The Lodge Group: a home away from home

The first establishment of this family-run business was in Houthalen. More than 20 years later, Dieter and his brother manage a fine collection of hotels and brasseries at 12 locations. A number of these venues also rent out meeting rooms and party halls.

Especially in Flemish Brabant and Limburg, The Lodge has become a household name, with the city of Leuven as its epicentre. In and around Leuven, regular customers feel at home in no less than 6 locations: The Lodge Heverlee, De Oude Kantien, De Abdijmolen, La Royale, New Damshire and the Theater Hotel.

Wanted: only 1 music supplier

Dieter got to know Tunify a couple of years ago: “The Lodge has been growing organically. Occasionally, we take over a business that fits the philosophy of The Lodge. And that is how we discovered Tunify. One of our hotels was a Tunify customer already. Back then, our other venues played music with different systems.”

“This meant we had a patchwork of systems at that time, which is more expensive and less efficient. On top, it made for a less consistent experience for our guests. I decided to compare the available players and pick just 1 partner.”

“Tunify has made some serious progress in recent years, and came out as the winner. Its impressive catalogue, automated updates and user-friendliness were a cut above the rest.”

Try out first, launch later

“Sound advice if you are not using Tunify yet: try it out first, before you press play in your business. That is what I did as well. Music is pretty important to me, so I spent some time configuring my set-up.

“Tunify’s music agendas make things really easy, because you can match genres to times of the day. You don’t need to create playlists to still play the right songs at the right time. In the mornings, for example, my agendas contain mostly jazz and piano music. That gradually shifts to soft pop, and after 6 PM soft lounge and downbeat prevail.”

“We went with Tunify’s Orange subscription, which includes the possibility to create custom playlists. That is something I really enjoy, and I know I can say the same for a couple of my employees. At the same time, colleagues who are less into music are happy to rely on the agendas and playlists I customised.”

“You really hear the difference when you adjust parameters”

Dieter Peters - Manager The Lodge Group

Playing around with sliders

Dieter has some more advice for other Tunify users: “I actually don’t invest any time in Tunify at all anymore. And even my initial configuration is a bit of an overkill if you are not as obsessed with music as I am. In that case, just go for Tunify Green. Its agendas get you going with the right music right away, and new songs will pop up continuously thanks to the automated updates.”

“But do you fully want to mould the music in your business to your own liking? Make sure to take a deeper dive in the channels. There are so many moods and subgenres to choose from, but they were still a bit too broad for me.”

“It is easy, for example, to exclude all songs with a heavy bass. Or to play mostly recent songs. Those parameters are no gimmick. If you move a slider left or right, you immediately hear the difference. That made it possible for me to precisely adjust Tunify to the vibe in every single one of our hotels and brasseries.”

Are you wondering by now where to go to discover The Lodge’s food, hotels rooms and … music? Take a look at all venues.