Choosing the right technology is no longer an IT exercise. For hotels, technology decisions directly affect revenue, operations, guest experience, and the ability to scale. A PMS, RMS, Channel Manager, CRS, CRM, BI tools, and integrations form the backbone of how a hotel operates every single day.
Yet many hotels underestimate how the investigation process itself influences the outcome.
A Tech Stack Investigation should help hotels find the best-fit technology. In reality, too many investigations are shaped by hidden commercial incentives rather than by the hotel’s actual needs.
This blog explains why independence matters — and how hotels can protect themselves when making one of their most important strategic decisions.
The hospitality technology landscape has exploded. There are more systems, more integrations, and more overlapping functionalities than ever before. At the same time, hotels are under pressure to:
Because of this, hotels often rely on external consultants to guide them through a Tech Stack Investigation. That is sensible. But it also introduces a critical risk: conflicts of interest.
Finder’s fees, commission models, and “preferred partner” agreements are common in hospitality tech consulting. They are not always visible, but they can significantly influence recommendations.
In this article, you will learn:
There is no such thing as “the best system” in hospitality.
What works perfectly for one hotel can be completely wrong for another. A resort, a boutique hotel, and a city conference property all have different operational realities, commercial strategies, and team structures.
A proper Tech Stack Investigation starts with:
Only after this analysis should systems be compared.
When the process starts with a predefined shortlist of “preferred” systems, objectivity is already compromised.
Finder’s fees and preferred partnerships do not automatically mean bad advice. But they do create structural bias.
If a consultancy earns more when you choose System A instead of System B, the incentive is no longer fully aligned with the hotel’s best interest.
In practice, this often leads to:
The hotel pays the price later — through inefficiency, frustration, and sometimes costly system changes within a few years.
An independent Tech Stack Investigation is defined by one key principle: the consultancy is paid only by the hotel.
This enables:
Independence shifts the focus from selling technology to designing a sustainable ecosystem that actually works in daily operations.
Hotels should ask direct and transparent questions before starting a Tech Stack Investigation:
These questions are not confrontational. They are professional. And the answers tell you everything you need to know.
A Tech Stack Investigation:
The cost of biased advice is rarely visible on day one — but it becomes painfully clear over time.
If your hotel is planning a Tech Stack Investigation, or questioning whether your current setup still supports your strategy, independence should be non-negotiable.
Make sure your decisions are driven by:
Not by hidden incentives.
If you want to discuss how to structure an independent, hotel-first Tech Stack Investigation, we are happy to start with a conversation, no software sales attached.
Because technology should serve your hotel, not someone else’s business model.
