Help, even when no one's at the desk.

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Built in Hanmer Springs, for operators who've had enough 2am calls

Sawubona is an AI-powered after-hours phone assistant built specifically for New Zealand accommodation operators — holiday home managers, motels, and lodges who are tired of being woken up for a WiFi password or a lockbox code.

Our AI assistant, Sarah, answers your guest line whenever your office is closed. She resolves the common stuff instantly — access codes, WiFi details, appliance instructions — and escalates anything genuinely urgent straight to your on-call team, with the full context already attached.

Where it started

Sawubona began as a single-property pilot for Hanmer Holiday Homes, a 183-property portfolio in Hanmer Springs. It was built by Shain Holdsworth, a Hanmer Springs–based developer, to solve a problem he saw up close: after-hours guest calls were a constant, unpredictable burden on a small team, and most of those calls didn't need a human at all.

What started as a pilot for one operator has grown into Sawubona — a product built for any NZ accommodation business that wants their guests looked after at 2am without anyone losing sleep over it.

Why "Sawubona"

Sawubona (sa-woo-BOH-na) is a Zulu greeting meaning "I see you." It's a reminder of what the product is actually for — making sure every guest who calls after hours is heard and helped, even when no one's there to pick up.

What we believe

• Guests shouldn't wait until morning for a WiFi password. Most after-hours calls have a simple answer — Sarah should give it immediately.
• Your team's sleep matters. Escalations should be reserved for things that genuinely need a human, not routine questions.
• Built for New Zealand operators. Sawubona is designed around how NZ holiday properties, motels, and lodges actually run — not adapted from a generic overseas tool.

Get in touch

Questions about Sawubona, partnerships, or anything else — reach us at hello@sawubona.io.