You’ve just opened Hotel Nuggets, a not-boring newsletter for hoteliers.
Today’s edition:
🤔 Rethinking the reception desk
💡 Same venue. Two completely different moods.
🤲 How to catch competitor sellouts
😲 Here’s what AI thinks of your hotel
#1 Rethinking the reception desk 🤔
Can you believe it… No one dreams of queuing at reception *shock*.
Matthijs Welle shared that AMANO Group has officially ditched the front desk, and honestly, it makes sense.
Hospitality was never meant to happen from behind a screen, especially not while guests stand awkwardly watching their passport details get typed out at 120 decibels.
By removing the desk, they’ve opened up the lobby for something far more interesting; eye contact, human connection… maybe even a glass of champagne.
It’s a bold shift, but one that looks and feels right. The space is more welcoming and definitely less transactional.
Now, all of a sudden, the first five minutes of someone’s stay feel like a celebration, not an admin task.
#2 Same venue. Two completely different moods. 💡
Thijs de Boer shared a video that nails what so many restaurants and hotels struggle with: staying busy all day.
It’s a simple split-screen; breakfast on one side, dinner below. Bright light, coffee clinks, quiet laptops… then a switch to dim lighting, cocktails, music, buzz.
Same space, totally different energy.
This kind of content helps people picture themselves there, whether it’s an 8am espresso or a 9pm wine night. Also, don’t sleep on the fact that if they’re showing up for one, they’ll likely want to stick around for the other.
FOMO is a powerful thing.
If your space transforms throughout the day, show it. Maybe it’s not the offer that’s falling flat. Maybe it’s how you’re framing it.
#3 How to catch competitor sellouts 🤲
Across Northern Europe, demand hasn’t disappeared, it’s just showing up later than ever. Guests are booking last minute, and hotels are panicking, dropping rates across the board.
Over on Linkedin, I saw Remko West share a brilliant example: a boutique hotel missed €1.7k in premium pricing because they only realised their main competitor sold out once guests started calling.
By then, it was too late to raise rates.
His advice is to stop relying on once-a-day checks. Set up real-time alerts to catch the shift while it’s happening:
Availability tracker alerts: Get notified when a competitor has < 3 rooms left or sells out entirely
Closed-to-arrival alerts: Spot when arrival dates disappear from OTAs like Booking.com
Group block detection: Notice sudden sellouts across multiple nights = likely group booking
When the competitor’s gone, their demand becomes your opportunity… if you’re fast enough to catch it.
#3.5 Buy a hotel with a guaranteed demand
Bruno Muchada shared a countryside hotel for sale that might be perfect for company offsites.
Buying a hotel with questionable demand is a bit risky. In a countryside location, it can take years to build high occupancy rates with solid RevPAR.
Well, here comes Surf Office and potential to guarantee demand for company offsites even before you sign the deed.
Check out Buy That Hotel for more details (I made a short video analysis of this opportunity).
#4 Here’s what AI thinks of your hotel 😲
“Where should I stay in Lisbon?”
That question used to be typed into Google. Now it’s going to ChatGPT.
