Why Ski Armadillo Chose HubSpot Over Pipedrive to Scale Their Booking Pipeline and Cut Tool Costs

When Growth Outpaced Ski Armadillo

Ski Armadillo is a premium chalet operator based in Switzerland. They manage bookings across both B2C (direct guests) and B2B (referral partners and agencies). The team was lean and the brand was growing but the systems behind it weren’t keeping up.

They were using spreadsheets for deal tracking, Mailchimp for emails, and a third-party calling tool just to stay in touch with leads. Everything required a workaround and nothing worked together.

That setup was manageable until booking volumes picked up.

The team needed one place to manage conversations, track bookings, and stay ahead of follow-ups for both of their segments. But they didn’t want a long implementation or a system that needed a full-time admin. So they explored two options: Pipedrive and HubSpot.

And that’s where we came in. Not just to recommend the right CRM, but to make sure it worked out of the box.

What Wasn’t Working Before the Switch

No clear way to track where guests were

The team was handling both direct inquiries and partner referrals. But there was no structured pipeline to show which leads were new, in progress, or ready to close. Reps had to rely on memory or dig through emails to know who needed a follow-up. 

And because of that leads slipped, conversations stalled, and forecasting became a guessing game.

Every tool worked but none worked together

They used Mailchimp to send emails, a separate calling tool to reach out to leads, Gmail inboxes for back-and-forth, and spreadsheets to track deals. And none of it was connected. Every update had to be entered manually in more than one place. Just keeping the data clean took hours each week. And when something changed, nothing updated automatically.

Pipedrive couldn’t scale without adding more work

Pipedrive looked simple and was easy to get started with. But it only helped with tracking deals. Everything else they needed like sending emails, logging calls, and setting reminders required extra tools.

It might have worked for a few months. But as the team grew and bookings increased, the system would have become harder to manage. They didn’t want to keep adding tools just to stay organized. They wanted one setup that could grow with them, without extra work.

When the Right System Went Live

One CRM replaced four disconnected tools

Before, the team used Mailchimp for emails, a separate app for calls, spreadsheets to track bookings, and Gmail for everything else. Each rep had to jump between tabs to stay organized.

Now, everything runs inside HubSpot. So, emails are logged automatically, and calls are made and tracked from the same screen. Also, deals move through a single, shared pipeline.

The team spends less time managing tools and more time helping guests book.

Separate pipelines for B2C and B2B, finally with clarity

Direct bookings and partner referrals were handled the same way before, which created a lot of confusion. There were no separate stages, no clean handoffs, and no easy way to report progress.

We built two pipelines with different steps and automation: one for guests and one for agencies.

Now, the team knows exactly where each lead stands and what comes next.

Calling got simpler, cheaper, and fully trackable

They used to pay for an outside calling tool, and even then, most calls went untracked. Notes were also added later only if someone remembered.
Now, reps make calls directly from HubSpot. The first 3,000 minutes are free, and every conversation is logged. Nothing slips through without added costs.

And managers can track the performance of their reps as well.

Faster follow-ups without more admin

Replying to every inquiry took a lot of time before. Reps were typing the same messages again and again, and call summaries often went unrecorded.

With HubSpot’s built-in AI, reps now write emails faster and log notes with one click. So, all the follow-ups are quicker, consistent, and always tied to the right deal.

System Was Finally Doing the Work

Once the setup went live, the team didn’t have to chase tools, updates, or follow-ups. The numbers started moving on their own.

3,000+ minutes of calling activated across 3 users
Reps made calls inside HubSpot. Each one was tracked and managers had full visibility, so follow-ups never fell through.

4 tools removed from the stack
Mailchimp, the calling app, spreadsheets, and Gmail threads were replaced by a single CRM. Fewer tabs, lower costs, and no copy-paste.

100% visibility into bookings and revenue
Dashboards showed where each deal stood and how bookings were trending. No exports and no second-guessing, only clear answers.

[Let’s build you a CRM setup that’s ready to scale →]