23 Ferienwohnungen
3 Years of Experience
Lüneburg and beyond
Meet Anna & Thilo: The Story Behind Hygge Homes
From the outside, it looks like any other lovely home in Germany’s scenic Lüneburg Heath. Inside, delivery boxes are stacked high in the guest bathroom, nestled between kids' drawings on the wall and a family calendar that gave up trying to keep track weeks ago. Yet, this is exactly where a true success story begins—built on wood, heart, and a whole lot of hygge.
While the kids race down the hallway and the dishwasher beeps in the background, a hosting world has quietly blossomed far beyond this single living room: Hygge Homes. It sounds like a sleek lifestyle magazine or a high-end interior design brand, but the reality is much more grounded, authentic, and wonderfully quiet. It’s a family project that never intended to make a lot of noise—it just grew beautifully and steadily.
The "Hygge" Philosophy
It’s a small, soft word. But it carries everything Hygge Homes stands for.
"‘Hygge’ is a concept that captures so much," Anna explains. "There isn't really a direct English word that does it justice. It’s a Danish term that embodies comfort, warmth, arriving, and that unmistakable feeling of being truly at home. Honestly, it’s an entire way of life."
Anna paints a picture: good friends gathered around a table, a plush blanket, hot cocoa, maybe a crackling fireplace. Her philosophy has always been about creating a space where you don't just check into a vacation rental—you arrive and instantly exhale, feeling like you’re staying with family.
The spark ignited in 2021, a time when many were reevaluating their paths. For Anna and Thilo, the vision was clear: they wanted to create something of their own that felt like home, both for themselves and for others. It all started as an experiment with a single guest room in their own house, where Airbnb guests ate breakfast to the soundtrack of two energetic kids running around. Despite the beautiful chaos, it was constantly fully booked. Soon, one room turned into three complete vacation rentals.
Today, Hygge Homes manages a growing portfolio of vacation rentals and boutique rooms across the Lüneburg Heath region. What began with that single guest room in a Swedish-style cottage has grown into a collection of stunning properties—each designed with the kind of devotion most people reserve for building their forever homes.
The Early Days: Juggling Chaos and a Vision
Stepping up to three rentals felt like the natural next step. But real life quickly caught up. Balancing full-time careers (Anna is a primary school teacher), two high-energy kids, maintaining their own home, and dealing with a non-stop parade of furniture deliveries meant everything had to happen all at once. They were staging apartments, hunting down the perfect decor, taking listing photos, and writing descriptions on the fly. If a booking didn’t get manually copied into their private family calendar or blocked online fast enough, chaos broke out.
Worse yet, they had zero storage space. No attic, no basement. So, where did all those flat-pack furniture boxes go? Right into the guest bathroom. Open the door, and an avalanche of cardboard would greet you. What started as a passion project quickly turned into a high-stakes juggling act across multiple booking platforms—a delicate dance between family life and becoming professional hosts.
"We were entering bookings manually into our personal calendar and then physically going onto Airbnb, Booking.com, and Vrbo to block the dates by hand," Thilo recalls. "If the kids called out to you right in the middle of it, you'd easily forget a step. And boom… a double booking. That’s the absolute worst thing that can happen to a host. You have to cancel on a guest, which completely tanks your platform rankings."
Scaling from 3 to 18 Stays: Why a System Was Non-Negotiable
A connection Thilo had with a local real estate agent changed everything. Suddenly, an offer materialized: eight brand-new, perfectly located apartments, ready for tenants. It was a golden opportunity to skyrocket their portfolio from three to eleven properties overnight. But Anna and Thilo knew they had reached a tipping point—they couldn't do this alone anymore without a proper system.
Enter Smoobu.
"I found the entire Smoobu system incredibly easy to understand, even though I don't have a background in IT or business," says Anna. "As a school teacher, this was completely unchartered territory for me, yet I found my way around it instantly. It’s genuinely intuitive and so simple to connect all the different booking channels."
It wasn't just a single feature that won them over, but how seamlessly everything worked together. The platform was far more than just a channel manager; it was the ultimate antidote to their administrative chaos.
Finally, they had a crystal-clear view of who was arriving, when, how long they were staying, how many guests were in the party—and exactly what the business metrics looked like. Check-ins, check-outs, and occupancy rates were all available at a single glance.
Most importantly, it gave them peace of mind regarding calendar synchronization.
"The ultimate game-changer was just feeling secure—knowing that a double booking was now virtually impossible," Anna says. "Smoobu saved us an immense amount of time, lifted a massive weight off our shoulders, and gave us our peace of mind back. It was incredible to finally lose that constant, nagging feeling of 'What did I forget?'"
Double bookings, once a constant source of anxiety, are now handled automatically. Using Smoobu’s automated message templates, they send timely, personalized welcome emails packed with local insider tips and restaurant recommendations tailored specifically to who is visiting—whether it's a family on holiday or a team of traveling professionals.
This newfound freedom and operational synergy have given them the confidence to dream bigger. They are currently expanding their hosting journey to 25 properties by the end of the year and are already leveraging Smoobu’s website builder to launch their own direct-booking site.
Arriving Matters More Than Checking In
Hospitality and genuine care are the cornerstones of Hygge Homes. Before a guest ever steps foot inside one of their peaceful retreats, Anna and Thilo look closely at who they are hosting. Are they traveling contractors? Families? Business travelers? Then, they anticipate their needs. If it's a family, a crib is set up and waiting. For teams of trade workers, they’ve been known to leave a surprise crate of local refreshments on the doorstep as a thoughtful gesture.
"Our philosophy is centered on the idea of arriving and truly unwinding," Anna shares. "We don't want people to feel like they’re just staying in a sterile rental; we want them to feel a bit like they’ve come home.
We pour our hearts into making it deeply inviting, leaving out little treats, and ensuring every detail is thoughtfully curated so you feel cared for the second you walk through the door."
They aim to be entirely present but never intrusive, providing multiple ways to get in touch so help is always just a quick message away. And the results speak volumes: one of their apartment complexes is booked out for weeks at a time by fiercely loyal, returning corporate clients.
A Look to the Future
With a target of 25 properties by the end of the year, their responsibilities are growing alongside their portfolio. Looking ahead, Anna plans to transition away from teaching to dedicate herself fully to their vacation rental business. Together, Anna and Thilo are committed to providing high-quality, lovingly curated homes where guests feel genuinely welcomed.
What started with a single room in a Swedish-style cottage has evolved into a beautifully authentic, local northern German hospitality brand. Moving forward, their future is defined by three simple words: Time, relaxation, and health.
And what do you do when you're not hosting, Anna?
"Dance (laughs)! I did ballet for 15 years growing up, and recently I took up hip-hop and musical theater dance. It is absolutely thrilling. There's a studio near Lüneburg that trains at an incredibly high level, and I’m so grateful I found it. It’s my ultimate escape from the daily hustle. If I could, I’d be there every single day! (laughs)"
A Storybook Hosting Journey
Just like Anna and Thilo—who started with nothing more than a spark of an idea, a spare room, and a lot of heart—you too can evolve into a hospitality pro. With an extensive library of guides, blogs, templates, and expert resources designed specifically for vacation rental owners, Smoobu gives hosts the tools they need to stand out from the crowd and create something truly unique.
By simplifying your daily operations and centralizing your admin, you can stop fighting fires and start focusing on what makes your space special. This is how a marketplace built on individuality and innovation thrives.
See what Smoobu can do for your business. Try it completely free for 14 days—no credit card required!
