Hotel owner/operator Bridgeton has recently finished a complete overhaul of its tech stack, replacing key components including the property management system (PMS) and revenue management system (RMS), to streamline operations and drive efficiencies across its portfolio of boutique hotels.
The New York City-based investment, development, and management company was founded 11 years ago, with a focus on owning, operating, and developing boutique hotels across New York. Its portfolio has grown considerably since then and now totals six properties, with further ambitious growth plans including development in Sonoma County, California.
Lucas R. Proffitt, Director, Revenue & E-commerce, Bridgeton, played a central role in the recent technology investments and while he readily admits it took time and effort, he also states that it was well worth it, with the company already reaping rewards.
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Purchasing Decision
For Proffitt, the first stage was to investigate how the new tech integrated with the existing setup.
“Integration is very important to get the full benefits of the new technology. Sometimes that means looking to replace existing pieces of your tech stack so that you can add the pieces that you need,” he advised.
“For instance, we knew that we wanted to implement an RMS system for our properties, however, our existing PMS at the time was holding us back. So, the project to add an RMS meant that we had to first start with a replacement of our existing tech.
“It was a very time-consuming project but in the long run, it has allowed us to be so much more efficient. It was well worth the time to complete the entire project to have a tech stack that worked for us, rather than us working around our tech stack,” he admitted.
As owner/operators, senior leaders at Bridgeton were very much involved in the technology purchasing decisions. The decisions were led by both operational considerations and asset value.
“Being open to exploring new technology is one of the best ways to empower your teams to make better decisions in the long run. Empowering your teams to make strategic decisions is better for the long-term health of your assets. It will perform better, and your teams will have more pride of ownership in the decisions and the successes you have,” said Proffitt.
Benefits of Automation
The benefits of the new technology setup were immediate, freeing up labor hours and enabling the revenue team especially to operate more efficiently.
“For the day-to-day revenue management professional in a manual world, much of our time is spent doing things manually. If you can automate much of the mundane tasks, it allows you to free up your strategic thinkers to spend more time thinking strategically, rather than doing data entry,” said Proffitt.
The entire Bridgeton portfolio has enjoyed a successful 2022 and, as the leisure market continues to return, the company’s bespoke collection has fared exceptionally well.
“We have had a very successful past year. With the additions we made to our tech stack over the past year we have been able to really focus on increasing incremental revenues year on year,” Proffitt said.
“The implementation of Duetto into our tech stack has allowed us to be much more efficient with our time but it has also allowed us to be more creative in our pricing strategies. We can isolate demand to specific room types or rate categories and price towards the actual demand. Because of many of the possibilities we have with Duetto we can be more granular in our strategies and be much more effective in maximizing our revenue,” he explained.
Positive Outlook
With a new tech stack and new properties due to come to market, Proffitt believes that his company and independent hotels, in general, are set for continued success in the future.
“At the core of our hospitality philosophy is an experiential component. We want travel to be more than just getting from A to B; we want to have unique, high-end experiences along the way. With that in mind, we have just purchased some properties in the Sonoma County, California area, and are in the process of creating a fantastic escape there. We are also actively searching for new assets to complement our existing properties and expand our footprint,” he revealed.
“I believe that independent hotels are uniquely positioned for the future. The generations which are starting to travel now are much less focused on brands as a whole and are more focused on a unique experience. I think the real strength of being an independent hotel is that we have the flexibility to quickly move to the demand and to provide the types of experiences that the guest is wanting. Where many brands have a much harder time providing for those kinds of changes.”
Discover more about how Duetto works with independent hotels in our latest Special Report: Revenue Strategy For Independent Hotels: How Technology Helps You Compete. Download your free copy today: https://www.duettocloud.com/special-reports/how-technology-helps-you-compete