Buying a PMS: Lessons from an ex-hotelier who now works in hotel tech. Ft. Tommy Kalita

[00:00:00] Tommy Kalita: Technology should be taking those tasks that are gumming things up and slowing things down and taking away from the experience, and it should be giving that team member time to really focus on what matters. Unfortunately, it's that fear of reconsidering process that gets in the way of truly unlocking the next level of, you know, really hospitality in that property.
[00:00:27] Matt Welle: Hi, everyone. Welcome back to another Matt Talks Hospitality. Buying a new property management system is one of those really big decisions in the life of a hotelier, and most hoteliers will tell you that it's a painful process to change this kind of system. So, you're often looking at systems you might not fully understand. You're talking to salespeople who might not understand the extent of the complexity of your property. So, I wanted to bring someone in who does this for a living. Tommy Kalita, who wasn't from our hotelier. He owned his own hotel, and then he joined Mews. So, he's kind of lived on both sides. So, he can really tell that story of what it's like to have a hotel and the complexities and the challenges that you face, but also what it's like to deploy a modern system. Because sometimes, hoteliers think that it was like deploying a PMS 10 years ago, but that really has changed. Tommy, thank you for joining me today.
[00:01:13] Tommy Kalita: Yeah. Absolutely. Thanks for having me.
[00:01:14] Matt Welle: So, tell me about when you started with Mews. Was it easy to start selling the Mews solution because you'd come from a hotel perspective?
[00:01:23] Tommy Kalita: Yeah. So, I mean, when it came to joining Mews, I think that when I speak with a lot of our team, one of the things that I've always encouraged is to, you know, to really spend time like, a lot of the team has come from hospitality, but even for those that haven't, it's something that is you know, we've all spent time in hotels. We've all spent time staying somewhere. And I think being mindful about what that experience is like, what's going into it, these are all things that, a lot of the team should pay attention to because it is something that, you know, there's a lot of unique challenges, and there's a lot that can, potentially be frustrating that is, you know, you don't always see from the outside in, but it is something that coming from that, you know, the background. Coming from a hotel, I got to see both sides of it. And the areas that kind of most stood out to me were that, you know, we know that there are a lot of things that hotels have just kind of gotten used to. This is kind of the way that they've done things for a long time. My background is a little different in that I didn't come directly from hospitality. I didn't grow up in hospitality. I was a passionate and avid traveler, but at the same time, I was really kinda coming in as an outsider when I decided to launch my property. And from my standpoint, that was a bit of an opportunity because I didn't have a lot of, you know, I guess, debt in kind of how things should have been done. I really had to look at it from first principles and consider, you know, what specifically did I need to do to make, you know, my hotel work. And that may not have been the traditional path. And certainly, even just being in this role and having hundreds of conversations at this point, I've noticed, you know, how different hotels can be. Like, two hotels could be, you know, across the street from each other in the same city and have completely different sets of, you know, what's important to them, how they operate, you know, what are they actually following, what does success look like. And so, you know, for me, it was something that I really appreciated being able to come in and, you know, like, take a fresh look at it and say, "What is going to work for me?" And, that's that's kind of how I look at it when I come in on the other side as well. It's, like, really paying attention to what's important to that particular property.
[00:03:18] Matt Welle: Because I like how you mentioned first principles thinking, which I think is one of the things that often we miss in our industry because we just copy-paste what happens. Or whatever we've seen somewhere else, we just copy-paste it. What did your first principles thinking look like when you were designing your own hotel? What were you doing differently?
[00:03:33] Tommy Kalita: I think something that, you know, I had to be mindful of. And just did a bit of a timeline here. Like, we started just about 10 years ago and kind of planning this out and actually looking at how we can get started. And, you know, I launched in 2019, and just before COVID. And so what you can imagine is, I had an idea of, you know, what this hotel was supposed to be. We were filling out for the summer. Everything was doing what it was supposed to, but, of course, things change. And what that led to for me is, you know, obviously, like, you know, as everyone in the industry likely experiences, there was just this seismic shift in what was happening in my hotel. Basically, unlimited cancellations, and you know, this was supposed to be my first summer. And so what that led to is I had to take a big step back and really look at, you know, what is my business, because I couldn't just rely on room revenue anymore. I couldn't just rely on, you know, the assumptions that I had even a few months earlier. And so what I started to look at is, you know, that when you're looking at your tech stack, you really have to get away from just looking at the technology and just kinda looking at it as, you know, for maybe some of the folks that are listening to us, just replacing what you already have. And instead, start looking at, you know, this really is a systems decision. You really have to be considering far more than just the technology, but really how is it working in the, you know, the systems that you actually have at the property. You know, what does the guest experience actually look like? How is the technology really gonna help you, like, impact that experience in a meaningful way? And it's not about - and I think you and I both can agree. It's not about, you know, replacing the human experience. And in fact, it couldn't be further from the truth. We're really looking at how can we really augment that experience so that the guest can feel something really special and important when they're attending your property.
