Ideas, knowledge and community for a better future in Hospitality.
BYAlbert BarraHospitality · Strategy · Leadership · Marketing
64 articles available in English.
Gift vouchers are among a hotel’s most emotional sales opportunities—and often among the least efficiently managed. In many properties, a guest who wants to…
Arthur Schopenhauer’s philosophy offers valuable lessons for managing difficult people, avoiding unproductive arguments and developing stronger emotional intelligence. A reflection on leadership, judgement, self-control…
Many hotels blame marketing, distribution or revenue management for weak commercial performance when the real issue may be a product that does not justify…
Occupancy remains one of hospitality’s most celebrated metrics, but filling a hotel does not necessarily make it profitable. Unnecessary discounts, poorly priced groups, high-cost…
Advertising has arrived in ChatGPT, and for hotels, the question is not simply whether a new marketing channel is emerging. The real debate is…
The Guest Journey stems from a conviction shaped by years in hospitality: guests do not experience departments, processes or organisational charts—they experience one relationship…
In The Smart Hotel, I explore how artificial intelligence, data and automation are reshaping hospitality—from guest relationships and direct booking to revenue management, operations…
Managing a hotel is not about accepting every opportunity, but about recognising which ones create real value. This article explores why seemingly attractive groups,…
Artificial intelligence is entering hospitality at speed, but adopting tools does not automatically transform a hotel. Drawing on HGX Research’s The Intelligent Hotel: Artificial…
Many hotels are already testing AI tools, but few can demonstrate measurable results. Introducing The Smart Hotel, the first white paper from HGX Research:…
Every system introduced into a hotel creates dependencies around data, processes, knowledge, integrations and decision-making. This framework helps hotel leaders assess, govern and design…
International hospitality requires more than following global trends. This article examines six tensions reshaping demand, talent, distribution, positioning and profitability, and offers a practical…
A hotel can attract demand, hold inventory, meet its standards and still destroy margin when these four realities are managed separately. An Integrated Management…
A hotel business continuity playbook should not attempt to predict every emergency. It should protect essential services when systems, staff, supplies or capacity are…
Hotels closely monitor payroll, energy, purchasing, commissions and consumption, yet another cost is far harder to find in the profit and loss statement: the…
A practical framework for deciding what artificial intelligence can monitor, recommend or execute in a hotel—and which decisions must remain under human authority. The…
AI deployment in hotels is already subject to European and Spanish requirements on transparency, data protection, employment, consumer protection and human oversight. I propose…
Hotel AI can sound confident while being wrong. Here is how to govern source provenance, freshness, authority and accountability so every answer is verifiable,…
A hotel can accumulate disappointed guests without receiving complaints or negative reviews. This analysis explores how to identify silent guest withdrawal through operational, commercial…
Hotel cross-selling can increase revenue while weakening the guest experience, putting pressure on operations and eroding margins. Before asking teams to sell, each service…
A policy can protect the hotel while damaging guest trust. This article introduces a Policy Legitimacy Test to audit deposits, payment guarantees, schedules, fees…
Buying locally can improve traceability, strengthen ties with the destination and enrich a hotel’s offering. But proximity alone does not guarantee sustainability or profitability.…
The quality of a professional article does not depend on how much the author knows, but on its ability to improve a real decision.…
Many hotel CRMs know the guest but remain disconnected from the operation that must serve them. It is time to turn CRM into a…
Google AI Mode can now help travellers discover, compare and book hotels within a single conversation. The shift shortens the booking funnel, reduces website…
Hotel positioning becomes real when it defines the demand you want to attract, the price points that protect your proposition and the business you…
A hotel stay rarely belongs to one person alone. The booker may not be the payer, decision-maker, primary user of services or the person…
When demand becomes unpredictable, lowering rates can feel like a way to regain control—but it often gives away margin without creating incremental bookings. A…
Hotel reputation is protected before a guest leaves a review. This practical framework helps hotels inventory, verify and govern images, copy, services and commercial…
Luxury rarely breaks because of one major failure. More often, it erodes through uncertain waits, repeated questions and small efforts that force guests to…
Trivago’s ubiquitous ads have embedded a simple message in consumers’ minds: the same hotel can be found at different prices, and comparison shoppers get…
For decades, hotels have defined competition through destination, category and market segment. But today’s guests build their expectations through every consumer experience they have—from…
