Customer story · Short-term rentals · 200+ units · Tel Aviv · Hostaway
- 26 min → 12 s
- average reply time
- ~90%
- of chats resolved without a person
- 51 h
- saved per month
- 5 → 0
- virtual assistants
From 26 minutes to 12 seconds — across 200+ units.
EZ Group connected Hostaway and WhatsApp to Ersona. Five virtual assistants were retired; guests stopped waiting.
See Ersona on my hotelCalculate your opportunity · Customer-reported, EZ Group case study · first six months on Ersona.
- Customer
- EZ Group
- Portfolio
- 200+ units, Tel Aviv
- Segment
- Short-term rentals
- PMS
- Hostaway
- Channels
- WhatsApp · Airbnb and Booking.com via Hostaway inbox
- Period
- first six months on Ersona
“It is working excellent — above my expectation. The AI understands context and handles guest requests naturally.”
Eliran ZoharSTR Manager, EZ GroupBefore
Guest messages across 200+ units were handled by five virtual assistants — about $5k a month — with an average reply time of 26 minutes. Check-in instructions, Wi-Fi codes, luggage storage, transport tips and booking questions were answered by copying between tools, at all hours, and guests waited.
What Ersona connected
- Hostaway — reservations, listings and the guest inbox (Airbnb and Booking.com threads included), with replies sent back through Hostaway.
- WhatsApp Business — the channel most guests already used.
- Tasks and team notifications — so a request becomes assigned work, not a message to remember.
- Take control — the team can step into any conversation and hand it back.
What changed
Routine conversations are answered in seconds, in the guest’s language, with the reservation attached. Around 90% of chats close without a person; the rest are flagged and land with the team, with the history in front of them. In the first six months the five assistants were retired and about 51 hours a month came back to the team.
In numbers
- $5k → 0
- monthly spend on virtual assistants
- 51 h
- returned to the team each month
Customer-reported, EZ Group case study, first six months on Ersona.
What EZ Group runs on Ersona
- Guest messaging
WhatsApp + Hostaway inbox (Airbnb, Booking.com)
- AI front desk
Check-in, Wi-Fi, local tips, booking questions
- Operations automation
Requests become tasks for the team
- Hostaway integration
Reservations, listings, guests and the guest inbox
Numbers on this page are customer-reported for the first six months on Ersona. Where we don’t have a verified figure, we say so rather than estimate.
Questions operators ask
Something not answered here? Write to us
How do I get started?
Ask for a walkthrough on your own property. We connect to your PMS, review your policies and channels, and show you what Ersona would do — before any commitment.
How quickly can I set up Ersona for my listings?
Connect your PMS — Hostaway or Guesty for the inbox and OTA threads, or Optima, Cloudbeds and MiniHotel for reservation context on Ersona’s own channels — and Ersona starts handling guest messages. No technical knowledge is required; connections are set up with us on a short call.
What types of guest messages can Ersona handle automatically?
For EZ Group, Ersona resolves around 90% of guest chats without a human — check-in instructions, Wi-Fi codes, local recommendations, luggage storage, transportation advice, amenity locations and questions about their booking — with change requests handed to the team with the reservation attached. It also tags and categorises leads, detects frustrated guests and knows when to escalate a conversation to a person.
Will guests know they’re talking to an AI?
How Ersona introduces itself is one of the rules you write. Many properties say so plainly; either way, a person can take over any conversation, and anything sensitive is handed to your team with the thread attached.
What happens if Ersona can’t answer a guest’s question?
When Ersona encounters a complex or unique situation it can’t handle, it automatically escalates to you with full context. You’ll get a notification with the guest’s question and conversation history, so you can step in seamlessly.
How much money can I save by replacing virtual assistants?
It depends on how you staff guest communication today. EZ Group retired five virtual assistants (around $5k per month) and cut average reply time from 26 minutes to 12 seconds. We’ll estimate the effect for your operation during the walkthrough.
Which platforms does Ersona work with?
Hostaway and Guesty end to end, including the Airbnb and Booking.com threads they relay; Optima, Cloudbeds and MiniHotel for reservation context; WhatsApp, email, website chat, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram and the phone as channels — the same context everywhere.
Can Ersona help generate additional revenue?
Yes. Ersona offers relevant extras such as early check-in, late checkout and local services at the right moment in the conversation, and can take payment for them.
See what Ersona would do on your properties.
Bring your PMS and your channels. We’ll walk through what would be handled first — and what stays exactly where it is.