Cris Davidson
VP Key Accounts at Vingcard
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Ensuring Seamless Hotel Business Growth With Best Practice Steps for Converting Recently Acquired Property Tech Stacks
2025-05-29
4 min read
Acquiring a new hotel property should be a positive occasion for hospitality brands and management companies that signals momentum, new opportunities and the success of their market expansion strategies. Yet an acquisition also often brings a substantial number of challenges when needing to ensure compatibility and uniformity with a brand’s existing technology ecosystem. More than simply plugging in new hardware or activating software licenses, businesses have a responsibility to protect brand standards and deliver a consistent guest experience that delivers on expectations and is seamless across every property within a portfolio.
By taking industry-proven approaches to tech stack integration and consolidation, businesses can avoid potential issues such as service disruptions or data fragmentation and can instead ensure a smooth transition process regardless of any property’s existing infrastructure.
Begin With a Comprehensive Technology Audit
The first step towards successfully converting an acquired property must be understanding what is already in place. Businesses should perform a thorough audit of both hardware and software, which will form the baseline for making informed decisions and any subsequent changes that need to take place. Performing an audit should include mapping out core systems such as the hotel’s current PMS, point-of-sale platform, access management and energy management solutions, as well as security surveillance and Wi-Fi network infrastructure. Other important operational and guest-facing technologies to consider include housekeeping, maintenance and guest request/task management systems, as well as in-room entertainment and smart device control interfaces (thermostats, lighting, etc.).
Audits should also always assess the age, licensing status, and integration capabilities of each solution to minimize running into unforeseen issues later. For example, a PMS that lacks open API functionality may significantly complicate integration with a brand’s cloud-based systems. A legacy access management system might not support mobile key services or be able to integrate with a centralized guest mobile app. Without performing the necessary research and analysis, technology plans are likely to encounter delays and increased costs.
Align With Onsite Stakeholders
While decisions on any tech stack conversion are typically made at the corporate level, successful implementation can only be achieved by engaging with the viewpoints of on-the-ground staff and ensuring their acceptance and adoption. IT team leads, a hotel’s general manager, and department heads must be looped in early as their unique insight can prove invaluable in flagging property-specific nuances and to ensure that any upgrades are operationally viable.
As the ones who will be utilizing the technology daily, onsite employees being brought into conversations early will also foster alignment with timelines, ensure effective training and will set realistic expectations on any downtime or workflow adjustments required.
Prioritize the Adoption of Cloud-Based & Scalable Platforms
While each property is unique, one universal rule is that cloud-based and open architecture systems are far easier to deploy and scale across multiple properties than legacy premise-based platforms. From the PMS to access control and energy management, these more flexible and robust alternatives offer centralized control, real-time updates, and easier integration with new tools or functionalities as technology improves or business goals change. This makes cloud-native solutions ideal for portfolios that are consistently adding new properties or changing flags.
Using an acquired hotel’s energy management system as an example, a business aiming to maintain efficiency standards can easily integrate IoT sensors when utilizing a brand standard cloud-based architecture. Businesses can remotely oversee and manage energy usage to ensure alignment with sustainability goals, while facilitating the ability make any further enhancement to energy management systems across a portfolio in a uniform manner that does not create unexpected complications. Industry businesses that take a cloud-based approach to systems adoption are credited with earning as much as 50 percent in savings.
Utilize an Interoperability Test for Tech Stack Components
When converting a property to a brand’s tech stack, the goal shouldn’t be to simply replace one system with another. Instead, hoteliers should aim for creating a technology ecosystem able to communicate effectively across platforms and departments as necessary. This is especially essential as rising guest expectations for faster and more personalized service translates into a need for operations to quickly connect the dots and identify any relevant patterns, something that can only be practically achieved by integrating various systems.
One example can center on converting a hotel’s check-in process to include mobile key services. This functionality can only be deployed if an access management system supports secure integration with the PMS and guest-facing mobile app infrastructure. Ensuring that deployed system leave open such possibilities can save hoteliers from substantial headaches and expenses when a new functionality is later desired.
Maintain a Plan for Phased Implementation When Feasible
While some hotel tech stack conversions may need to occur all at once, many are better served by focusing on a phased rollout strategy. Taking this approach minimizes operational disruptions while allowing staff and systems to adapt gradually.
This could involve adopting a segmented deployment process along the following lines:
Week one- Upgrade network infrastructure and Wi-Fi access points.
Week two- Install new access management system and begin staff training.
Week three- Begin transition to new PMS and begin data migration while keeping legacy system active until transition is complete and tested.
Week four- Finalize full transition to new PMS and integrate access and energy management systems.
By approaching the transition in digestible phases, management teams can troubleshoot in real-time and make any needed adjustments before scaling deployment across the property. This also ensures minimal potential frustration for employees while increasing their confidence and acceptance of new systems.
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