Skýra Retreat: Automating Operations with Power Platform and Microsoft 365

How Tietotalo used Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, Copilot Studio and Microsoft 365 to streamline Skýra Retreat's bookings, quoting, and internal operations.

A boutique retreat should not need an enterprise back office to run smoothly, but it does need systems that talk to each other.

Skýra Retreat is a high-end experiential concept in Finnish Lapland, offering curated stays, wellness programmes, and personalised guest services near Rovaniemi. Behind a small, intimate guest experience sits a genuinely complex operation: accommodation, spa and wellness bookings, curated activities, and bespoke quoting, each touching multiple systems.

Tietotalo worked with Skýra Retreat to bring that operational complexity under control, using Microsoft Power Platform to connect systems and automate manual work, and Microsoft 365 to give the team a properly governed place to collaborate.

The Challenge

Skýra's day-to-day operations spanned PMS, CRM, ERP, and distribution systems that were not talking to each other, alongside booking and quotation processes that depended heavily on manual steps.

  • Fragmented systems: property management, customer relationship management, and distribution tools operated largely in isolation from one another.
  • Manual quote-to-booking process: bespoke stays with wellness programmes and curated activities meant quoting was not a simple rate lookup, and much of it was handled by hand.
  • No shared operational visibility: sales performance, booking trends, and day-to-day operations were hard to see in one place.
  • Unstructured internal collaboration: file storage, partner documentation, and internal process ownership lacked clear governance.

The Solution

The operational side of the project centred on Microsoft Power Platform, tailored specifically to hospitality workflows rather than deployed as a generic business app.

  • Power Apps: a central interface for quotes, bookings, and customer management, including field operations, built around how Skýra's team actually works day to day.
  • Power Automate: automation of the quote-to-booking process, along with notifications, follow-ups, and data handling across systems that previously required manual re-entry.
  • Power BI: real-time visibility into sales performance, booking trends, and operational metrics in one place instead of scattered across separate tools.
  • Copilot Studio: Custom Copilots that resonates with all the data living inside Powers Apps and Cloudbeds. Users can get answer from data or complete actions between Cloudbeds and Power Apps via natural language.

Alongside the Power Platform build, Tietotalo provided Microsoft 365 consultation to give the team a properly structured collaboration environment:

  • SharePoint-based document management: implemented as the central, governed home for operational and partner documents.
  • Microsoft Teams: set up as the primary channel for internal communication.
  • Clear governance: defined rules for file storage, partner documentation, and internal processes, so structure survives staff changes and growth.

The Results

  • Centralised operations across previously disconnected systems
  • Reduced manual work in the quote-to-booking process and operations
  • Zero-click possibilities via a custom Copilot agent build in Copilot Studio and connected to all systems
  • Real-time visibility into sales performance and booking trends through Power BI
  • An organised, secure, and scalable structure for internal collaboration through SharePoint and Teams

Frequently asked questions

No. In Skýra's case, Power Platform sits alongside PMS and CRM systems and automates the handoffs between them via Power Automate or custom API connections, rather than replacing any of them.
It depends on how many systems need to be connected and how much of the quote-to-booking process is being automated. A focused first phase, as with Skýra, can be scoped and delivered faster than a full operational overhaul.
It helps, since Power Platform is part of the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, but it is not a hard requirement. We can also help set up the Microsoft 365 foundation, including SharePoint and Teams governance, as part of the same engagement.
Yes. That was part of the point at Skýra: bringing sales, booking, and operational data from separate systems into a single view rather than checking each system separately.