The Clock is Ticking

Many hotels are innovating faster than ever. They are embracing AI‑driven pricing, hybrid spaces, and even membership models. Paradoxically, others feel “stuck in time”, running on instinct rather than on data. I see this almost every week: properties with no revenue management system, no proper financial models, and no standardized controls. Some of these hotels have great locations. Some even provide a decent service. But behind the scenes, they’re operating like it’s 1995 and their bottom line reflects it. And at the end of the day, those who don’t evolve become little more than opportunities for competitors ready to grow.

The scale of this lag is staggering. According to a 2023 analysis by HotelExecutive, as recently as 2022, less than a third of hotels worldwide were using any revenue management tools, and only about 10% had adopted advanced pricing systems. This means nearly nine out of ten hotels were leaving money on the table. A lot of money. The adoption of a RMS would easily represent an increase in RevPAR by 5% to 20%.

The same inertia exists in financial planning. Many hotels operate without detailed budgets or rolling forecasts, leaving them exposed when demand dips or costs rise. Research by Boston University’s School of Hospitality shows distressed hotel sales often trade at 30 to 42% discounts compared to healthy transactions. This value erosion would be often avoidable with proactive financial discipline. Rolling forecasts and monthly re‑forecasts, which should be standard, are still rare in independent hotels and even in some smaller or family-managed hotel groups.

Along with these issues frequently comes the lack of scale. We often see 20 or 30 keys properties that carry nearly the same fixed costs as those with 50 or 60 rooms, especially when it comes to core staffing like management, front office, and housekeeping leadership. Without scale, their cost per occupied room skyrockets, and without the right revenue and expense models in place, these inefficiencies go unnoticed until profitability evaporates.

Operations tell a similar story. Labor alone eats up 30 to 50% of hotel costs, according to CBRE’s 2025 Trends in the Hotel Industry report, yet many properties still rely on static schedules and manual oversight. I’ve walked into hotels where housekeepers were overstaffed on slow days while front desks were understaffed on busy ones. Add to that unchecked energy use, procurement without negotiated rates, and you can see how inefficiency snowballs. Hotels that invest in workforce optimization software, energy management systems, and standardized procedures often find immediate savings without compromising service. In fact, service usually improves.

The good part is that these problems are easily solvable and the opportunity for transformation is massive. Modernizing revenue strategies, introducing real financial controls, and instilling operational excellence can turn an underperforming hotel into a market leader. And the gap between where a “stuck” hotel is today and where it could be in 12 to 18 months is astonishing.

Now and in the future, the winners will be the ones that turn data into action, invest in smarter systems, and build agile teams. For the rest, the clock is ticking.

Tiago Castro
COO at Wotels
Wotels