When Omni Hotels & Resorts flipped the switch on Oracle Hospitality’s cloud-based OPERA Cloud Central platform earlier this year, it marked the culmination of a years-long project to future-proof the brand’s central systems—and the beginning of a new chapter in how Omni delivers connected, modern guest experiences at scale.
“We’ve had a long-standing relationship with Oracle going back decades,” said Debbie Stuempfig, Corporate Director of Central Systems at Omni Hotels & Resorts, in an interview during HITEC 2025. “This latest transition to the cloud has been years in the making, and we’re finally at a point where we can truly say we’re building something for the next generation—not just maintaining legacy infrastructure.”
From Legacy to Leadership
Omni has been a longtime user of OPERA 5, Oracle’s legacy on-premises CRS & PMS platform. While stable and familiar, the platform hadn’t changed much in over 20 years. “The screens basically looked the same since the early 2000s,” Stuempfig said. “We had some enhancements—GDS connectivity, loyalty upgrades—but it was time for a true transformation.”
After extensive planning and a phased rollout strategy, Omni officially migrated to Oracle’s OPERA Cloud Central platform in March 2025. The shift marked a dramatic departure from the traditional tech stack: “We’re out of the hardware and infrastructure business now,” Stuempfig said. “It’s all hosted by Oracle, which frees us to focus on business value and innovation.”
The change wasn’t made lightly. Omni’s team spent upwards of 36 months evaluating options, debating rollout order (PMS or CRS first), conducting user acceptance testing (UAT), and rallying internal support. “Positivity was key,” Stuempfig said. “It’s easy for teams to be skeptical of change, especially when systems are stable. But we get everyone on board—from the senior leadership team to the frontline users.”
That internal buy-in paid off. The first phase of the rollout was completed with no major disruptions to the business. “Our April and May booking numbers were among the best of the year,” Stuempfig said. “That tells us we got it right.”
A High-Stakes Partnership
For Oracle, Omni’s adoption of OPERA Cloud wasn’t just another customer migration—it was a test of the platform’s readiness and a showcase of its potential. “We always believed in the product,” said Tanya Pratt, Global Vice President Strategy and Product Management, Oracle Hospitality, who has worked closely with Omni throughout the process. “But we needed the right partner to help us prove it.”
That partnership was built on decades of trust and shared experience. “Debbie and I have known each other for 25 years,” Pratt explained. “We’ve been competitors, collaborators, and now, partners. When it came time to take this leap, it wasn’t just about selecting a technology—it was about selecting who you want in the trenches with you.”
That collaboration extended deep into development. Oracle’s product teams sat with Omni’s call center agents, shadowed real-world workflows, and prioritized more than 200 critical updates to the cloud product within a tight window. “We had people coding nonstop to make sure everything would be ready in time,” Pratt said. “It was a massive effort.”
Designed for Change
One of the most important outcomes of the migration has been agility. “Legacy systems move slowly,” Pratt said. “You could have a brilliant product idea and wait years to see it realized. In the cloud, we can iterate fast. We’re releasing new features in months, not years.”
That velocity is already showing results. Omni teams who’ve spent just a few months in the cloud environment are already surfacing new ideas—fewer clicks here, better workflows there. “It’s still evolving,” Stuempfig said. “And that’s exciting. We actually get to shape the future of the product.”
Omni’s property teams are also seeing early benefits. The first hotel to launch on the new cloud PMS will be a new-build flagship in Fort Lauderdale, skipping the legacy system entirely. From there, Omni plans to roll out the PMS in “pods” of multiple properties through 2026.
And the capabilities go beyond the core systems. By moving to OPERA Cloud and Oracle’s integration platform (OHIP), Omni is laying the groundwork for better guest messaging, loyalty management, mobile key access, and modern website features. “We’re getting off old interfaces like OXI,” Stuempfig said. “That opens us up to a whole new generation of tech partners.”
Lessons for IT Leaders
For other hospitality brands considering cloud migrations, Omni’s story offers several key takeaways:
- Start with trust. Whether selecting a vendor or preparing your internal teams, relationships and credibility matter as much as the technology itself.
- Prioritize internal alignment. Omni’s leadership framed the project as a cultural shift—not just a system upgrade—enrolling users in the vision from the start.
- Treat change as an opportunity. “People often fear change,” Stuempfig said. “But this was about unlocking new capabilities, not just replacing the old.”
- Be realistic—but bold. Omni spent years planning and months testing, but when it came time to launch, the team was all in. “We never had a no-go,” Stuempfig said. “We just kept pushing forward.”
- Measure what matters. Early indicators like booking performance, staff adoption, and system stability showed the rollout was a success—and gave stakeholders confidence in what comes next.
What’s Next
With the first phase complete, Omni’s tech team is now focused on accelerating the cloud rollout across its 55-property portfolio. Each wave will bring more users, more use cases, and more chances to rethink what hotel operations can look like.
“It’s our journey to the cloud,” Stuempfig said. “And it’s not just about us—it’s about setting the next generation up with the tools they’ll need.”
For both Omni and Oracle, that journey is just beginning.
