Give guests control
Allow luggage storage and collection without waiting for a member of staff.
Hospitality smart locker case study
Ostello Bello Smart Locker Case Study
Turning luggage storage into a secure self-service guest experience and measurable ancillary revenue stream.
Ostello Bello shows how smart luggage lockers can support early arrivals and late departures while reducing reliance on manual reception-led storage.
First pilot location results
84smart locker doors
1,700+transactions in 8 weeks
€18,000revenue generated
<30 secaverage collection time
Executive outcomes
From luggage-room task to self-service guest revenue
Ostello Bello introduced an 84-door smart luggage locker solution to automate guest storage and turn luggage storage into a paid, self-service guest amenity. In the first eight weeks, the deployment processed more than 1,700 luggage-storage transactions and generated €18,000.
The operating model gives guests greater flexibility before check-in and after check-out while reducing the need for reception teams to receive, label, move and retrieve every bag.
Explore the Full Results
The challenge
Early arrivals and late departures put pressure on reception
Guests often need secure luggage storage outside their room access window. In a traditional luggage-room model, reception teams must manage this demand alongside bookings, enquiries, payments, check-ins and guest support.
- Staff manually accept, label, move and retrieve bags
- Peak arrival and departure periods can create queues
- Shared luggage rooms make chain of custody harder to track and verify
- Storage and collection depend on reception staff availability
- Traditional luggage storage remains a labour cost rather than a measurable ancillary revenue opportunity
These challenges are common across hostel luggage storage and hotel luggage storage environments.
Manual storage
Receive → Tag → Record → Store → Retrieve → Verify
Six staff-dependent steps create repeated handling and interruptions at the front desk.
Strategic objectives
What the Ostello Bello solution needed to achieve
Reduce handling
Remove repetitive bag receipt, tagging, moving and retrieval from reception teams.
Improve security
Use individual compartments and digitally controlled access instead of shared rooms.
Create auditability
Record transactions, locker activity and access events through a managed digital workflow.
Generate revenue
Turn guest storage demand into a measurable paid service rather than a purely manual cost.
Create a scalable model
Establish a repeatable self-service journey that can support future hospitality locations.
The Vpod solution
Secure smart lockers, digital access and a self-service workflow
The smart luggage locker system gives each guest a secure compartment and digital access journey. The locker management platform records transactions and locker activity, giving authorised teams operational visibility while guests complete storage and collection independently.
- SelectThe guest chooses an available locker or storage option.
- PayThe guest completes payment for the selected storage option where applicable.
- StoreLuggage is placed in an individual secure compartment.
- AccessA PIN, QR code or other authorised digital credential controls locker access.
- CollectThe guest returns and retrieves luggage independently.
Each transaction is recorded digitally, giving operators visibility of usage, locker activity and commercial performance. Explore the wider Vpod smart locker platform and luggage locker solution.
Revenue model
How smart luggage storage generates revenue
Guest demand
Early arrivals and late departures create predictable demand for secure luggage storage.
Digital payment
Guests can pay for storage as part of the self-service journey, creating a measurable ancillary revenue stream.
Automated fulfilment
The locker provides secure storage without reception teams manually managing each transaction.
Measurable performance
Usage, transaction and locker activity data gives operators visibility of commercial performance.
Commercial proof
Proven at the first pilot location. Scalable across a multi-property hospitality network.
Ostello Bello operates a multi-property hospitality network across Italy. The commercial results presented here come from the first pilot location, where 84 smart lockers processed more than 1,700 luggage-storage transactions and generated €18,000 in eight weeks.
14properties across Italy
84lockers at the first pilot location
1,700+pilot transactions in 8 weeks
€18,000pilot revenue in 8 weeks
All commercial figures shown above relate to the first pilot location.
Operational impact
A faster guest journey with less front-desk intervention
Guest convenience
Early arrivals and late departures can store belongings without carrying luggage through the day.
Reception productivity
Self-service removes many repetitive storage and retrieval tasks from front-desk teams.
Fast collection
The measured Ostello Bello deployment achieved an average collection time of less than 30 seconds.
Digital accountability
Controlled access and recorded locker activity strengthen visibility compared with paper-ticket storage rooms.
Important distinction: percentage efficiency ranges published elsewhere on Vpod are indicative smart luggage locker benchmarks. The performance figures on this page are the measured results from the Ostello Bello pilot.
Why the model works
Automation removes the six manual steps around every bag
Traditional luggage rooms require reception teams to receive, tag, record, store, retrieve and verify each bag. Smart lockers replace these staff-led tasks with a digitally controlled self-service journey, reducing manual handling while maintaining operational visibility and secure access.
For busy city hostels, the model can support a higher volume of guests without making luggage storage a permanent reception bottleneck.
Full case study
See the deployment, operating model and commercial results
Download the Ostello Bello case study for the complete story behind the 84-locker pilot, guest journey, operating model and first eight weeks of measured commercial performance.
Video case study
Watch how smart luggage lockers drive hospitality growth
See how secure self-service luggage storage can improve guest convenience, reduce pressure on reception teams and turn early-arrival and late-departure demand into a measurable commercial service.
Open on YouTube
Build the business case
From one hospitality workflow to a wider smart locker strategy
Plan your deployment
Turn guest luggage storage into a better hospitality experience
Talk to Vpod about locker capacity, guest journeys, payments, access methods, reporting and the commercial model for your hostel or hotel.