Waste, not the kind that fills trash bins, but the kind that fills calendars – the meetings, reports, and routines that consume hours yet add no real value for the guest, is the invisible cost that drains both productivity and passion.
NB: This is an article from Demand Calendar
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It frustrates staff, weakens the guest experience, and silently erodes profit. The irony is that most hotel leaders don’t see it happening – because it hides inside our systems, processes, and traditions.
If we follow the guest journey, stage by stage, it becomes clear just how much waste stands between the guest and the experience we want to deliver.
Waste When We Attract
Every guest journey starts long before check-in – when someone begins imagining a stay. Here, waste appears as misdirected marketing: campaigns that target everyone, not the ideal guest. We pay for clicks that never convert, send emails no one reads, and publish offers that compete with our own channels. All that activity looks productive, but rarely moves the needle. The guest feels it too. Generic messaging creates no emotional connection. The moment of inspiration – that spark of “I want to stay there” – never happens. A hotel business intelligence system can expose this kind of waste instantly. By analyzing channel efficiency, market segments, and customer acquisition costs, leaders can see which efforts create real value and which are simply noise.
Waste When We Capture
When the guest decides to book, waste often meets them at the door. Slow websites. Inconsistent pricing. Complicated booking flows. We make guests repeat their details or face confusing rate structures that change across channels. This kind of waste doesn’t just frustrate – it repels. Guests abandon the process and book elsewhere, even if they love your property. With proper data visibility, we could see where friction kills conversion.
Waste When We Prepare
This stage is where internal waste often peaks. Before the guest arrives, departments scramble: Sales updates one system, operations another. F&B doesn’t see group details. Revenue updates forecasts manually. Housekeeping finds out about early arrivals too late. The result? Miscommunication, rework, and missed upsell opportunities. This is pure waste – work that adds no value from the guest’s perspective.
