The perfect storm has hit hoteliers with rising costs, a shrinking workforce and higher guest expectations. It’s a squeeze that shows no signs of letting up, and it means that hotels are often required to run with leaner teams – while still delivering standout service.
A smaller staff doesn’t necessarily translate into a bad experience. Smart operators use this moment to rethink the way hotels run, redesign jobs, and embed smart tech in ways that enhance service, decrease churn, improve profitability.
This article explores five areas where hoteliers can improve their efficiency.
- Front office
- Food and Beverage
- Housekeeping
- Guest communication
- Revenue and reservations
Why fewer employees isn’t the equivalent of less service
We need to change our mindset: cutting staff doesn’t mean you have to overload your team. It’s all about redesigning the way your hotel runs.
Start by looking at where your current team adds real value – and where they’re bogged down in repetitive admin, delays or fluctuations in demand. There’s an opportunity there.
It is not about making jobs more stressful, but more rewarding. When you empower staff with flexible tech and upskill them to float across departments, you increase engagement and reduce turnover – especially at the front desk, where attrition is often highest.
1. Front office: From bottleneck to efficiency machine
Check-in is still the first impression most guests have – and it’s also where inefficiencies often show up first. Long queues at peak times, disjointed procedures and repeated interactions are all detrimental.
What can you do to streamline your operations and increase revenue?
- Implement online check-in/outWhen implemented correctly, 30% of guests will no longer interact with the reception. Add digital keys, SMS reminders, and other tools to help increase usage and reduce lobby congestion.
- Use kiosks strategicallyThese can act as a back-up during busy periods, or be the primary method of check-in with roaming host assistance. They are quicker, increase sales and reduce queues.
- Reimagine your job rolesCombining concierge, front desk staff and bell staff duties into multi-skilled host equipped with mobile tools. This increases the engagement of the role and allows for greater flexibility between shifts.
- Early arrivals are the best.Coordination with housekeeping is key to prioritizing early-ready rooms. These can be monetized through upsells. This will prevent double visits to the reception and increase guest satisfaction.
2. Reduce waste and increase impact on food and beverages
F&B teams are often stretched thin, especially during breakfast service. Here are some ways to reduce the pressure.
- Breakfast included in all RatesThis reduces the number of hosts needed and streamlines your experience.
- Offer flexible formats: Grab-and-go or à la carte options can reduce waste and staffing needs while improving guest convenience.
- Early dinner reservations are encouragedUse CRM tools to increase bookings for evenings. You can also integrate with platforms like ResDiary and use pre-arrival messaging.
- Modernize your paymentsUse smart terminals to combine payment, tipping and ordering in one device. You can also use QR codes to order and pay for common areas such as the pool, lobby or restaurant. This will increase your revenue without hiring more staff.
3. Digitize and optimize your housekeeping
While automation cannot clean a room, it can make your housekeeping more efficient. You should:
- Take advantage of mobile-first toolsEquip your staff with native housekeeping applications that can update the status of rooms in real-time, add guest notes and improve communication with front desk.
- Leverage intelligent schedulingThe AI-based solutions Flexkeeping or Optii prioritize the room’s readiness to check in, reducing friction at early check-in and optimizing upsell opportunities.
- Rethinking room serviceReplace minibars by well-designed vending machines and lobby kiosks, such as Wundermart. This will reduce stocking requirements and drive incremental sales.
4. AI guest communication is no longer an option
If you aren’t experimenting with AI at your hotel, then you’re behind the curve. Customers expect intuitive, fast service in their native language. AI-powered tools that can send messages to guests via WhatsApp, Messenger or SMS are available for:
- Handle common queries in seconds
- Book tables, activities and rooms
- When needed, escalate to a person
Mews can be integrated with partners like Runnr.ai and HiJiffy to provide omnichannel support. This isn’t about replacing humans entirely – it’s about enhancing the service experience while freeing your team to focus on higher-value moments.
5. Smarter revenue and reservation systems: Fewer mistakes
Manual rate setting and cross-checking reservations belong to the past. Today’s tools can make a tangible difference.
- Channel managers SiteMinder and Cubilis reduce booking errors by automating the process.
- AI-powered RMS tools (like Atomize, now embedded within Mews) run on autopilot to optimize pricing 24/7 – something even your best team can’t do.
- The role of revenue is changing: Your revenue manager should now be thinking beyond rates – experimenting with dynamic pricing for add-ons, optimizing total revenue per guest and working cross-departmentally
Train, track, or try?
It is not possible to achieve this without the correct mindset and investment.
- Train your team Work across departments to embrace technology
- Track what matters – service quality, staff satisfaction, profitability – and set clear goals to improve each one.
- Continue to try new tools – don’t lock yourself into long-term contracts. AI is one area where the pace of change is increasing rapidly.
Hoteliers are facing difficult choices – but they also have unprecedented opportunities. It’s possible, with the right tech stack, to deliver better service, and empower your staff.
Matt Talks Episode 103 on How to Run Your Hotel with Less Staff will give you more information and advice.
About Mews
Mews It is the platform of choice for the new hospitality era. Mews Hospitality Cloud powers more than 12,500 customers in 85 countries and is designed to streamline the operations of modern hoteliers. It transforms guest experience, creates more profitable businesses, and helps them improve their profitability. BWH Hotels customers include Strawberry, The Social Hub, Airelles Collection, and The Social Hub. Hotel Tech Report named Mews Best PMS (2020, 2025), and among the Best Places To Work in Hotel Tech (2021, 2022, 2042, 2024, 2055) by Hotel Tech Report. Mews has raised over $410 million in funding from investors, including Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives (Goldman Sachs Alternatives), Kinnevik, and Tiger Global.
