Stayokay

"At Stayokay, we strive to transform our employees into brand ambassadors. Oneteam’s digital learning and communication platform helps us to do so."
– Liza de Vos, HR Manager at Stayokay

About Stayokay

Stayokay has been a familiar name in Dutch hospitality for more than 90 years. With 20 hostels and around one million overnight stays per year, it is the largest provider of budget accommodations in the Netherlands. Stayokay is also part of Hostelling International, a global network of over 4,000 hostels.

With 750 employees spread across the country, Stayokay depends on a strong connection between its people to deliver a consistent guest experience. HR Manager Liza de Vos explains how Oneteam helps them keep staff engaged and connected, no matter where they work.

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The challenge

Each year, between 500 and 600 new employees join Stayokay. In a tight labor market, training them quickly and effectively is crucial. However, managers often lacked the time and resources to onboard new team members properly. This led to a negative employee experience and, at times, higher turnover.

The challenges were clear:

• 65% of employees are non-desk workers, such as housekeeping or hospitality staff, who had no easy access to company systems.
• Communication depended too much on managers passing on information, often resulting in important updates not reaching everyone.
• The old intranet and training system were outdated and did not meet the needs of a younger workforce, used to doing everything on their phones.
• Employee surveys confirmed communication as a major point of concern.

As Liza puts it: “The first one hundred days of a new employee are crucial. Without the right training and effective communication, people leave too soon, and valuable knowledge is lost.”

The solution

Stayokay started looking for a modern platform that combined learning and communication. After reviewing several options, Oneteam stood out because it brought everything together in one place.

"We were looking for both a learning and internal communication platform. The uniqueness of Oneteam is that it includes several functions, allowing us to use one platform for internal communication, onboarding, and eLearning."

Today, Oneteam gives Stayokay an all-in-one solution for the complete digital employee experience. Over 80% of employees are now active on the platform, and adoption continues to grow. Different groups – such as hostel managers, social media ambassadors, and F&B employees – use the platform to share updates, exchange knowledge, and strengthen engagement.

The approach

To ensure success, Stayokay formed a project group with colleagues from different departments. This group works on improving onboarding programs and stimulating engagement by sharing updates across the organization.

The onboarding journey was completely restructured with Oneteam. Every new employee now starts with a general introduction to Stayokay, followed by hostel-specific modules and role-based eLearning. This gives everyone a consistent and personal start.

As Liza explains: “With Oneteam’s onboarding module we can unburden floor managers and at the same time make new colleagues fans of both their work and the Stayokay brand.”

The results

“Since we started using Oneteam, the connection between all our employees has improved significantly,” says HR Manager Liza de Vos. “Colleagues can now easily chat with each other, share knowledge, and celebrate successes across all our 20 hostels. That really makes a difference in how involved people feel.”

Adoption numbers also speak for themselves. “We currently see that around 80% of our employees are active every week. That shows us the app really adds value in their daily work.”

According to Liza, Oneteam also plays an important role in achieving Stayokay’s strategic pillars:

Strong Brand
“Our goal is to make every employee a fan of the Stayokay brand. With Oneteam’s onboarding, new colleagues immediately get that wow-feeling. It’s personal, interactive, and fun. And it helps them become brand ambassadors from day one.”

Sustainability
“Sustainability is one of our key focus areas. Through Oneteam we share updates on our Doing Good program and inspire employees to take action themselves. It’s an easy way to spread awareness and encourage people to contribute to a better planet.”

Feel Good at Work
“With our Feel Good at Work program we want to inspire and motivate colleagues on themes like personal growth, health, and workplace happiness. Oneteam makes it easy to share content that supports this and creates a culture of positivity across all our locations.”

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Looking ahead

Stayokay continues to expand its digital learning library and aims to raise adoption from 80% to 100%. The project group remains active in developing new modules and finding creative ways to engage staff.

As Liza sums up: “Oneteam has made a significant contribution to improving engagement and the connection between all employees across our different locations. We’re excited to keep building on that.”