Recipe for Success Against Rising Operating Costs
The Recipe for Success Against Rising Operating Costs
How the Waldhotel Cottbus Achieves Measurable Success Through the Smart Combination of Gastfreund and Click A Tree
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Nadine Heiß
- 11/09/2026
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How can reduced cleaning efforts, digital guest communication, and concrete commitment be combined?
The Spree-Waldhotel Cottbus, together with Gastfreund and Click A Tree, demonstrates how this works in practice:
with 1,240 unperformed room cleanings within one year and the support of tree plantings in the Philippines.
Would you like the same for your company?
Then talk to us!
How the Spree-Waldhotel Cottbus Saves 1,240 Cleanings in One Year with Gastfreund and Click A Tree and Supports Concrete Projects in the Philippines
From the strong connection of digital innovation, genuine host passion, and concrete commitment, a collaboration emerges that brings tangible success for all parties.
The Spree-Waldhotel Cottbus, the digital expert Gastfreund, and Click A Tree show how modern hotel management can function today: process-optimized, digitally supported, and with concrete, documented results in the supported project in the Philippines.
The Idea: A Simple Choice with Concrete Impact
Since July 2025, the Spree-Waldhotel Cottbus has relied on a clever combination of digital service and project-related commitment.
The principle is as logical as it is effective: guests can easily opt out of daily room cleaning via the Gastfreund guest app.
For every room cleaning canceled this way, the Spree-Waldhotel Cottbus has a tree planted in the project in the Philippines via Click A Tree.
Additionally, as part of the project, one kilogram of plastic is collected for each tree planted.
A portion of the recycled plastic is used to make school chairs, which are provided to local schools.
The balance after one year shows how often travelers have already used this offer:
- 1,240 trees have already been planted in the project in the Philippines as part of the cooperation.
- 1,240 kg of plastic were collected in connection with these plantings.
- Social added value on site: A portion of the recycled plastic is used to create school chairs, which are provided to local schools in the project country.
These figures show how the customer journey works in practice.
The hotel team actively promotes the campaign during check-in, reminds guests with appealing displays in the rooms, and allows guests to make the smart, digital decision with a click.
In one year, 1,240 room cleanings were canceled and not performed.
For the Spree-Waldhotel with its 50 rooms, this corresponds to an average of approximately 25 unperformed room cleanings per room within one year.
The Success Triangle: Benefits for All Involved
1. The Waldhotel Cottbus: Less Cleaning Effort & More Efficiency
For the Spree-Waldhotel Cottbus, the cooperation with Click A Tree means a concrete advantage in daily hotel operations.
By not performing room cleanings, the associated use of water, energy, and cleaning agents is eliminated.
At the same time, personnel capacities in housekeeping are relieved and can be used for other tasks in hotel operations.
The hotel actively involves its guests in the decision, thus combining digital guest communication with a concrete project contribution.
2. Gastfreund: The Digital Key to the Hotel Portfolio
Such an action can cause additional administrative effort in daily hotel life – with the right digital solution, however, it can be easily integrated into guest communication. Gastfreund has been successfully working with the Waldhotel Cottbus since 2019. The guest app enables guests’ decisions digitally:
- One-Click Solution: Guests can easily cancel housekeeping via their own smartphone.
- Digital Processes: Digital communication can supplement or partially replace printed information, thereby reducing associated printing costs.
3. Click A Tree: Concrete and Documented Project Measures
Click A Tree makes the hotel’s and its guests’ commitment traceable through concrete results.
The concept is based on a clear assignment: For every room cleaning canceled as part of the cooperation, the Spree-Waldhotel Cottbus has a tree planted in the project in the Philippines via Click A Tree.
Additionally, one kilogram of plastic is collected per tree as part of the project.
The project combines tree plantings with further local measures. These include jobs within the project and the processing of a portion of the collected plastic into school chairs, which are provided to local schools.
For hoteliers, this provides a concrete and traceable basis to communicate to guests which measures are supported by the cooperation.
Ready to Shape the Hotel Industry of Tomorrow?
The success story of the Spree-Waldhotel Cottbus, based on the 1,240 unperformed room cleanings, shows that contemporary hotel management and economic process optimization can go hand in hand.
By integrating it into the Gastfreund guest app, the model can be easily incorporated into the Spree-Waldhotel’s guest communication.
Unperformed room cleanings reduce the corresponding cleaning effort, relieve housekeeping, and at the same time enable the hotel to finance concrete tree plantings in the project in the Philippines.
You too can write the next success story! Utilize the possibilities of digital guest communication and concretely documented project measures. Contact Gastfreund and Click A Tree to find out how such a model can be implemented in your hotel.
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