The more I work in hospitality, the more I realise this:
Even profitable hotels fail when they optimise the wrong things.
We have built an industry that worships spreadsheets, forecasts, and algorithms… yet the real drivers of performance are almost embarrassingly always human.
Hospitality isn’t real estate with room service (like many people think..)
Its emotional logistics wrapped inside a performance report.
And the research keeps proving it:
🔸 Breakfast is a top-3 driver of hotel selection.
A 2022 study across Europe showed breakfast heavily influences the decision to book (FYI: top 1 is location, top 2 is price/value)
Your €50k/year RMS vs. the pancakes.
The pancakes win more often than we would like to admit.
🔸 Online reviews directly impact demand, occupancy and RevPAR.
Meaning “TravelL0ver92” and this “anonymous raccoon” could influence your occupancy more than your marketing director.
🔸 80%+ of travellers read reviews before booking.
Strangers on the internet are more trusted than your official website.
And… I believe they aren’t 100% wrong.
🔸 Most negative reviews are driven by service quality.
Not the room. Not the WiFi. The human interaction (hence you understand this is applicable the other way around as well..)
🔸 Amenities only matter when paired with emotion.
A lamp is a lamp. A bed is a bed.
But how it makes you feel, that’s the experience.
🔸 Better reputation = better profitability.
Your ADR matters.
Your reputation matters even more.
🔸 Review scores reliably predict real satisfaction.
TripAdvisor/Google/OTA ratings predict return intention.
Your culture spills online whether you want it to or not.
And here is the part I wish someone had told me earlier in my career:
Hotels don’t win because of perfect spreadsheets.
They win because humans feel something when they stay there.
Revenue management matters.
Tech matters.
AI matters.
But feelings and emotions still decide everything.
The more I work in hospitality, the more I see one simple truth:
Hospitality is not a math problem.
It’s a human one.