[00:05:14] Matt Welle: How do you recommend to a hotelier who is very new to this process of buying systems and an entire tech stack? How do you suggest that they map this journey out?
[00:05:24] Tommy Kalita: You know, I think that when I take a look at this or when I'm speaking with a hotel, we really need to start with, you know, what is the pain at the property. And when we talk about this too, I think that, you know, a lot of hotels likely start looking at new technology. Maybe they've had the same systems for 15 or 20 years, and, you know, they're starting to look at the new technology because usually something has come up at the property. Now, where I think some properties go, though, is they say, you know, this is what we've been doing for 20 years. We wanna switch, and we just wanna continue to do it. And it's something that certainly Mews can, you know, I've always said you can replicate a lot of different systems within Mews without issue, but I think it is such a good opportunity for teams to really take a hard look at their own processes, their own systems, and say what isn't actually serving them. Look for something deeper, and look for the things that they've just gotten used to. And I can give you a bit of an example in that: with a P&S that I initially started with, it's something that, you know, we really, really struggled with, like, just accounting. We couldn't really rely on the reports that were coming through, and what that led to for me is just thousands and thousands of dollars of bookkeeping. I just had to pay it. I just didn't accept the reports that were coming out. And so as a result, I had to pay someone to do that and to really go and reconcile multiple reports and ensure that the money that was coming in actually connected with the, you know, the money that was showing up in my PMS. And so…
[00:06:45] Matt Welle: Could you have not covered that through in the process before you deployed it if you had just dug deeper in some way?
[00:06:52] Tommy Kalita: Yeah. I mean, I think that's, and it's worth noting as well. Like, I sold it in 2023, and as I've shared, you'd agree that the way technology has moved in the last few years has been, you know, it's been a seismic shift. And so there were some general limitations at that point. But, you know, certainly, it is something that I didn't think to ask, and I think that, you know, you have an assumption when it comes to reporting, when it comes to accounting, that, you know, it should be adequate. It should work. It should do what it needs to, but that isn't always the case. You know, we know that. That is, sometimes, you know, it can be inconsistent. It can be something that, you know, isn't actually proper double-entry accounting, things like that. And so these are questions that operators certainly need to ask.
[00:07:31] Matt Welle: So, I like what you said there. I didn't think to ask. What are some of the things that, you know, you've had hundreds of conversations with hoteliers since you joined Mews? What are some of the things that customers forget to ask in this RFP process?
[00:07:43] Tommy Kalita: You know, when hotels are coming to us and are considering to make a switch, a lot of times, it is something that, they have a certain number of people that are part of the decision, maybe a certain number of, folks that are gonna actually spend the time to, like, weed through everything, and you know, then maybe present to ownership or whatever that process might look like. And everyone tends to have a bit of a passion project. They have something that's really important to them. Some properties will even really, really focus on just one particular issue. And I think it's kind of interesting that you can think in a broader way, and I encourage, you know, it shouldn't just be a leadership decision; like, the whole team should really be involved in some way, at least, of bubbling to the surface the areas that are, you know, most critical in their day-to-day activities. And, you know, I think that a lot of times, the questions or the items that are most important to a particular person that's doing the review process may not actually be what's most important to that property. And a lot of times, you know, ideally, you know, hopefully, the team member or the salesperson is also asking the right questions. But, ideally, you're looking a little bit deeper, and you're looking more at, you know, like, it's not just about the queue at the front desk, but, like, what is actually causing that queue? Why is it actually appearing? And spend the time actually thinking about it, and don't settle for what's on the surface, and don't just settle for the pet projects. And also, I think be really open to the fact that, you know, you may have a property that's been doing things the same way for a very long time, and it's probably worked. It certainly has. You know? But at the same time, you know, be open to looking at: is there another way to consider this? Is there another way to do it? That's, you know, maybe just slightly changing a process could unlock all sorts of new opportunities.
