At Haus des Meeres, phone calls come in constantly – at the restaurant and at the ticket office, often during the busiest parts of the day. Guests ask about opening hours, ticket prices, whether dogs are allowed or if a table is available at Ocean Sky. This is part of daily operations at one of Vienna’s most visited attractions.
The challenge was the volume of recurring enquiries. Staff were repeatedly interrupted by routine phone calls while managing guests on site. The AI Voice Agent was deployed in cooperation with our Austrian telecom partner to handle these recurring enquiries automatically.
After three months, the AI Voice Agent had become a reliable support layer for daily operations. By handling recurring phone enquiries automatically, it reduced interruptions for employees and allowed them to focus on guests on site. Visitors also benefited from faster access to information. In total, more than 8,500 calls were handled, around 5,100 minutes of conversation were automated, and more than 1,500 reservation enquiries reached the final booking stage.
Vienna’s busiest aquarium, with a restaurant on top
Haus des Meeres is not a restaurant – and that makes a big difference. It is one of Vienna’s best-known public attractions, combining a large aquarium experience with multiple visitor services. Located across 12 floors, the venue welcomes guests throughout the year. Many visitors also visit the Ocean Sky Bar, the in-house restaurant at the top of the building, which generates a significant share of enquiries. The result is a high volume of both on-site visitor interactions and incoming phone calls.
Where the phone time was going
Recurring questions, no quiet hours
The problem wasn’t a lack of commitment from the team. The challenge was managing a constant flow of recurring enquiries throughout the day.
The ticket office and restaurant handled the same types of questions every day:
- Can I bring my dog?
- Can I reserve a table at Ocean Sky?
- How do group visits work?
- What is the best way to get there?
With teams already focused on guests on site, even simple enquiries added to the daily workload.
Haus des Meeres is open 365 days a year, with significantly higher demand on weekends, public holidays and during school holidays. As enquiry volumes increased, so did the pressure on teams already occupied with daily restaurant and visitor operations
“Our problem wasn’t a single peak period but the sum of many small enquiries that constantly interrupted daily operations. That is exactly where the AI Voice Agent creates noticeable relief.”
Hans Köppen, CEO Haus des Meeres
What ruled out a generic solution
Answers that staff could rely on
Haus des Meeres approached the decision carefully. For a venue with different visitor groups, multiple services and clearly defined processes, accuracy was essential.
The goal was not simply to deploy a Voice Agent, but to handle routine enquiries reliably and consistently. Answers needed to be correct, clear and fully controllable.
That is why the team chose a solution where content and responses could be structured and managed precisely.
What was built
An AI Voice Agent that takes the first call and books the table
Together with our Austrian telecom partner, Callcom, Tenios introduced an AI Voice Agent that automatically handles incoming calls and covers two main use cases:
1. Handling first-line questions directly
The Voice Agent answers recurring questions about opening hours, admission, general information about Haus des Meeres and common visitor concerns.
2. Pre-sorting reservation enquiries for the Ocean Sky
Table reservation enquiries are processed in a structured way through to table selection. This reduces the load on the restaurant team, since not every reservation enquiry needs to be handled manually over the phone.
An important point: The AI Voice Agent does not replace the human team. It takes over the conversations that always start in the same way and often run a similar pattern. More complex cases or special requests are routed to a relevant member of staff.
“For us, it was essential that answers are reliable and controllable. We didn’t want incorrect statements but clear information we can rely on in daily operations.”
Hans Köppen, CEO Haus des Meeres
A phased rollout, tested in live conditions
Haus des Meeres doesn’t have long quiet periods. Between weekends, holidays and peak times, only short windows remain for changes to workflows. At the same time, it was essential that the AI Voice Agent function reliably from day one. That’s why the solution was introduced step by step and tested alongside live operations. Employees were involved early and carried out test calls themselves. The result: the transition ran without major disruption – and the Voice Agent was quickly adopted in daily use.
After three months in operation
More than 8,500 calls in three months, resulting in significantly fewer interruptions in daily operations. Over this period, the AI Voice Agent handled the incoming call flow. A large share of enquiries was resolved directly, without human intervention.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total calls handled by AI Voice Agent | 8,539 |
| Conversation time automated | ~5,100 minutes (85 hours) |
| Active caller engagement with AI Voice Agent | 91% |
| Callers declining AI interaction | 9% |
| Of all calls: | |
| General customer enquiries (agent answers are based on FAQ and general knowledge base without transfer to a human) | 38% |
| Restaurant reservation enquiries processed without human involvement | 27% |
| Calls routed to human agents due to various reasons | 15% |
| Within reservation enquiries: | |
| Reservation enquiries progressed to booking stage | 22% |
| Reservations completed without staff involvement | 67% |
What made it work
1. The most frequent questions are now handled automatically
The biggest lever wasn’t in complex, exceptional cases but in the recurring, standard questions. That is exactly where most of the unnecessary effort arises in daily operations.
2. Restaurant and visitor service have different needs, but both need relief from routine enquiries
Whether opening hours, admission or reservations, many calls start in a similar way. The AI Voice Agent automates these conversations early and guides them in a structured way.
3. The answers are controlled and reliable
For Haus des Meeres, it was clear: our solution must respond consistently. Not creatively or unpredictably. But in a way that gives guests reliable information and that the team can rely on.
