heike started working with Bookiply and from the beginning found it a promising new way to rent out her vacation home with the help of a channel manager. Her vacation home is now offered simultaneously on a number of portals, with synchronized calendars and bookings. Since then, Bookiply has been able to simplify Heike’s everyday life as a host and also save her time.

“It’s very pleasant that Bookiply takes care of all the organization, so I have to worry about less. It makes my work easier and I like it a lot.”

Before working with Bookiply, calendar management could often be a bit difficult and confusing, so double bookings happened sometimes. For Heike, this meant slight heart palpitations every time. Gaps in the booking calendar were also a nagging issue. However, Bookiply’s complete solution for vacation home management enabled solutions to be found for both problems. 

“Together with Bookiply, we quickly got it right. I was very pleased with how quickly the gaps were closed. For example, I had calendar gaps of two days, which were filled incredibly quickly. I feel like a very wide spectrum of people is accessing it and that the portals that Bookiply works with cover everything to a great extent.”

Not only have double bookings since been avoided and calendar gaps closed, but Heike has also received bookings for the winter months as early as September, something she hadn’t expected. 

“I was very surprised by the bookings for November and also January. I didn’t expect that in Norddeich, since people usually tend to go to the islands at this time and with us the season is usually over after the fall vacation season.”

Heike sees the first year with Bookiply very positively and looks forward to the next year with excitement. She has already recommended Bookiply’s Channel Manager to a friend.

“If there are any questions or problems, they always answer very quickly and take care of everything. I also noticed that thought is also given to the well-being of the guests.”

The app is also a reason for Heike to cooperate with Bookiply.

“It’s great, you can see immediately when someone inquires about the house. I also always know who is checking in or out next. It’s nice to have everything at a glance.”

Heike’s tips for new hosts

Finally, Heike would like to share with other vacation home owners what is important for them to be a good host.

“Cordiality, friendliness and an open ear. It simply makes me happy when guests are satisfied. If you can offer guests something nice and they feel comfortable, then they will come again.”

If you feel like a vacation at the North Sea, you can book your vacation in the house “Hein Mück” right here. 

You can find more interesting host stories on our blog.