[00:09:21] Matt Welle: Yeah. Like, I think you talked about involving different team members, and I do see hotels sometimes forgetting to invite the accountant in the room, thinking, "That's fine. Accounting is fine. I'm sure it will do that." But, really, all of your heads of departments should at some point be asked to take a look if the system does what it does or if it can actually innovate their role in some way. And often, it's the revenue managers, the GM, maybe a front desk manager, but it definitely isn't always the housekeeping manager. It isn't always the accounting manager that gets involved, but they are critical components to the success of that check-in experience as well.
[00:09:55] Tommy Kalita: I would even flag maybe a little biased. I'm working on our fintech team now, but I think something like payments and how important it is in the day-to-day activities. Like, I always - and I don't know if you do this as well - but when I travel, I pay a lot of attention to the check-in experience. You know? How many times have they asked for my credit card? How many pieces of paper have I had to sign? You know? Like, you know, I had a property last year, and, you know, we travel a lot with this role. And I had a property last year that I was stuck at checkout because there was a slip of paper that was filed in a, you know, little plastic container that someone had misfiled. It wasn't under K for my last name. It was somewhere else in that road accident. And what that led to is I was kind of stuck because the receptionist did not wanna let me walk away until, you know, they confirmed that, you know, they could process my deposit. But, obviously, that experience was just, that was around 2025. It shouldn't be something that we should still be dealing with - paper, you know, authorizations and that type of thing. And so, you know, I think, you know, this is something that a lot of properties have just gotten used to, like, when it comes to payments, this is what we do. You know? This is how we do it. But there is just so much more opportunity today. And having a much more seamless experience. But a lot of times, they don't think to ask. You know, it's not something that's part of their day-to-day.
[00:11:08] [AD]: Thank you so much for listening to Matt Talks Hospitality. I really enjoyed these conversations. I did wanna take a moment to talk about the Mews Revenue Management System. Two years ago, we acquired Atomize, and we then, from that moment, started rebuilding the whole platform from the ground up at the core. So, the idea was that the Mews Operating System becomes the core platform that everyone in the hotel lives in. But we had to rebuild the whole user experience inside that same platform whilst we optimize the algorithms. That product is now live. Hoteliers and revenue managers love it because once they log in to Mews, they get their business intelligence insights. They can manage the rates and the connectivity to the channel managers. And now all the price recommendations are sitting in that same platform. And this makes the life of revenue managers much more interesting because it turns them into revenue strategists. You can see this demo straight away, directly inside the system. We can get to you live by tomorrow, and we can get recommendations flowing to instantly make your business a better business. I hope you enjoy it.
[00:12:02] Matt Welle: Yeah. Often, when I go to a client meeting, I will come early, and I'll sit in the lobby for a while, and I just observe what they do at the reception desk. And if I see a stapler being passed around that desk because they have to tape the paper together, I'm like, yeah, they need Mews because this wouldn't happen when we've deployed it.
[00:12:18] Tommy Kalita: Yeah. Absolutely. I think, you know, and even actually for leaders to actually spend that time as well, like, really actually pay attention. And, you know, like I said, I don't think it's getting in the way of, like, I think sometimes there's this concern that, you know, technology is gonna get in the way of that guest experience. It's gonna somehow take away from, you know, what a lot of these properties have really built. And I don't think that could be further from the truth. We're in this world today where the technology should be taking those tasks that are just, you know, like, gumming things up and slowing things down and taking away from the experience, and it should be giving that team member time to really focus on what matters. And this is something that we know is possible, but at the same time, I think, you know, unfortunately, it's that fear of, like, reconsidering process is something that gets in the way of truly unlocking the next level of, you know, really hospitality in that property.
[00:13:07] Matt Welle: Because what's, like, you've demoed our systems to customers often. What are some of the things that, like, when you see customers' eyes open up, they're like, oh, you can do that? Like, are there some specific features that Mews can do that customers, you know, their eyes just pop?
