Matt Talks Hospitality: Real conversations for innovative hoteliers

The best guest experiences don’t come from SOPs. Hotels invest in training programs, but the moments guests talk about long after checkout are rarely the ones anyone planned for. Miru Schuurman, Guest Performance & Product Quality Manager at Amrâth Hotels, shares how too much structure can create staff that sticks to scripts instead of reading rooms, and what that can cost you on OTA ratings.

Is it time we thought about the PMS as profit, not property management? Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) represents nearly 20,000 hotel owners who operate 60% of all hotels in the US. Mews has recently become AAHOA’s official PMS. The association’s Chairman, Kamalesh (KP) Patel, joins Matt to talk about the partnership’s impact, along with why technology is now a profit decision, especially if you’re an independent hotelier.

What makes your guests return? And why do some stays become stories people keep telling instead of just rating? Guido Lips has the answers to this. He is the Co-founder and Head of Guest Experience and Culture at The July, a group of unique aparthotels that blend hotel service with the feeling of living in a neighborhood. Guido joins Matt to talk aparthotels, mindful check-ins and what it takes to make guests feel like they belong.

This hotel doesn’t have a lobby, but it also doesn’t need one. Scattered around Amsterdam's canals, 28 abandoned bridge keeper houses have been transformed into SWEETS hotel, a collection of standalone suites. Suzanne Oxenaar, SWEETS' Curator and Artistic Director, shares how the hotel came to life and how technology helps manage rooms when they’re spread across the entire city.

De L’Europe Amsterdam recently became the first hotel in the Netherlands to earn a record three MICHELIN Keys. Open since 1896, De L’Europe Amsterdam carries a long history. What makes it stand out? And what comes with running the landmark everyone measures themselves against? De L’Europe’s Managing Director Robert-Jan Woltering talks heritage, luxury and the kind of hospitality that keeps a hotel at the top.