Ted Horner: Navigating hotel tech ROI, AI, and the future of hotel profitability

Simone Puorto: The hotel industry does not need more software

Hospitality futurist Simone Puorto [https://www.linkedin.com/in/puortosimone/] joins The Turndown to challenge the hotel industry’s obsession with buying more technology. He argues that hotels do not need another layer of software, but fewer disconnected systems, better data, and a clearer understanding of where technology genuinely improves the guest and employee experience. The conversation explores key subtopics, including: * AI and its real impact on hospitality * Hotel tech overload and system fragmentation * The future of search and booking * Why some properties may benefit from simplifying their tech stack   Follow Simone Puorto: * Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/puortosimone/] * Hospitalitynet [https://www.hospitalitynet.org/author/148003843/simone-puorto] * Sign up for Simone's newsletter [https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/hotel-distribution-2050-6925497214521733120/] * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@thedigitalbodhisattva]   Related reading: * AI hotel management software: Why connected data matters more than features [https://www.cloudbeds.com/hotel-management-software-guide/ai/] * PMS integrations: What they mean for hotels in 2026 [https://www.cloudbeds.com/articles/pms-integrations/] * Guest profiles: The foundation of personalized experiences [https://www.cloudbeds.com/articles/guest-profiles/]

Ally Northfiled: Staying commercially relevant in the age of unreliable signals

In this episode of The Turndown, Ally Northfield, Managing Director of Revenue by Design and creator of the Global Revenue Forum, joins Sebastien to unpack what it really means for hotels to stay commercially relevant when the old signals are becoming harder to trust. The conversation moves beyond rate changes, dashboards, and distribution strategy to explore the bigger shifts reshaping hotel performance: uncertain booking patterns, shorter lead times, rising operating costs, changing guest behavior, AI-powered travel search, and the evolving role of OTAs. Ally argues that the next generation of revenue leadership will need to be more strategic, more communicative, and far closer to the guest than ever before. Together, they discuss why RevPAR may no longer be enough, why the cost of acquisition deserves more attention, how AI is changing the way guests discover hotels, and why commercial teams need to break down the silos between revenue, sales, marketing, distribution, and reservations. They also explore what hotels must do to attract the next generation of talent, and why hospitality needs to rethink how it presents itself as an industry. This is a timely conversation about commercial leadership, guest relevance, and the uncomfortable reality that hotels can no longer rely on yesterday’s patterns to make tomorrow’s decisions.   Related resources: * What is hotel revenue management? The ultimate guide [https://www.cloudbeds.com/revenue-management/] * The new rules of hotel revenue management: 6 strategies to stay ahead in 2026 [https://www.cloudbeds.com/revenue-management/strategies/] * What’s next for the hospitality workforce: Experts weigh in [https://www.cloudbeds.com/articles/hospitality-workforce/]

Marie Pier Germain: Growing Canada’s most distinctive hotel brand without losing its soul

In this episode of The Turndown, Marie Pier Germain opens up about leading one of Canada’s most distinctive hotel brands through growth, succession, and change. She reflects on what it means to expand Germain Hotels without losing the family values, personality, and guest-first philosophy that shaped the company from the beginning. The conversation explores leadership, legacy, brand independence, design, and why hospitality still needs to feel deeply human.

Ted Horner: Navigating hotel tech ROI, AI, and the future of hotel profitability

In this episode, hospitality technology pioneer Ted Horner joins the podcast to challenge the status quo of the hotel industry. He argues that major hotel brands have essentially become marketing companies and warns that the sector is severely underinvesting in technology, allocating only 3% to 4% of revenue because vendors consistently fail to build strong ROI cases for owners. Horner also dives into the profitability crisis facing hotel owners, who are operating on tight 5% margins while massive Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) capture 15% to 20% in commissions. Looking toward the future, Horner shares his bold predictions on how the guest experience must evolve to perfectly balance high-tech efficiency with high-touch personal service. He forecasts the gradual elimination of the traditional reception desk, in-room landlines, and plastic key cards in favor of seamless, mobile-first solutions. Furthermore, he explores the impending artificial intelligence revolution—from commercial robots stepping in to alleviate the hospitality labor shortage to the rise of personal AI booking agents that could finally help hotels win back their direct bookings.   Related reading and resources: Ted's Technology Summit  [https://tedsconference.com.au/] Hotel Management Software Buyer's Guide 2026 [https://www.cloudbeds.com/hotel-management-software-guide/] The guide to hotel contactless check-in [https://www.cloudbeds.com/articles/contactless-check-in/]

Charlie Lopez-Quintana: Laid-back luxury and the fight to keep hospitality human

A 15-year veteran of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Charlie Lopez-Quintana [https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-lopez-quintana-a9b77320/] is now rewriting the rules of luxury hospitality at ETC Hotels [https://www.edwardthomasco.com/], home to Shutters on the Beach and Hotel Casa del Mar. In this episode of The Turndown, Charlie shares why the future of luxury isn’t about scripts, stiff formality, or hiding behind a front desk. It’s about laid-back luxury — a more human, intuitive approach where leaders roll up their sleeves, teams are empowered to create unscripted moments, and technology supports hospitality without replacing its soul.   Resources: A guide to improving the hotel guest experience [https://www.cloudbeds.com/hotel-guest/] Guest profiles: The foundation of personalized experiences [https://www.cloudbeds.com/articles/guest-profiles/] Enough one-night stands: A guest marketing playbook for driving repeat revenue [https://www.cloudbeds.com/ebooks/guest-marketing/]   ----more---- About Cloudbeds Cloudbeds is the hospitality management system [https://www.cloudbeds.com/] built for ambitious hoteliers who demand more. The Cloudbeds platform unifies operations, distribution, guest experience, and revenue marketing, giving operators a breadth of tools to capture demand, grow direct bookings, optimize pricing, maximize upsell revenue, and act on real-time intelligence within a single system. Designed to scale with independent hotels, large hotel groups, and multi-property portfolios, Cloudbeds is trusted by tens of thousands of properties in more than 150 countries. Founded in 2012, Cloudbeds is recognized as a top Hotel Management System, PMS, and Channel Manager — and Best Place to Work — by Hotel Tech Report for eight consecutive years.