Well, there’s this funny moment a lot of new hotel owners have, usually right after the excitement settles, because they made sure this good property investment didn’t slip through their fingers. Like, where everything finally shifts from “wow, this is mine” to “okay, this is a lot”. And yeah, it is a lot, and all those reality TV shows, those YouTubers, and other content creators who have romanticized the idea of owning a hotel really skip this part. 

And it’s never the stuff that gets talked about in listing descriptions or glossy development decks (and you better believe content creators owning hotels don’t talk about it either). It’s just things that are entirely underestimated, that you might not realize if this is literally your first time owning a hotel or even working in this industry entirely. 

Maintenance is Never as Simple as it Sounds

Yeah, sure, it’s easy to picture maintenance as a tidy little checklist, but the reality looks more like a never-ending parade of repairs that all happen at the exact same time. It kind of sounds like something from one of those bad 2000s comedy movies, right? 

Well, it’s still the reality here. For example, a pipe that “acts up”, the elevator starts making a noise, a hallway light flickers for no reason (like in The Shining movie), and obviously, this list could go on forever. And because guests notice everything, every tiny fix starts feeling urgent. But of course, guests will notice, and it will be in their Google review too. Just check some local competitors, you’ll see the complaints. 

Now, obviously, negative hotels will make people stay somewhere else, and hotels are competing with other hotels, bed and breakfasts, Airbnbs, and technically, you’re competing with friends and family potential guests can stay at for free as well. Yeah, a lot of competition here, and you can’t afford to fail, and a lot of businesses will look into hotel consulting since a professional can help map out the costs and where room for improvement is.

Renovations Can Snowball 

Sure, renovations sound exciting at first, but once the walls open up, surprises start tumbling out. For example, there might be some hidden damage, outdated wiring, plumbing that looks older than anyone expected, and sometimes, there’s even structural quirks where you need a specialist. But yeah, if something can go bad, usually it just will. 

Staffing Costs Feel Predictable 

But how? Why? Well, hiring a team sounds easy in theory, but only in theory here. But then the real work starts. But what? Well, you need to keep in mind that training takes time, turnover happens pretty often,  scheduling becomes a game of trying to solve a puzzle with missing pieces, well, wages need to be kept in mind too. People are at the heart of the hotel, but a lot of hotel owners seem to forget that.