Vladimir Volkov and Ilija Evic (MAIC): Cracking the Code of Hotel Efficiency
Until recently, hotels have been missing out on the efficiencies that technology can provide. Though their platform MAIC, Vladimiir Volkov and Ilija Evic are looking to change that.
Could you briefly introduce MAIC in a few words?
People stopped calling operators to order taxis more than a decade ago, instead using apps to make life easier. So why do hotel guests still pick up the phone to order room service or a massage, or worse yet, walk down to the front desk and wait in line to check out? At first glance, the answer seems obvious: personalised service. But real service is about choice—letting guests decide how they want to interact. Most hotels still operate the same way they did thirty or even a hundred years ago: everything goes through reception. Call for room service. Call for a massage. Stand in line to check out. That one point creates a bottleneck that can create delays for guests and frustrations for staff. “There’s nothing personal about waiting in line,” says Ilija Evic, co-founder of MAIC. “And there’s nothing luxurious about calling down to place an order.” MAIC was built to fix that.
“There’s nothing personal about waiting in line.” – Ilija Evic, MAIC
Vladimir Volkov
How are your customers' needs changing, and how are you adapting to them?
Luxembourg-based platform MAIC gives hotels a modern guest-facing layer with no app downloads or account creation, just a simple, web-based experience that works on any phone. With a tap or a scan, guests can check in, order services, pay bills, or send requests directly to the right department instantly and without friction. MAIC doesn’t eliminate traditional service but instead complements it. Guests who prefer to call reception and talk to a human being can do that, but given the choice, many prefer the speed and ease of self-service, and that’s where hotels see serious benefits. “This leads to less dependency on staff, faster service, and more upsells,” says Vladimir Volkov, co-founder of MAIC. “That means higher guest satisfaction, increased net operating income, and stronger asset value.” MAIC connects with a hotel’s existing systems, so managers can easily deploy it without replacing infrastructure. Operations become leaner, more responsive, and far more scalable.
Ilija Evic
What is MAIC vision for the next 5 years?
Initially adopted by boutique and independent hotels, MAIC is now being piloted by several top global hotel groups. The results have been the same for all of them: better service, less staff strain, and higher margins. “We didn’t just build a tool, we built operational infrastructure,” says Volkov. “And considering how little automation exists in this industry, the potential is massive.” Hotels today face pressure from all sides—staff shortages, rising costs, and higher guest expectations. MAIC turns those pressures into opportunity. “We’ve built the machine,” Evic says. “Now we’re scaling it up.” The future of hotel operations isn’t coming, it’s already here, and it runs on MAIC.