[00:13:21] Tommy Kalita: Yeah. I mean, you know, I think that, again, every property can be quite different, but I think that when we spend time looking at, you know, and again, I guess, in some ways, it might be one of the quote-unquote boring things. But when we look at something like, you know, embedded payments and the ability to do things like, you know, for example, charge a virtual credit card from an OTA the moment it's available, and maybe help with some revenue leakage or no-shows and things like that, or the ability to, you know, again, have reports that reconcile, you know. It seems like such a baseline thing, but, you know, being able to actually trust the reconciliation, be able to, you know, not have to worry about user error when you're dealing with the day-to-day operations. And, you know, we all know in a lot of markets, you know, staffing is becoming more challenging. To really get the right staff on the team, to be in the property, and you know, if you have a newer staff member, it's nice to know that you can build this framework around them, build this architecture around the golden tasks or the processes that they're doing so that they can really start to, you know, again, focus on the important things while just trusting that the system is doing, a lot of the heavy lifting behind the scenes.
[00:14:28] Matt Welle: Yeah. Because in the intro, I talked about how big a decision it is to change a PMS, because, you know, if you're an older hotelier like me, we've gone through a few of these cycles in the industry, and it was painful in the past. How does deployment happen now? And, like, is it as painful as people remember it to be?
[00:14:46] Tommy Kalita: You know, I've often referred to the changing of systems, especially a PMS, as kind of similar to, like, open-heart surgery. You know, it's the kind of thing that you do because you need to do. You know, it's not something you're often just, you know, electing to do without having a real need behind the scenes. And that's for reason is that it's something that, you know, the thing about your systems is that, you know, they are your systems. You've been doing them a long time. And even if they're maybe a little rusty, and maybe even if there's a little bit of, you know, a few things that could be better, you know, they work. Like, you know, clearly, the property is staying open. They're doing all the things that they need to. And the idea of, you know, having to take a system, like, you know, pull a system out and put something in its place, you know, kind of the whole idea of, like, rebuilding a plane while it's flying in some ways, you know, that can seem like a big risk and a big concern. And so, you know, I think where our team really steps in is looking beyond that and, like, ensuring that we make it as seamless as possible. And, you know, I think that the idea of really ensuring that the team is on board, having those champions internally that are really spending the time to understand what you can unlock and, you know, challenging internally a bit of the status quo is exactly what you need to be able to, you know, really take something like Mews and make it really pop at the property.
[00:16:03] Matt Welle: Because you talked about first principles thinking, but you could do that because you are designing a brand new hotel from the ground up. Often, we come into an existing hotel, and we will replace some legacy system. Do you often find that hoteliers will end up using Mews just like their old system, or are most people embracing the change?
[00:16:20] Tommy Kalita: You know, I think it's one of the things that I certainly tried to set the stage when I was speaking with, you know, our customers that if you really do, and I mentioned it a little earlier that if you are wanting to just rebuild your existing PMS, like, just do exactly the same thing, we can absolutely do that in Mews. But I think that where the real opportunity is now is to really challenge the status quo. Like, really pay attention. And, you know, there are these little points of friction. And, you know, I think, you know, maybe if I can give a metaphor of, you know, when you're hosting a party at your house, you know, you clean your house. And you know, you've cleaned your house a bunch of times before, but there are those little corners where there's a little bit of dust or something like that that you kind of just get used to when you live with it. But then when you know that people are coming over, you're changing things a little bit. You're gonna be, you know, you're doing that extra level of really paying attention to all the little details. And I think that is something that maybe ties in a little bit to, you know, changing out your system is that there are probably 100 places in the property that you have just gotten used to how things are. And I actually did give the example too of, you know, a lot of hotels we know have, you know, kind of little, dark rooms in the basement or spaces on the different floors that have, you know, been just collecting a bunch of junk for a long time. And, you know, we at Mews always encourage, like, can you rethink some of your spaces? Can you rethink your lobby? Can you rethink, you know, that dark closet? And maybe do something interesting with it. I was at a hotel recently where they took a kind of unusable closet just off the lobby, and they turned it into a photo booth. And these are things that you can start to think about, you know, are you using your space appropriately? Are you being mindful about the things that you really offer at the property? And can you find ways to, you know, number one, really improve the guest experience, but also really look at how we can, you know, maybe drive extra revenue as well. One quick thing I'll tie back to, actually, is that at the property, all the power to coffee pods in the world, but for me, I was really, again, proud of my city and proud of what we had. And so I knew when I was getting into this that I wanted to have a really great coffee program that was not just necessarily the standard pod. I wanted to focus on local roasters. I wanted to give an experience of what Edmonton had to offer. And when COVID hit, and I really had to start thinking about how I could drive extra revenue; well, coffee turned out to be a really easy fit for being able to just offer something. There's a huge margin on it. It's something that allows people to take a piece of Edmonton back to their, you know, wherever they're coming from, and it was something that also really elevated the experience. And it wasn't necessarily that much more expensive or, you know, any additional cost. It was actually a revenue driver for me, but it was something I just had to be thoughtful about. I had to spend time with the local roasters, which, you know, wasn't the worst. I got to taste some really great coffees. But just be thoughtful about it and create a program that then actually helped me through a very challenging time for hotels. And so, you know, I think that hotels that are spending the time and being mindful to, you know, really, really look, like spend a really good amount of time actually looking, and you trust their team to give those insights, they're the ones that are gonna have the easiest time transitioning to something new.
