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In my 15+ years working with all types and sizes of hotels, providing tech advice and hotel management consultancy, I’ve seen and heard it all. From hoteliers believing that their Excel spreadsheets were more effective at setting pricing than an automated RMS, to thinking that implementing customer-facing technology would negatively impact their guests’ stay experience, there are many misconceptions and myths that many hoteliers still hold about the role of technology in their operations 100% to their detriment.

Luckily, nothing makes me happier than helping hotels improve their operations (and if I get to talk all things technology, even better!) so I’m here today to BUST some of the most common myths I hear from hoteliers, day in and day out.

So, let’s get started with a controversial one…

MYTH: “To best way to address my specific pain point is to upgrade to the newest and shiniest operational solution.”

I don’t lose sight of the irony of this myth; for years, all of us in the hotel technology industry have been shouting from the rooftops that hotels need to embrace operational technology, or they risk getting left behind in our increasingly online and highly competitive industry. However, for many reasons, buying the newest/fanciest/most complicated operational solution is not always the best way to resolve your problems.

First, technology will only provide ROI if it’s the right solution to solve the problem you are experiencing AND if it’s properly implemented and used effectively. Many hoteliers upgrade to the latest and greatest solution because they’re told it will solve all their problems. Still, they don’t receive the proper training or support from the vendor on the best practices for using it, leaving them overwhelmed and confused and receiving subpar results.

Even worse, many unscrupulous salespeople sell solutions to hoteliers simply because it’s their job to close sales without knowing or caring whether the technology will solve the hotelier’s problem.

Hotel tech marketers know what they are doing. All hoteliers have experienced it at one time or another: tech FOMO is real. But don’t get sucked in by shiny new solutions and false promises without doing your due diligence.

Before considering upgrading to the latest and greatest solution, determine if your current operational solutions deliver optimal ROI. If not, contact the vendor and ask for additional training and advice on maximising the results you’ve been experiencing. Most companies will happily provide free training and support because they want to keep your business and care about their clients’ successes.

I recently worked with a 75-room boutique hotel that was convinced they needed a brand-new PMS because they couldn’t figure out how to produce the exact accounting reports their accountant required. After a two-hour review of their current solution and processes, we discovered their existing PMS had a little-known feature that would solve 80% of their problem. We activated it, conducted a half-day of staff training and saved them thousands of dollars and months of unnecessary migration headaches by upgrading to a new solution.

Secondly, it’s important to remember that the goal isn’t simply owning more technology; it’s about the outcomes that technologies can help hoteliers achieve. So, it’s essential to be clear about what operational problems you are trying to fix and whether there are other ways to address your pain points without a new solution.

If you are unsure about whether to upgrade your tech stack, speak to an unbiased expert who can properly evaluate your current tech stack, how it’s being used and the quality of your data, and provide advice on whether that fancy new solution is the best way to address your current problem(s).

This brings me to my next myth…

MYTH: “Expert consultants only provide real value for large hotels and/or chains. They are too expensive for smaller properties and small hotels are nimble and capable enough to solve their problems in-house.”

First, the cost of a failed tech project or months of operational inefficiency will always be far greater than the cost of targeted expert advice, no matter how much an expert charges.

Secondly, your team is an expert in hospitality, not necessarily in tech implementation or change management. By trying to manage these types of projects in-house, your property will often experience expensive delays, high opportunity costs, and burnout, often without you even being able to resolve the problem.

Let’s look at an example of a specific operational department often overlooked by smaller properties (and which can have a HUGE impact on a property’s success or failure): revenue management.

Revenue management isn’t just a task on a checklist; it’s a full-time discipline. Even if you have a small hotel, a non-dedicated revenue manager (juggling ten other priorities simultaneously), no matter how talented, cannot compete with a dedicated specialist whose only job is to maximise your income.

Let’s do the math for a hypothetical 40-room independent hotel. If a fractional revenue manager can increase your ADR by just $15 and your occupancy by 5% through improved strategy, that can translate to over $100,000 in additional revenue annually! Suddenly, a $1,500 monthly retainer for that expert doesn’t look like an expense; it seems like the best investment you’ll ever make.

As you can see, outsourcing your revenue management isn’t an expense, no matter the size or type of property; in fact, it’s often the single highest-ROI investment, as a revenue management expert can help your property identify places where you’re currently leaving money on the table, as well as develop and implement new revenue streams to maximize your profitability, no matter how the market changes.

So, the truth is this: no matter your type or size of property, if you have a problem that you don’t know how to solve, it’s better to invest in a fractional expert who can provide targeted, specialised skills on demand, to optimise your operations, help you reach your business goals and increase your profitability. Experts give you the advice and actionable insights necessary to get the job done right, the first time, letting your team focus on what they do best: serving guests.

One final note on consultants… many consultants receive commission on technology solutions that they sell to hoteliers. Before signing with a consultant, you should ask them to clearly state their biases, be it due to their strong belief in the system because they’ve used it themselves (a good reason!) or because of financial incentives (run!). Likely, an expert who is biased due to an economic incentive will try to trick you into buying yet another fancy and completely unnecessary operational solution that may not even solve your specific problem (see myth 1).

Finally, to ensure you’re working with an expert with your best interests at heart, their (financial) success should be directly linked to your success, and their reputation should demonstrate that. Don’t be afraid to ask for references and prioritise the reviews of hoteliers with a type and size of hotel similar to yours and/or who were experiencing similar issues.

MYTH: “AI is the answer to all my problems.”

The reality is simple: AI cannot solve your problems without high-quality data. No matter how fancy or innovative an AI solution is, it won’t give you optimal results if your data is incomplete, unclear or poorly organised.

What does insufficient data look like (in the day-to-day reality of a hotel)?

It’s having three different profiles for the same repeat guest because their name was spelled differently each time they checked in.

It has incomplete booking source information, so you don’t know if your Google Ads or Instagram campaign is working to bring in new guests.

It’s storing guest preferences in random notes instead of in structured fields within your PMS.

Before investing in a new AI-powered solution, you should do a full data audit to determine whether your data is of high enough quality to make the investment in a new AI-based solution worthwhile. If your data isn’t high-quality enough, implementing a new AI-based solution will be as effective as a Michelin-starred chef trying to make a dinner with rotten ingredients.

Best case scenario: it won’t provide the results it was supposed to; worst case scenario: it’s an entirely inefficient solution, offering minimal ROI and, likely, lots of tech headaches. Either way, it’s a lose/lose situation that I don’t want you to have to experience firsthand.

Proper staff training is another important initiative to ensure that your data is of high quality. Suppose your staff members don’t understand the importance of maintaining accurate data or how to input and organise it correctly in your operational solutions. In that case, the quality of your data will degrade very quickly, again minimising the ROI and efficacy of your AI-based solutions.

Data quality is not the only factor that impacts the ROI you earn from your AI-powered solutions; it’s also crucial that your operational teams have access to the same data cross-departmentally. By unsiloing all your data using sophisticated operational solutions, you enable your commercial teams to make more consistent, accurate, strategic decisions based on a single version of the truth.

Now that you know the truth about these common myths, are you ready to examine your operations and identify the smartest investments to transform your hotel’s performance?

Trust me… your bottom line will thank you for it!