On a normal day in December, guests arrive at Smartel, one of the bigger hotels in Ahaus, a city of 40, 000 inhabitants in the northern German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
With their mobile devices in hand, guests are ready to test a QR code on a switch display at the entrance by pulling their rolling backpacks.
Arriving guests are required to use their smartphones to explore the hotel rather than be greeted by a concierge. Since there are no switches, these products not only open doors but also regulate the light and space heat.
In the corridor and hall, cleaning robots are silently humming. The only people you might encounter on occasion are the restaurant employees who refills the breakfast buffet.
The Smartel, which was previously the city’s largest resort, was formerly known as the Ratshotel Residenz, according to Peter Sommer. Hoff, a journey link from Smart City Ahaus, says the building’s magnificent history came to an end in the early 2000s.
After struggling to find a new owner, Ahaus-based automation business Tobit decided in 2017 to change the restaurant’s wealth around by modernizing the building and equipping its 44 rooms with the latest smart-home systems that one of its companies, Chayns, develops.
The” smartest town” has a ton of QR codes.
What’s stunning in this medium-sized European city is the huge number of blue-and-white round stickers with QR codes attached to almost anything. Bearing the Chayns brand, they can be found on bistro tables, resort doors and riverboats, as well as rent-out bicycles, supermarket shelves, and even on the games case in the city area. They provide an easy way to internet guide, spend for and uncover some features.
Following the bundesweit” Digital Places 2024″ competition organized by the Deutschland — Land der Ideen ( Germany— Land of Ideas ), Ahaus was named the country’s smartest rural municipality by the end of 2024.
Business and civil society support the government-sponsored campaign, which aims to increase Germany’s standing as a global hub for ideas and innovation.
Ahaus, the winner of the Nobel Prize, was recognized for combining multiple applications into a single platform that is simple to access with an app that only requires one-time registration and contact and banking information.
Digitization to stop Germany’s urban decline
The Ahaus experience offers a glimpse of what the future might hold for Velen-based caregiver Margarete. She has come with us on the guided tour, complaining that there is no longer even a neighborhood supermarket in Velen. She must make a reservation days in advance if she wants to have dinner out.
Due to population loss, economic stagnation, and lack of investment, the so-called urban decline is a problem for many smaller towns in Germany. Small shops and cinemas are disappearing, while hospitality businesses are struggling to find staff and customers. Could massive investments in digitization stop these communities from disappearing quietly?
In Ahaus, finding enough people to work at tourist attractions, for instance, is no longer an issue. The boat rental business close to the town’s historic water castle no longer requires human labor.
Similar to eating at the neighborhood TKWY diner, bikes and umbrellas can also be rented digitally. A video screen appears showing who will follow them when they pick up their food after placing an order with the Chayns app.
Margarete finds this” a bit impersonal”, and says she would miss the casual chatting with the waiters. ” But efficient”, counters our tour guide, Peter, arguing that staff can now focus on the cooking. Knowledge of the German language also “doesn’t matter”, he contends, because the food can be ordered in different languages.
Cashless and free of conflict
Staffing requirements for Ahaus ‘ bars and pubs are also minimal, with only the bartenders and waiters serving the customers ‘ online purchases, avoiding issues with bills and age verification. Users ‘ data is stored in their Chayns account.
According to Tobit, almost 80 % of all hospitality businesses in Ahaus use the Chayns app, whose service has grown to include farmers, sports clubs, and other service providers. They make use of Tobit’s digital network to sell goods or grant cashless access to facilities around the clock.
Sven Klawikowski, a waiter at The Unbrexit, still brings drinks and meals to the tables at the bar. But he no longer needs to take orders, process payments, or check in with customers to see what else they need. This saves enough time to match the workload of an entire shift, he claims, with ten tables to look after. Moreover, he can afford to work just four days a week, while still receiving a full week’s wage.
One of the nearby empty Ahaus properties that Tobit purchased to test out its technology is The Wallstreet Bar. A stock market ticker is constantly visible inside the bar on a large screen.
While having a drink, customers can invest in stocks, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, or commodities. However, since this offer is only a virtual reality game without real money, it is only for fun.
” We can test new technologies and make them accessible to other cities”, says Sommer.
Local currency to keep money in the community
Ahaus Marketing & Tourism’s head of marketing and tourism, Benedikt Hommöle, believes that because the municipality and its residents are on board, tech companies like Tobit can pilot their beta-phase projects more easily there. ” We embrace the living lab concept. We’re the guinea pigs, but in return, we have things here that others don’t”, he told DW.
One frequently replicated digital concept is the so-called city voucher, a local digital currency that, according to Tobit, has been emulated by more than 70 municipalities.
The vouchers are used in Ahaus as warm presents for new residents and the winners of the weekly online quiz. Employers also distribute workers ‘ monthly subsidies using city vouchers. They are also used as pocket money or as presents.
However, the money can only be spent in the town and must be used within a limited timeframe. ” You can use it to buy dog food, bread rolls, or new tires”, says Hommöle, adding that vouchers worth close to €800, 000 ($ 816, 000 ) are now circulating each year.
As Ahaus is situated close to Germany’s border with the Netherlands, the town is popular with Dutch tourists. At the conclusion of our tour, Peter Sommer recalls a recent visit by the mayors of 10 Dutch towns and cities, which are known for being more digitally savvy than Germany.
Sommer says that for Germans, Ahaus feels like pure science fiction. The Dutch visitors merely stated,” Not bad for Germany”.