[00:19:17] Matt Welle: I love that. So, you had a coffee shop at the hotel, and then you sold the coffee beans to guests from the hotel to take home with them?
[00:19:24] Tommy Kalita: Yeah. Actually, more specifically, the coffee in the room. So, the in-room coffee, more specifically. So, what we did is we tried a few different things. We did some trial and error, and I had a stack of different ways to actually brew the coffee in the room. But we basically settled on a blend that we created, and we worked with the team. And then we have that in the rooms, and then the coffee bags are something that you could take home very easily as well.
[00:19:46] Matt Welle: Like pods for, like, an espresso machine, or was, like, how would I brew this coffee?
[00:19:50] Tommy Kalita: Yeah. So, we ended up going with a French press in the rooms, so that's what we decided on.
[00:19:53] Matt Welle: Ooh! Love it.
[00:19:54] Tommy Kalita: Yes. And we actually did these. My ideal was really to have coffee beans in the room, but having a grinder in every single room was a little much. So, what we did was we had these little pouches that were freshly ground and sealed immediately. So, it was French-pressed. It was perfectly dialed in. Everything was already set. You had to open the packet, dump it into the French press, and then you'd be able to go and make it. And then if you liked what we had, those packages were getting replaced, you know, periodically, so it's still very fresh or as fresh as I could manage. And then from there, you were able to, if you wanted to, you could certainly purchase some beans and take them home with you as well.
[00:20:25] Matt Welle: I just checked out of a hotel where they had freeze-dried instant coffee in my room, and I thought, oh, yeah, I've given up that kind of coffee 20 years ago, and it's like, wake up, and the first thing I want is a cup of coffee in the morning. And you do not wanna go in my pajamas into the lobby to get a cup of coffee. Like, I love that you did that.
[00:20:42] Tommy Kalita: Yes. And I will even mention, like, I pay a lot of attention to coffee when I travel. And, you know, I have to be honest that I would love to say otherwise, but most of the time when I'm traveling, I end up just going to a coffee shop around the corner or somewhere else, like, somewhere where you can see that they really care. But it is, to me, such an interesting thing because, you know, I'm not gonna get too much into the economics of it, but, like, certainly, there might be a small additional cost if you're doing a proper coffee program. But I think that it's just that little extra level of care and detail that just makes such a difference. You know? And, again, for me, it was coffee. For every hotel, it could be something completely different. It could be the soaps, the shampoos.
[00:21:17] Matt Welle: Did you find that guests were talking about the coffee experience online?
[00:21:21] Tommy Kalita: Everybody talked about the coffee experience. Yes. It was something that, it seemed like, you know, to me, it was just something that I was really passionate about. I just wanted to, like you said, like, as a traveler, and again, coming from the outside, right, I didn't even know what the proper cost of a coffee would be. Like, how much should I be spending on every stick? You know? When a guest stays, how much should go towards coffee? I had no idea. And so, because of that, I think that really led me. I was like, well, what do I want in my experience? And so that let me build something that made sense for me as a traveler, and then that turned into something that the guests really appreciated as well.
[00:21:48] Matt Welle: I think passion is transferable. And I think if you have a deep passion and you can somehow translate that into an experience, that's the thing that people will remember. They won't remember the bed or all of the other facilities if they're just the same as everyone else. But if you can do the one thing and be very passionate about it and execute it really beautifully, those are the things that others will notice and hopefully then write about as well, positively.
