{"id":5266,"date":"2025-09-05T12:46:42","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T10:46:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/?p=5266"},"modified":"2025-10-17T12:23:05","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T10:23:05","slug":"animalhotels-case-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/animalhotels-case-study\/","title":{"rendered":"How Animalhotels removed accounting from influencer payments | Case study"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_79_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"cursor:pointer\">Table of contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/animalhotels-case-study\/#About_the_company\" >About the company<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/animalhotels-case-study\/#Challenges\" >Challenges<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/animalhotels-case-study\/#Solution\" >Solution<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/animalhotels-case-study\/#Business_results\" >Business results<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/animalhotels-case-study\/#Summary\" >Summary<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"About_the_company\"><\/span><b>About the company<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/animalhotels.com\/us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Animalhotels<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is an \u201cAirbnb for pets.\u201d It connects pet owners with hotels and pet sitters. In just a few minutes, a user can pick a place, set the dates, and the app sends alerts to nearby sitters. Both sides match, just like on Tinder or Uber.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The number of users grew sixfold in the last year, reaching about 66,000. Animalhotels works with over 16,000 verified sitters. The company was founded in Poland, operates globally, and is now in over 150 countries.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The startup has also won industry awards, including Executive Summit, Startup Pitch Challenge, Network IQ Alliance, and Startups powered by Invest in Lodz.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The company invests strongly in marketing. It uses influencers to present the service to their audiences. This approach quickly builds brand awareness and attracts new users.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Listen to what \u0141ukasz Klab, CEO of <a href=\"https:\/\/animalhotels.com\/us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Animalhotels<\/a>, has to say:<\/strong><\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 1080px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-5266-1\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/how-animalhotels-removed-accounting-from-influencer-payments-case-study.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/how-animalhotels-removed-accounting-from-influencer-payments-case-study.mp4\">https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/how-animalhotels-removed-accounting-from-influencer-payments-case-study.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@animalhotels\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Visit Animalhotels on YouTube<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Challenges\"><\/span><b>Challenges<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/animalhotels.com\/us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Animalhotels<\/a> worked with influencers in its marketing campaigns. Payments were handled through civil law agreements (service contracts or contracts for specific work, similar to U.S. freelance agreements).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every contract brought an extra fixed cost per person, no matter how many posts the influencer produced. Plus, the accounting and marketing teams had to put in a lot of effort just to collect all the paperwork.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We used service contracts. It was extremely hard. We had to ask accounting for a form, then wait for the influencer to fill it out. We often had a bottleneck at this point<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d, recalls \u0141ukasz Klab, CEO of Animalhotels.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There were also problems with sending tax forms.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes we didn\u2019t know if the tax form even arrived. Documents came back because someone changed their address. As a company, we had to fix it al<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">l.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another challenge was uncertainty about delivery. The company often paid in advance, and the content arrived late, or not at all.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We agreed on three reels but got only one. And it came months later.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">External accounting slowed things down even more. They had to check which type of contract was correct, which caused extra delays.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Animalhotels needed a simple and scalable solution to:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Speed up payment processing.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lower costs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Connect payment to actual delivery.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remove accounting from one-off contracts.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Solution\"><\/span><b>Solution<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Natalia, who handled formalities at Animalhotels, had the idea. She researched contract tools and found Useme.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Natalia kept saying it was a lot of work. I said: let\u2019s find a simple, scalable way. Someone recommended Useme, we checked it, and it worked right away \u2013 much better than other options<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d, says \u0141ukasz Klab, CEO.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In two years, the company processed over 50 influencer contracts with Useme. The process went from a week to just minutes:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The influencer uploads the video content.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The company approves it and makes the payment.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Useme issues the invoice on behalf of the influencer and sends them the payment.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We didn\u2019t have to send documents, wait for signatures, or report to the tax office. Everything happened instantly. Influencers were happy \u2013 even those who had never issued an invoice before.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The biggest change was removing accounting from the process.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thanks to Useme, accounting was practically out of the payments. As CEO, I never had to contact support \u2013 it worked out of the box.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5280\" src=\"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/how-animalhotels-removed-accounting-from-influencer-payments-case-study-1.png\" alt=\"useme case study\" width=\"2112\" height=\"1604\" srcset=\"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/how-animalhotels-removed-accounting-from-influencer-payments-case-study-1.png 2112w, https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/how-animalhotels-removed-accounting-from-influencer-payments-case-study-1-1280x972.png 1280w, https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/how-animalhotels-removed-accounting-from-influencer-payments-case-study-1-980x744.png 980w, https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/how-animalhotels-removed-accounting-from-influencer-payments-case-study-1-480x365.png 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) and (max-width: 1280px) 1280px, (min-width: 1281px) 2112px, 100vw\" \/><\/h2>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Business_results\"><\/span><b>Business results<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With Useme, Animalhotels achieved:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Payment time has been cut from a week to a few minutes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over 50 contracts processed in 2 years without involving accounting.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cost savings \u2013 no fixed monthly accounting fees for each contract.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Guaranteed delivery \u2013 payment only after content is provided.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Automation \u2013 no tax paperwork, no reminders for influencers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s the certainty that the process will happen. Before, documents sometimes didn\u2019t come back, and the contract expired. Now it\u2019s impossible<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d, says \u0141ukasz Klab.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The company also plans to use Useme for international payments.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When we start campaigns abroad, Useme will help us with short, one-time contracts \u2013 no matter the contractor\u2019s country.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Summary\"><\/span><b>Summary<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Animalhotels case shows that even with a small number of contracts, manual processes can slow down a team and add unnecessary costs. Useme removed paperwork, sped up payments, and gave the company more control over project delivery.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Key takeaways<\/span><\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Automation cut payment time from a week to a few minutes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No fixed accounting fees lowered campaign costs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Payment after delivery ensures the work gets done.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A simple process helps even those without invoicing experience.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2192 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@animalhotels\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Visit Animalhotels on YouTube<\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Animalhotels is a global pet care booking platform that lets customers find a sitter in minutes. The company used Useme to automate influencer payments. The process went from a week to just a few minutes, cutting costs and keeping full control over campaigns.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":5300,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25,108],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-employers","category-case-study-employers"],"modified_by":"\u017baneta","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5266"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5266\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5295,"href":"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5266\/revisions\/5295"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}