Hotel Type Segments & Their Unique Drivers of Tech Decisions

Luxury Hotels: Luxury hotels typically have higher expectation guests, higher ADRs and more budget to invest in premium tech solutions.

Resorts: Resorts typically have multiple outlets and venues which tend to require more tools to operate and also have more revenue streams and guest interactions to keep track of.

Bed & Breakfasts & Inns: B&Bs and inns tend to be smaller properties with more limited budgets. At the same time they also tend to have smaller teams and (proportionately) higher fixed costs meaning that investing in technology that automates processes can have a substantial impact on bottom line performance.

Branded Hotels: Branded hotels typically have corporate offices that purchasing decisions must be routed through and/or approved by. Depending on the brand and purchase characteristics such as budget size, budget source (ex. capex vs opex) and product type--tools tend to fall into three buckets (1) brand mandated requirement (2) must be approved and/or certified by the corporate office to meet brand standards or (3) able to be purchased at the property level up to the owners discretion.

Vacation Rentals & Villas: While most lodging establishments have one location with multiple dwellings/rooms, vacation rentals & villas are unique in that they can have multiple locations each with a single unit. This unique structure tends to lead to unique requirements that influence purchasing decisions ranging from portfolio management to budget.

Hostels: Hostels have the unique characteristic of being able to have multiple beds in a single unit that are rented to different customers at the same time. They also tend to have a more self service model with limited staffing which tends to draw them to products that offer self service capabilities.

Motels: Motels are unique in that they tend to have extremely low ADRs, limited service offerings, limited staffing and lower expectation guests which tends to make them extremely price sensitive and pricing is typically the primary purchasing decision factor.

Extended Stay & Serviced Apartments: Extended stay & serviced apartments are unique in that the average length of stay is substantially longer than typical hotels. As a result, they often have unique requirements that are a subset of what is needed for a high turnover hotel. They also tend to offer units with additional amenities like in room kitchens as well as services like dry cleaning that enable them to create a more home like experience.

Boutiques: Similar to luxury hotels, boutiques tend to have high expectation guests, more budget to invest in tech but yet they tend to not have enough budget to invest in enterprise solutions. They are typically independently owned or run by management company and design & experience are high priorities when it comes to purchase decisions. Additionally, boutique hotels tend to place high emphasis on F&B outlets as a way to create a unique and engaging environment for guests.

Casinos: Casino hotels typically have gaming operations as well as increased needs to track guests for both security and customer loyalty. They tend to be highly profitable businesses that can invest more in tech and also typically require more enterprise grade solutions with deeper functionality and a focus on data driven decision making. They also tend to have more outlets and amenities for guests increasing their need for hardware solutions (eg. digital signage) as well as tech tools to upsell and cross sell guests. Also unique to casino tech purchases, rooms revenue tends not to be the highest priority as rooms are often comp'd and/or discounted with the goal of offsetting the revenue with higher margin gaming and/or outlet revenue.

Limited Service & Budget Hotels: Limited service & budget hotels tend to have lower ADRs, are often branded properties and tend to experience a higher ratio of walk-ins. Guests are highly price sensitive as are operators of these properties who typically look to pricing as the most critical decision factor in tech purchases. Additionally, they have lower expectation guests and therefore tend to invest less in tools catered to guest experience.

Airport/Conference Hotels: Airport/Conference hotels typically have a larger footprint with large meeting space and as a result tend to be located in business districts that are proximate to conference centers and airports catering to a higher mix of business travelers. This segmentation and group oriented focus tends to influence the types of tech products they are interested in including a heightened focus on sales, catering and meetings & events tech.

City Center Hotels: Hotels that classify themselves as city center hotels tend to be larger properties that are in prime city centers typically indicating higher ADRs and occupancy (due to prime location), shorter length of stays (due to high price point) and have higher velocity of guest turnover. These factors typically lead to large volumes of high expectation guests which tend to influence their purchasing decisions and priorities from a tech perspective placing emphasis on automating routine tasks, streamlining operational efficiencies and improving the guest experience (both to reduce frequent requests and avoid reputational impact that can negatively impact occupancy levels).