SharePublished: March 20, 2026
Optimizing the Hotel Tech Stack: When to Maximize What You Have, How to Avoid Complacency, and When to Know It’s Time to Invest in Something New
Sofya McIntosh, SVP Sales & Customer Success, ComOps*, Sales Advisory Board Member
This piece is taken from a recent discussion with HSMAI’s Sales Advisory Board, where the conversation was anything but shy. Budgets are tight, expectations do not match the budget, and the tech stack is suddenly the star of the show whether anyone asked for that or not.
Hotels are under pressure to optimize spend and rethink outdated tools, and the group dug into a very real tension: the line between optimizing what already exists and admitting it’s time to bring something new to the table.
A favorite moment from the discussion:
“I used AI to evaluate our entire tech stack, and suddenly I sounded like a genius walking into those vendor meetings.”
Stop Treating Technology Like a Set-It-and-Forget-It Expense
One of the recurring themes was complacency. Many systems sit at 20% utilization while teams renew them out of habit. Not only does this hide revenue losses, it creates overlaps that drain budgets. Several leaders shared that once they audited their tools—some with AI’s help—they found multiple products doing the same thing, often without anyone realizing it.
The takeaway: underused tools aren’t a sign to rip everything out. They are a signal to ask harder questions:
- Do teams even know how to use the features we’re paying for?
- Has the vendor been proactive about training and business reviews?
- Has the platform evolved since it was purchased?
Budgeting Forces Clarity—If You Start Early
Budget season is when most people finally look at their tech stack, but waiting until then leads to rushed decisions. Leaders who start their evaluation months earlier have more leverage, more options, and fewer surprises. Zero‑based budgeting help to cut through the noise; if a tool can’t justify itself, it shouldn’t make the list.
Monitor usage to determine whether tools have real field value. Low usage doesn’t automatically mean a product should be cut—it often points to missing training or onboarding issues. But seeing the data encourages better accountability and cleaner decision‑making.
Look for the Tools That Actually Drive Performance
The discussion group aligned quickly on one thing: tie technology decisions to measurable outcomes. If a tool doesn’t influence sales performance, conversion, guest loyalty, or efficiency, it’s hard to call it an investment.
Examples discussed included:
- Lead‑response tracking
- Proactive sales activity tracing
- Prospecting intelligence
- Communication quality and engagement
- Workflow efficiencies created by AI
Some leaders use AI to evaluate seller activity across platforms and identify who is getting the best engagement—and why. Those insights feed into performance reviews and training priorities.
Yes, AI Is Already Changing the Tech Stack
AI came up repeatedly, and not just as a shiny object. Some teams are using it to evaluate vendors, prep for calls, or analyze seller behavior. Others noted that AI only works if foundational systems are healthy: clean data, strong integrations, and consolidated platforms are essential. As one person put it, AI can’t fix chaos.
The broader industry isn’t quite aligned yet. A conference takeaway: everyone is experimenting, and no one is fully settled. Some hotels are using AI for hiring, others for content distribution, and some for security. But the consensus was clear—AI should be used to solve a real business problem, not simply because it exists.
Prospecting Still Starts With Relationships
Amid all the tech talk, the group came back to something old‑school: relationships still matter. The best wins often come from existing customers and authentic touchpoints. Cold outreach from unknown vendors—especially generic AI‑written blasts—was universally dismissed. Personalization still wins.
Recommended Reading
Hotels Risk a Tech Trap: Fixing the Basics Unlocks Revenue
Questions for Teams
- Are we fully leveraging the tools we already pay for?
- Where are we getting complacent, and how is that impacting revenue?
- What overlaps exist in our current tech stack?
- What percentage of usage should we expect—and why aren’t we there now?
- Which platforms directly influence revenue, conversion, or guest loyalty?
- When was the last time we held a true business review with each partner?
- Is our data clean enough for AI to be effective?
*This article reflects the collective views of the individual HSMAI Advisory Board members, and not the views of the author alone or ComOps.