[00:22:11] Tommy Kalita: Yes. I think you nailed it. And I think that this is an interesting time in our industry when it comes to AI and it comes to kind of the direction of how people are even finding hotels today. You know, I think that this is a time for all hoteliers to really spend some time and think about, you know, what is making you a unique property. Because if you're just another hotel, especially in, you know, the hotter markets, you very well might kinda disappear, you know. We know that brands will continue to do what they're doing, and you know, we're probably adding into a world where instead of even, you know, going to Google or going to an OTA to decide which hotel you want and getting a list, you might just say, like, "I'm looking for a property in Miami that has a great coffee program and a full and a really good quality gym", and you might get one hotel. And so, if you are that hotel, you wanna be able to ensure that you're telling your story properly in the way that you're presenting yourself digitally, and the way you're kind of presenting yourself just generally in the world. And this is an opportunity for hotels to really show that personality, and I think the ones that do are the ones that are gonna really succeed in the future, and really excel and see that show up in the revenue.
[00:23:18] Matt Welle: Nailed it. I totally agree. Like, search engine optimization is the thing we've been nervous about for the last few years, but customers don't even make it to your website anymore at this point. They go straight into the large language model to ask these very detailed questions, and it will scrape from reviews. And if your guests are not saying anything positive besides, yeah, I had a good sleep and, you know, the door locks, and that's kind of what your hotel experience is, you're not gonna stand out from the competitor next door. But if you fit that niche, like, these questions that people ask, they're very specific questions. Like, do you allow dogs? Do you have a coffee program? And do you have, like, a nice bakery? And if you tick those boxes, the LLM will surface you. And that's why I hope, I genuinely hope that our industry will lean towards more curated experiences in hotels than the box standard brands that we have lived through in the past few decades that haven't made hospitality better. They've made it more bland.
[00:24:09] Tommy Kalita: You know, not to say, like, you know, obviously, ratings and star ratings and everything, those will always matter to some extent, but they matter less today because it's more about social proof. It's more about, you know, leaving a lasting impact. And, you know, I have to be frank in saying that I've stated a number of hotels that, you know, by all means should be really considered, you know, really high quality. And, you know, in many ways, they weren't doing anything wrong. You know, they're comfortable beds. You know, the soundproofing was adequate. They were perfectly fine as a hotel, but what I find most interesting is that, a lot of times, what actually really stood out to me is, you know, the front desk experience, how someone treated me when I got in, you know, there are all these, you know, little touch points, little details that really matter. And I think that I understand that, you know, when you're running a hotel today, there are so many things that you have to be paying attention to. Like, there are so many areas that you can spend your time. Like, there's no shortage of work at the property. So, I don't wanna, you know, say that we should be adding anything to someone's plate, but I do think that we're heading into a world where, to be competitive, you frankly do need to stand out. You need to show that personality. And I think, you know, especially for properties that, you know, have the ability that they do, they're a little, you know, closer to the day-to-day; they have this opportunity to really pay attention to say what actually makes my property shine, what makes me distinct. And that is really where the future is going to be, I think.
[00:25:27] Matt Welle: And I think if you have that thing that makes you special or the thing that stands out that customers want to talk about, make sure that you integrate with Mews, like a guest review platform, that makes sure that you get volume of reviews and that you specifically lean into that narrative. Like, you talk to the customers about that thing that makes you special because they'll repeat the words that you've used towards them online, and then you really build this kind of online narrative. But you've gotta have this guest review platform that automates capturing as many reviews about your hotels as possible because that's the thing that will matter in a time of AI. If you think about your favorite hotel stays, do you remember one of your favorite hotels ever, and what made it so special?
