Picture this – you live in an apartment block or student accommodation with shared washing machines and dryers in the basement, but, instead of having to make multiple trips downstairs to check if the appliances are free or if your laundry is ready, you can check in real-time, from the comfort of your own apartment, using an app or telephone! Not only that, you can book the appliance/s you need and pay for your washing and drying cycles cashless and digitally. Yes, all of this has been made possible by BSH spin-off WeWash.
What is WeWash?
WeWash is the smart solution for those who do not own their own washing machine or dryer. WeWash simplifies the entire process of doing the laundry by digitizing everything from booking the machines, up to the actual payment per cycle. This makes “the use of communal washing and drying more attractive for everyone involved,” says Philip Laukart, founder and CEO of WeWash.
So, how does it work?
“WeWash allows users to check whether a machine is free and reserve the machine directly using the WeWash app, website or telephone. In case all machines are occupied, the users simply queue up in a virtual queue. We will notify them, as soon as their machine is available or their laundry is ready for pick-up. This saves users multiple unnecessary trips to the basement or laundry room, saving precious time and energy,” Laukart continues.
Do you want to know more? Check out the video:
What’s new since 2017?
Since 2017, several updates have been made, not only to the app. Only recently – in July 2020 – the WeWash app was launched, presenting itself with a whole new look and an improved user journey. WeWash doesn’t settle for the status quo but continuously works on improving both the user and partner experience.
WeWash and BSH
The management team, Philip Laukart (CEO) and Dr. Rafael Kirschner (COO) are former employees of BSH.
“WeWash and our entire business model could not have come about without the support of BSH, who believed in our idea from the start and trusted us as a team,” says Philip Laukart.
Advantages for providers
For serviced apartments, micro-apartments, student residences, property managers or apartment block owners – for everyone, who provides a shared laundry room for residents or guests – WeWash makes the overall maintenance of the laundry room and its machines easier and increases the value of the laundry room. Tasks such as emptying the coin meters, manual billing and taking cash to the bank regularly are now a thing of the past. What’s more, WeWash is really easy to install. Any washing or drying machine, regardless of the brand or age, can be retrofitted and thus digitalized with the WeWash Box. Installing the WeWash Box is incredibly easy and can be done by anyone, amateurs, electricians or maintenance technicians, in just a few minutes.
WeWash in action
Serviced apartments, micro-apartments, student residences, camping sites … With over more than 2,400 installations, WeWash is available to more than 50,000 users in Europe and helps laundry room operators to save time. For example, Sozialbau Kempten had to spend between three to four hours a week on managing a laundry room with their old system. Thanks to the WeWash Box, they were able to reduce this to 15 minutes per month. That’s a 98% reduction in administrative time spent on this laundry room! Staff is now able to use this free time to support tenants wherever needed. Also, guests at the Citadines Arnulfpark Munich (part of the Ascott hotel group) have been able to book and pay for the in-house washing machines and dryers with WeWash.
For Residence Manager, Christian Wiedemann, this represents a substantial investment in the future. “We are a very busy aparthotel looking after a very large number of guests and our washing machines and dryers are very heavily used so managing our coin-operated machines used to be hugely time-consuming for our reception team. Manual billing, dispensing wash tokens and emptying the coin dispensers involved a significant amount of staff time and took staff away from their core task of looking after our guests. So, when we heard about the WeWash cashless digital solution in the summer of 2016, it was a logical step for us to invest in this new future-proof system. Hotels are the mirror of our society, therefore digitalization should not be lost here either,” says Wiedemann.
The WeWash app is available for download in the app stores (iOS, Android). The service can also be used via the website or landline telephone. Find out more here!