Housekeeping planning becomes complex when occupancy, check-outs, arrivals, stayovers, linen changes, priorities, workloads and exceptions must be turned into a genuinely balanced assignment plan.…
In hospitality, we talk constantly about excellence, yet too often confuse it with perfection, sophistication or exceptional results. True hospitality excellence is built differently:…
Artificial intelligence is reshaping the hotel guest journey. Travellers no longer need to browse dozens of websites to discover, compare and choose accommodation: they…
Hiring the wrong hotel general manager can have a damaging impact on hotel performance. An abrasive, disengaged or micromanaging leader can contribute to lost…
Artificial intelligence is expanding hotels’ ability to analyse information, but more answers do not automatically lead to better decisions. This article argues for moving…
Spain’s World Cup victory is more than a sporting achievement. It strengthens the country’s brand, enhances its international destination appeal and creates a strategic…
Hotel strategy is not about doing more than the competition; it is about making better choices. Drawing on the origins of strategic thinking, this…
The Spain Accommodation Barometer 2026 paints an optimistic picture for the hotel sector, with rising rates, occupancy and investment. Yet behind the figures lies…
The urgency trap is one of the greatest risks facing hotels today. Artificial intelligence can improve processes, save time and support decision-making, but it…
The pursuit of perfection leads many hotels to chase impossible standards while overlooking a far more decisive factor in long-term success: consistency. Guests can…
What truly sets a hotel apart from a good hotel—or a great one? The answer lies not only in its facilities, location or star…
In an increasingly digital hospitality industry, physical touchpoints are regaining unexpected strategic value. Touch, sensory engagement and thoughtfully designed objects can create attention, trust,…
Modern hospitality must move beyond constant firefighting and build management models capable of handling the industry’s growing complexity. Beyond technology, product or location, real…
True hotel guest loyalty is not built through points programmes or sophisticated automation alone. It comes from a hotel’s ability to create consistent, responsive…
Hospitality is full of experts who comment on operations without ever having worked through a real one. They talk about leadership, efficiency and guest…
Artificial intelligence is creating the same urgency hospitality experienced during the social media boom: new gurus, endless training, pressure to adopt technology and bold…
Most hotels are not truly competing through differentiation. They are fighting to survive in a market where their proposition is unclear or irrelevant. This…
Strategic indecision carries a significant hidden cost in hospitality: it weakens positioning, erodes pricing power, confuses segmentation, exhausts teams and quietly destroys value. This…
Many hotels try to serve every segment—from luxury and wellness to corporate travel, dining, spa, events and healthcare—assuming this will maximise revenue. In reality,…
In hospitality, apologising has long been treated as an unquestioned rule. Yet poorly judged apologies can reduce guest satisfaction, trust and profitability. This article…
Geopolitical instability, shifting trade dynamics and rapid technological change have reduced confidence in forecasting. In hospitality, this makes every leadership decision more consequential. This…
An in-depth look at how training disconnected from business performance erodes hotel profitability—and the practical decisions needed to correct it with strategic discipline.
Hospitality still too often confuses quality with facilities, when quality is ultimately defined by the guest experience. This article examines why service remains undervalued,…
Hotel strategy is no longer a static annual plan. In a fast-changing market, the most successful hotels are those that read demand, execute with…
An in-depth analysis of how poor management of demand peaks and troughs erodes hotel profitability—and the practical decisions hotels can take to correct it…
Artificial intelligence is no longer a competitive advantage in hospitality—it is becoming a commodity. The real differentiator is not the tool itself, but the…
Hospitality has spent years collecting data without turning it into better decisions. Artificial intelligence is changing that: the priority is no longer simply having…
Hotel culture is not defined by stated values, but by everyday routines. This article challenges the traditional approach and offers a practical way to…
The hotel guest journey is key to turning guest experience into real business results. Learn how to analyse and optimise every touchpoint to improve…
Total Quality Management in hospitality is not a standard but a living system built on continuous improvement. Learn how to turn quality into a…
Leaving hotel upselling to chance is a costly strategic mistake. An in-depth look at how it erodes hotel profitability—and the practical decisions needed to…
An in-depth look at how changing hotel rates without a strategic pricing architecture erodes profitability—and the practical decisions hotels can take to restore control,…
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