[00:26:06] Tommy Kalita: Yes. There was a property in Portland. I was traveling. I was delayed. Everything was, you know, I just, you know how it is. Like, you're, like, everything is just not totally going right that day. I showed up in the lobby, and they had two things that I really appreciated. Number one, and I frankly think a lot of properties can consider this, is that they had a premixed cocktail setup at the front. There was a premixed cocktail from the bar. It was on ice. It was in a bottle, and it had a garnish sitting next to it and a roll of glasses. And so, being able to show up, they saw that I was, you know, I was frazzled. I had just been, you know, like, running around all day. And, you know, I will admit that, from where I travel, I tend to always have connections. I don't have as many direct flights as perhaps I would like. And so it's something that, you know, it's always a bit more effort for me to travel. And so they have that at the front desk. It was something that was incredibly easy for the receptionist. They don't have to be, you know, a bartender. They don't have to have any of that experience. They had this chilled glass. They had this cocktail. They poured it for me. They had that ready for me the moment that I came through. It looked beautiful. It had the garnish. It had everything you could ask for. And then, on the flip side, also, it was something that, you know, I saw the way that the receptionist connected with me and spoke with me and then gave me a really memorable experience. But then, also, I left. I went up to my room, and then I went out so I could go and find something for dinner. And the way that they built rapport is just, it's little things, like, it's just the way that, you know, that they acknowledge me. They checked in on how I'd done ever since I got into the property. It's really, to me, little things now, and it's something that, you know, I'm sure you can agree that at this point, I've spent time in hundreds of hotels, and it's something. The little things are the things that actually stand out to me now, the little details. And even just to be frank, one thing that I'm still surprised I don't see more often is that when I stay at a certain hotel more than once, how rare it is that they recognize me. It's very rare that I stayed at a hotel actually just last weekend where I've been there six times in the last 2 or 3 years, but there's no record of the day. There was no way for them to connect that I'd been there multiple times. There was no "Hello, Mr Kalita." It was just a very standard check-in, and it's this beautiful boutique property in the city nearby. It's, you know, certainly done well, but that's an area that, you know, I think that technology can really help. You know? It should be able to help the front desk understand who's standing in front of them, you know, what their relationship is to the property. And that is something that is very rare, very rare. Even the properties I've stayed at, you know, like I said, maybe 5, 10 times.
[00:28:30] Matt Welle: So, I stayed in a hotel, a branded hotel, and I had written to them before saying, "Oh, the last time I stayed with you was 17 years ago. I'm really excited to see the hotel." And then when I got to the hotel, they didn't recognize it. And they did say the thing, we're so glad that you're a gold member. Thank you for staying with us. But that was the robotic one, and it didn't mean anything to that person. And I was like, I gave you a hint. Like, you should have gone with it. And I just pulled two books out of my bookshelves. One is The Power of Moments, which is one of my favorites, and the other one is Unreasonable Hospitality. They talk about fixing the base layer because if your base layer of service is crap, no special welcome drink is gonna, like, delight the customer if your check-in is awful. So, it's really about, you know, deploying as much technology to make that entire end-to-end experience as seamless as possible. And then we deploy the humans to have those moments to say, "17 years ago? Oh my God, I'm so excited to talk to you about that." Or, you know, to really recognize the returning customer or to really build this special coffee experience. And that's the thing that will stand out, but you do have to lean into automating as much of your workflows as possible. So, I'd recommend those books because I love them.
[00:29:33] Tommy Kalita: Yes.
[00:29:34] Matt Welle: Have you read them?
[00:29:35] Tommy Kalita: Yes. I have. Yes.
[00:29:36] Matt Welle: Yeah.
[00:29:37] Tommy Kalita: I love that you brought both of those out because, yes, it's absolutely, I think that, you know, Unreasonable Hospitality is something that should frankly be in, you know, like, in all the schools as well. Like, it's just something that I think is just so critical. Every hotelier should certainly read it or at least get the goals notes, but I think just diving in and really getting the details of it could not be more important. And so, yes, I think you nailed it. I think that we are heading into a post-gray world, but you can't settle on just enough anymore. You know? And even in cities that are bursting at the seams that have, you know, more travelers than they can handle, you know, this is heading into a world that you also have to define, like, why are those travelers going to pay you what you're asking? Like, why are they going, and why are they choosing you even if you are a bit more expensive? And so, you know, again, those moments, these little pieces that can really impact what that guest experience is like - those are really gonna be what matters. And if your team is focused on processing a credit card or looking for paperwork or, you know, just dealing with a lot of those administrative tasks, at every given moment, they lose those opportunities to build those really powerful moments with the guests.
[00:30:40] Matt Welle: I agree. I think it's a very exciting time. I think Automation AI is there to help. But, actually, the hoteliers that have a deep passion, they will now be able to stand out more than ever before, and you don't need some giant brand on your roof to attract businesses if you do this really well and you're very passionate. So, I think it's probably the new golden era of hoteliers if they embrace it in the right way. Tommy, thank you so much for sharing all of your experience. I've really enjoyed this conversation.
[00:31:06] Tommy Kalita: Yeah. Me as well. Thank you so much.
[00:31:08] Outro: I hope that you're enjoying this episode because if you do, make sure that you press that subscribe button. It really helps grow the audience and keep you informed whenever a new episode drops. We have some of the best hoteliers on this platform, and I love asking them the hard questions so that, hopefully, you can improve your hospitality business as well.