Hotel Operations

🏨 Hotels historically operated as fragmented entities based on early 20th-century management theories like Taylor's "Scientific Management," emphasizing specialization for efficiency. Modern travelers demand seamless, personalized experiences, challenging hotels to break silos. This involves cross-functional collaboration across five stages: Attract, Capture, Prepare, Deliver, and Review. Embracing a guest-centric culture requires shared information, empowered employees, and aligned incentives, fostering loyalty and excellence beyond departmental confines.

📚 May 21, 2025 - Kevin Kelleher, a former hotel leader, now an account manager at Actabl, reveals insights on leadership in the Hospitality Daily Podcast. His discussion focuses on how excessive hard work can sometimes hinder leadership effectiveness in the hospitality industry.

🏨 Hotels must adopt booking engines to boost profitability, owning guest relationships while avoiding up to 25% OTA commissions. Essential features include mobile optimization, real-time rates, and secure payment gateways. STAAH SwiftBook enhances guest experience and performance with features like PCI DSS compliance and multi-property booking. Without booking engines, hotels risk revenue loss and poor guest experiences. SwiftBook increased an Indonesian resort’s direct bookings by 50%. Schedule a demo today to transform your booking strategy.

📖 May 20, 2025, Kevin Kelleher, former hotel leader and current account manager at Actabl, discusses hospitality leadership on the Hospitality Daily Podcast. The episode focuses on balancing people, profit, and product in hotel management.

📅 Hoteliers are urged to view the low season as a strategic opportunity rather than a challenge. Key motivations for off-peak travelers include experiencing value, tranquility, unique seasonal atmospheres, and flexibility. Instead of mere discounts, hotels should offer value-driven packages with extras like extended checkout or seasonal amenities. Emphasizing the peacefulness and distinctive experiences available during these times can foster guest satisfaction and loyalty, transforming perceived low points into high-value engagements.

💳 Hotels utilizing D-EDGE payment solutions are seeing a 10-15% increase in direct booking conversions by offering diverse payment methods and a smooth booking process. In today's mobile-first world, these practices are crucial for preventing booking abandonment and enhancing hotel performance. Thousands of hotels have adopted this approach to improve business outcomes by ensuring a fast, flexible, and secure payment journey for guests.

🏨 Max Spangler, VP at Charlestowne Hotels, seeks scalable PMS systems tailored to varying hotel sizes. Matt Schwartz from Sage Hospitality highlights the value of strong partner relationships when PMS malfunctions. Matt Welle, CEO of Mews, notes growing automation adoption among hoteliers globally, even in slower-evolving markets. Richard Valtr, Mews founder, emphasizes the industry's need to evolve. Embracing intelligent hotel technologies is crucial as automation potential becomes more evident.

💻 Monbijou Hotel improved operational efficiency by consolidating its CRS with D-EDGE. Integrating with Oracle Suite8 (PMS) and Concardis PayEngine (PSP), the hotel achieved seamless data synchronization, ensuring booking accuracy and streamlined payment processing. This integration enhances the guest and staff experience, eliminating complexity from multiple provider handling for seamless connectivity and consistency.

📋 May 18, 2025, Kevin Kelleher, in a podcast episode, shares insights from his career journey towards hospitality excellence. The discussion encourages listeners to implement these ideas in their teams to enhance business impact and service quality. The episode is part of the Hospitality Daily Podcast, with music produced by Clay Bassford from Bespoke Sound, focusing on music identity design for hospitality brands.

🏨 Group bookings offer stability, predictable revenue, and operational ease, especially during low-demand periods. They allow booking in advance but may displace more profitable transient guests, who offer higher ADR and rate control. A revenue displacement analysis helps determine profitability by comparing group value to potential transient earnings. Example: $5,500 group revenue (10 rooms, 2 nights) versus $3,900 transient. For optimal decisions, leverage data insights and consider negotiation strategies.