20 mistakes we see in hospitality.
Twenty mistakes we see on hospitality AV and smart-room technology projects, from boutique 30-key properties to flag-grade properties. Use this as a checklist before you scope the next renovation or new build.
Treating the guest room as a residential project
Hospitality rooms are commercial assets that get used 350 nights a year by people who did not read a manual. The fixtures, the network, the platforms, and the support model are all different from residential. Specify accordingly.
No PMS integration plan
Property Management System integration with Opera, StayNTouch, Mews, or Cloudbeds is what makes auto check-in scenes, auto check-out drop-down, and clean billing possible. Skipping it leaves staff doing manual work the system should be doing.
Mixing AV-first and BMS-first platforms with no lane discipline
Crestron is excellent at AV and guest experience. Loxone is excellent as a BMS layer for HVAC, energy, lighting, shading, access, and security automation. Trying to make one platform do both at scale is how you blow the budget. Use the right tool in each lane.
Specifying a touch panel the housekeeper cannot use
If a housekeeper cannot reset a room in under ten seconds without calling engineering, the panel design failed. Hospitality UI has to be ruthless about simplicity. The user is busy.
Underestimating staff training
A great system with no training is a great system the staff works around. Plan formal training for housekeeping, front desk, and engineering. Plan refreshers. Plan a champion on each shift.
Choosing locks before talking to the integrator
VingCard, Saflok, Salto, dormakaba, and the others all have different integration paths to the room control system. Specifying the lock first and the controls second creates limits the operator never wanted.
Skipping occupancy automation
Real occupancy-based HVAC setback is 15 to 25 percent off the room HVAC line. Properties that skip it are leaving real money on the table every night. Specify presence detection from day one.
Designing the guest UX from the brand book, not the use
Brand standards matter. So does usability. A guest at midnight with a flight at six should be able to draw shades, dim lights, and set climate without reading anything. Test the UX with real guests.
Cabling for the brand of TV, not the next brand of TV
TV brands change. Pull a generic Pro:Idiom or LG / Samsung Pro signage path that survives the next refresh. Lock-in cabling is expensive lock-in.
No back-of-house dashboard
Engineering needs a single dashboard that shows every room’s state, every alarm, and every maintenance flag. If your platform does not produce one, the platform is wrong for hospitality.
Ignoring acoustics in meeting and ballroom AV
Ballrooms with bad acoustics make great AV systems sound bad. Specify acoustic treatment alongside the AV. Reserve budget for it. The room is the loudspeaker.
Picking the cheapest digital signage path
Lobby signage, way-finding, and meeting-room booking panels are part of the brand impression. A cheap CMS that fails Friday at 5 PM is not a deal.
No real backup or failover for the network
Guest Wi-Fi is a brand-defining service. Network failover, dual-WAN, and proper switching redundancy are part of the spec, not an upgrade.
Skipping the property-wide audio strategy
Lobby, restaurant, pool, ballroom, and corridor audio are different zones with different content needs. Treat them as one system with one source strategy. Sonos for Hospitality, BluOS, and Crestron Sonnex are all real options.
Treating the BMS as the mechanical contractor’s job
Building Management System scope on a hospitality property includes HVAC, energy metering, lighting, shading, access, fire alarm hand-off, and integration to the room control. That is an integrator’s job, not just a mechanical sub-out.
No guest-mode for short-term-stay properties
Properties with vacation-rental or extended-stay components need a per-unit guest-mode profile that automates vacancy, check-in, and check-out without staff intervention. Build it in.
Skipping the soft-launch
Opening a property without a 30-day soft launch is opening a property where the AV will fail in front of paying guests. Plan the soft launch. Use it.
Specifying gear without specifying spares
Hospitality gear breaks. Plan a 5 to 10 percent spares pool on site for displays, panels, drivers, and the platform brain. The cost of a spare is a fraction of the cost of a dark room.
No service contract, no on-site SLA
Hospitality runs 24/7. So does the support contract. Define after-hours response, parts SLA, and the escalation path before the doors open.
Picking an integrator who has never run a real property
Residential integrators do residential. Hospitality integrators do hospitality. Some shops can do both, most cannot. Ask for the property reference list before signing.
Want a second opinion before you sign?
We do paid project review and integrator vetting for owners, builders, GCs, and design firms. Twenty minutes on the phone first. We will tell you whether we are the right shop, and if not, who is.