Service is not about stars

3 AM • December 6, 2025

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Shaded outdoor hotel entrance with people walking and a valet cart near potted plants

Can Independent Hotels Afford to Wait for AI?

By Paolo Campillo • November 11, 2026
Online travel agencies reshaped hotel distribution while the industry watched. Paolo Campillo asks whether independent hotels can afford to wait as AI travel agents emerge, and how owners could test them carefully.
An empty hotel lobby with low sun streaming through glass doors and long shadows across the floor.

The $2,000 Rule Was Never About the Money

By Paolo Campillo • November 9, 2026
Ritz-Carlton's famous $2,000 rule was never about the money. Paolo Campillo on trusting hotel associates to use their judgment, and the hidden cost of hesitation.
Sunlit arcade with arched openings and arch-shaped patches of light across the floor

Know Your Owner. Tell Them the Bad News First.

By Paolo Campillo • October 30, 2026
A hotel opened with hundreds of rooms on sale and many unfinished. Paolo Campillo on why owners should hear bad news first, and how lost trust was rebuilt.