The Hotel Business

Episode Description Many hotels can get attention. The harder question is whether that attention turns into trust. In this episode of The Hotel Business, Ludan starts with a Thailand travel purchase: viral “must-buy” products that did not deliver enough value to create repeat purchase. From there, the episode moves into hotel marketing, repeat guests, and word of mouth. The core idea is simple: ma...

Episode Description When hotel assets are being repriced, a strong brand can become a pricing tool. In this episode, Ludan looks at Aman Residences and why this model matters beyond luxury real estate. As some property and hotel assets face pressure, Aman shows a different logic: using service, privacy, scarcity, and long-term management to help residences command a premium. The episode explains w...

Episode Description Many hotels see weaker business and immediately blame the property next door. But the guest may not have booked another hotel at all. In this episode of The Hotel Business, Ludan starts with 7-Eleven’s store closures in North America and uses it as a warning for hotels: when an old advantage gets split apart by new formats, customer spending can move somewhere else. We look at...

Episode Description Peak season used to feel like a safety net. But for many hotels, that assumption is becoming dangerous. In this episode of The Hotel Business, Ludan starts with a real Labour Day observation from Phuket: a Patong hotel that reported around 60% occupancy during a period many operators would expect to sell strongly. The episode looks at why this is not just a Phuket story. Flight...

A full hotel does not always mean full revenue. In this episode of The Hotel Business, I share a real holiday stay at an island resort in Indonesia during Chinese New Year. The hotel was almost full, the lobby was busy, and families were everywhere. But inside the guest journey, several revenue opportunities were quietly missed. We talk about why free room upgrades can weaken room-type value, why...

Your hotel may not be competing where you think it is. In this episode of The Hotel Business , Ludan shares a real competitor analysis where a hotel saw itself as a stylish five-star lifestyle property — but OTA business-loss data suggested guests were comparing it with four-star alternatives. This episode looks at why internal positioning can mislead pricing , how OTA data reveals the hotels gues...

【Episode Description】 Your guest is eating — just not with you. In this episode of The Hotel Business , Ludan looks at why city hotel F&B revenue often depends less on menu pricing and more on how many spend moments the hotel captures during one stay . Many hotels focus on average check, discounts, or another set menu. But the bigger issue is often the guest journey. Does breakfast lead to c...