Hospitality has always been a people business. What changed is the amount of invisible work we expect those people to carry. Manual checks, repetitive admin, systems that don’t talk to each other. This cognitive load drains energy before a guest even walks through the door.
In the latest Matt Talks episode, Matt Welle sits down with Maurits Bots, Hotel ICT Specialist for WestCord Hotels, to unpack what modern hotel operations really look like when technology is used as a way to create space for humans to do human work.
Watch the episode here or read on for the highlights.
Reframing hotel tech decision making
Too often, hotel tech decisions are framed as IT projects rather than operational ones. New systems get dropped into old workflows. Teams are asked to work differently without understanding why. And the result is frustration on all sides.
As the WestCord team discovered during their transition to a cloud-native PMS, using new technology in old ways simply does not work. Processes have to be redesigned. Not in a boardroom workshop with a single blueprint, but through constant conversation.
Scaling with nuance
WestCord is a deliberately quirky hotel group. Each property is run independently, and hotel managers know their product and their guests best. That autonomy is a strength, but it’s also a challenge for operations and IT teams trying to build a scalable tech stack.
The answer is not rigid standardization. Instead, it is a shared foundation. A common blueprint for core processes, supported by systems that allow differences where they genuinely matter.
Business hotels and leisure hotels use the same platforms in different ways. Experiments happen in one property before being rolled out elsewhere. Learnings are shared without forcing constant reinvention.
For operations leaders, this is a powerful reminder. Consistency doesn’t mean sameness. The goal is not to copy and paste experiences, but to remove unnecessary friction so teams can focus on what makes their hotel special.
Automation that stays out of the spotlight
One of the compelling examples from the conversation is WestCord’s use of WhatsApp-based AI via Runnr.ai and how it solves a real operational problem: guests don’t read FAQs. They ask the same questions, and they want answers immediately, in their own language, without navigating a website or waiting on hold.
By meeting guests where they already are – WhatsApp – WestCord created a 24/7 channel that handles high volumes of repetitive queries automatically. But crucially, the automation stays under the hood.
Guests are told they are chatting with a bot. If they say yes to an upsell like breakfast, it’s booked directly in the PMS without staff intervention. The phone number is still the hotel’s real number, answered by a real person if the guest chooses to call.
Trust is non-negotiable. Automation supports the experience but never pretends to be something it is not.
This decision was a long-term investment, working closely with the vendor to shape the product together until it delivered real value. That patience paid off. Breakfast upsells now flow seamlessly, guests avoid unnecessary trips to reception, and staff avoid repetitive admin.
Integrating thoughtfully
Replacing technology with something that does the same job slightly better is rarely worth it.
Every integration has a cost. Not just in money, but in training, change management and operational risk. For WestCord, the rule is simple: new systems must enrich the core platform in both directions. They must improve either the guest experience or the employee experience, but ideally both.
If an integration is one-way, or simply replicates existing functionality, it’s unlikely to make the cut. Decisions involve multiple stakeholders, including operations teams and individual hotels where the solution would actually be used. After all, rushed implementations create long-term pain. Thoughtful ones create momentum.
Freeing teams from cognitive load
Some of the most impactful automation is also the least glamorous. Take task creation. Using tools like Zapier, WestCord automatically generates tasks across departments when specific packages are booked. Champagne in the room, decorations, special requests… Everything is triggered at the moment of reservation.
No one has to manually check bookings. No one has to remember who needs to do what, and when. Teams start their day with a clear task list and focus on execution.
Yes, this removes a degree of manual oversight. But it also removes a huge amount of cognitive load. And that’s where modern operations can unlock something powerful.
When people are not buried in checklists and double checks, they have more energy for guests. More time for collaboration. More headspace to notice what matters.
Technology as a talent strategy
New generations entering hospitality have grown up with technology that just works. When someone has worked with modern systems before, asking them to go back to manual processes just causes friction.
In other words, a hotel tech stack is no longer just an operational decision. It is an employer value proposition.
Modern tools signal respect for people’s time. They show that the business is investing in better ways of working. And they help keep good talent in the industry.
Start small, but start now.
For hoteliers still running on legacy systems, don’t try to transform everything at once. Pick one process, break it down, and automate one step.
Even on-premises systems can be augmented with small automations that remove manual work. The danger is not failing – the danger is standing still while competitors move forward.
The future belongs to hotels that understand that technology is in service of people. Systems should disappear into the background, with operations designed around what actually matters.
For today’s hoteliers, that future starts with two simple questions: where is your team still doing work that a system could quietly take away? And what could they do with that time instead?
Watch the full Matt Talks episode.
About Mews
Mews is the leading platform for the new era of hospitality. Powering over 12,500 customers across more than 85 countries, Mews Hospitality Cloud is designed to streamline operations for modern hoteliers, transform the guest experience and create more profitable businesses. Customers include BWH Hotels, Strawberry, The Social Hub and Airelles Collection. Mews was named Best PMS (2024, 2025) and listed among the Best Places to Work in Hotel Tech (2021, 2022, 2024, 2025) by Hotel Tech Report. Mews has raised $410 million from investors including Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Kinnevik and Tiger Global to transform hospitality.
