Key takeaways
- Achat Hotels operates over 30 properties and has used the Voice Booking Agent of the DialogShift Phone AI with DIRS21 integration since autumn 2025.
- The Phone AI handles approximately 30 percent of all calls on its own, and transferred calls are up to 55 percent shorter.
- The Achat group saves over 220 hours of talk time per month.
- The conversion rate from availability inquiry to booking is at least 28 percent.
- Existing DialogShift and DIRS21 customers activate the integration with a channel ID, with no additional setup costs.
Achat Hotels automates phone bookings with DialogShift and DIRS21
The hotel group Achat Hotels operates over 30 properties across the DACH region. A significant portion of their bookings comes in via telephone, and as call volumes grew, it became increasingly difficult to handle every inquiry without constantly overloading the reservations team.
Achat chose the market leader: DialogShift’s Phone AI, integrated directly with their existing booking engine, DIRS21. Since autumn 2025, the Voice Booking Agent has been live across all Achat Hotels. It answers calls, retrieves real-time availability and pricing from DIRS21, and completes bookings around the clock, in multiple languages, usually without a staff member ever needing to pick up the phone.
The results are impressive. The Phone AI handles approximately 30 percent of all calls entirely on its own, without any staff involvement. For the calls that are transferred to the team, talk time is reduced by up to 55 percent because the Phone AI has already captured the guest's needs, key details, and preferences during the initial interaction. For the entire group, this translates to over 220 hours of talk time per month that staff no longer need to spend.
The conversion rate from availability inquiry to booking is at least 28 percent. Of these, about 15 percent of callers complete their booking fully automatically, without a staff member needing to intervene. The remaining bookings begin with the Phone AI and conclude with a brief conversation with the front desk, as some guests prefer to finalize the last step of their booking with a human.
How does the Booking Agent use real-time availability and rates from DIRS21?
A booking agent is only as good as the data it can access. The direct integration between DialogShift and DIRS21 ensures that the AI agent retrieves up-to-date prices, availability, and room descriptions from DIRS21 in real time for every inquiry, including images and rate details. The guest receives a reliable answer and can book immediately.
DIRS21 allows for granular control in this process. Hotels can set up their own phone rates for the Phone AI and define separate rates for chat. If you offer different terms to guests calling by phone than to online visitors, the system handles this completely. The hotelier remains in full control.
How do existing DialogShift and DIRS21 customers activate the integration?
Hotels already using DialogShift and DIRS21 can activate the integration in a single step by entering a channel ID in the DialogShift system. No complex onboarding, no additional setup costs. From that moment on, the Booking Agent automatically pulls all relevant data from DIRS21, including room images, descriptions, and rates. Hotels can independently enable the room categories and rates in DialogShift that the AI Booking Agent is authorized to sell.
What do DIRS21 and DialogShift achieve together?
For over 25 years, DIRS21 has been the leading booking engine in the German-speaking hotel market. More than 5,300 hotels use it to manage their prices, availability, and direct bookings. DIRS21 is deeply embedded in the daily operations of mid-sized private hotels, hotel groups, and private chains.
DialogShift automates guest communication via chat, phone, and email. The Booking Agent is the core: it connects the hotel AI directly to the booking system. Guests can now not only inquire about rooms but book them directly without leaving the conversation. Integrating both systems turns this booking agent into a fully-fledged sales channel.
Frequently asked questions
What is the DialogShift Booking Agent?
The Booking Agent connects the DialogShift hotel AI directly to the booking system. Guests can book rooms directly without leaving the conversation. With the DIRS21 integration, it becomes a fully-fledged sales channel.
Which data does the Booking Agent retrieve from DIRS21?
For every inquiry, the AI agent retrieves up-to-date prices, availability, and room descriptions from DIRS21 in real time, including images and rate details. The guest receives a reliable answer and can book immediately.
Can a hotel offer different rates on the phone than in chat?
Yes. Hotels can set up their own phone rates for the Phone AI and define separate rates for chat. Hotels also decide in DialogShift which room categories and rates the Booking Agent is allowed to sell.
How is the DIRS21 integration activated?
Hotels already using DialogShift and DIRS21 enter a channel ID in the DialogShift system. There is no complex onboarding and no additional setup cost. All other connections are listed in the overview of DialogShift integrations.
What results does Achat Hotels achieve with the Phone AI?
The Phone AI handles approximately 30 percent of all calls without staff involvement. For the entire group, that means over 220 hours of talk time per month that staff no longer need to spend. The conversion rate from availability inquiry to booking is at least 28 percent.
