Revenue is cute, but margins are magnificent. That was the guiding mantra behind the “Show Me the Margins” panel at The Hospitality Show, held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver this week. The panel, led by Scott Strickland, chief commercial officer at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, dove into the mechanics of profitability, shifting the conversation from top-line rates to bottom-line performance.
Finding profit hiding in plain sight was possible, panelists noted, through multiple strategies, most of which involved technology, space optimization and labor management. For panelist Frank Pitsikalis, senior vice president of product strategy for hotels at Agilysys, going beyond RevPAR meant reframing how the industry defines profit.
“I think we need to think about revenue per guest,” he said. “There's so many pockets of revenue within hotels that we spend so much time and tech and money on revenue-managing our room rates, but we don't think about our spa, our golf, our dining, our activities, cabanas – all these areas that we should be revenue-managing, ensuring we're selling the right service to the right guest, at the right price, at the right time.”
Revenue Beyond the Room
Panelist Jackie DeChamps, COO and chief human resources officer at Towne Park, knows non-room revenue is an issue that can no longer be overlooked. That’s because she also knows that 32 percent of the revenue generated in a hotel comes from non-room sources.
Take parking, for one.
“Revenue is absolutely in those places like parking,” she said.
DeChamps clarified that the way to unlock more profit isn’t by hiking parking rates. Rather, it’s through the use of dynamic pricing to achieve optimal revenue. Towne Park is doing exactly that, leveraging technology and AI to analyze demand patterns and adjust pricing accordingly.
“Why shouldn't you get the most out of your parking asset?” she asked. “When Taylor Swift is in town, you should… It isn't about charging more; it's about charging the right amount at the time that you need to, for the guests that are in the hotel at that moment.”
That shift from static to demand-based pricing not only boosts parking profits, but reframes how hoteliers think about the per-square-foot value of their properties. Pitsikalis believed this mindset should extend across all guest touchpoints.
“It’s about maximizing utilization, maximizing revenue and profit and adjusting for margin at peak demand,” he added.
Panelist Ethan Wiseman, head of distribution and product management at Hospitality Solutions, agreed that hotels often fail to fully leverage what they’ve already built.
“I think it's crazy that hoteliers spend a whole bunch of money on their cap ex around building phenomenal facilities, and then under-leverage those facilities,” he said.
Instead, Wiseman believed every on-site asset should be productized. That way, it can be quantified, marketed, monetized.
“If I were to make my gym into a SKU that someone could book or utilize, I can then start to understand what is my true cost and my margin for that SKU,” he explained. “I can then entice people – because I have a leading gym in the area relative to my competitors – to actually get other guests who are not staying at my hotel to come and consume that gym. Right then, I can reinvest it to maintain my market superiority.”
By treating every offering as a sellable, trackable product – think gyms, parking, spa packages, EV charging, etc. – hoteliers can uncover added income streams without adding manpower or capital investment.
“Your ability to productize your entire property – all of your assets, all of your services – allows you to drive out that margin,” Wiseman added.
AI Meets ROI
Embracing revenue beyond the room may reveal where hotels can find profit, but artificial intelligence is defining how they capture it. Panelists noted AI and automation are becoming the missing links between space, labor and guest experience. When the chain is complete, profit improvements can be tracked, replicated and, most importantly, sustained across properties or departments.
DeChamps noted that integrating AI and automation isn’t about cutting people out of the equation. It’s about optimizing efficiencies so human employees can better use their human touch.
“When you're thinking about margin, it is not about cutting labor,” she explained. “At Towne Park, we pride ourselves on creating smiles and exceptional experiences, and that really comes from having the right labor at the right place at the right time.”
Towne Park uses AI to support that philosophy, not replace it. Recruiting engines now screen thousands of applicants, slot interviews directly onto managers’ calendars and streamline onboarding across multiple markets.
“We see 8,000 candidates a month and successfully hire 800,” she continued. “We can open a location in 45 days with quality associates by leveraging AI to shorten the hiring process.”
Once hired, those same systems help create smarter schedules, balance staffing needs, and even allow team members to trade shifts or access pay on demand. The result is efficiency and satisfaction.
Pitsikalis is also a fan of AI, though his biggest appreciation comes from its ability to quietly handle operational noise.
“We’re seeing a tsunami of opportunities to leverage AI, not to replace staff, but to make them better hosts and free them up from those menial tasks,” he said. “In a year or two, you won’t be calling room service. It’ll be AI answering the phone and taking your order.”
That kind of automation, Pitsikalis explained, is most effective when it enhances rather than overshadows service. From dynamic pricing to scheduling and conversational ordering, each innovation strives to simplify the back end so employees can focus on the front end – aka the moments that define the hospitality experience.
With all its upside, panelists cautioned that AI is only as strong as the strategy behind it. Implementation requires not just investment but attention in the forms of training staff, integrating systems and understanding where automation fits into the broader brand experience. If it’s not integrated seamlessly, tech can turn from a profit driver to another expense.
Still, the consensus is optimistic. The proof that AI and automation can be more powerful than any single hotel solution is there for many. By identifying, quantifying and monetizing every asset a property already owns, hoteliers can uncover new revenue while improving performance.
“The intersection of the experience and the price is what matters,” DeChamps said. “When the experience matches the price that you are charging for any amenity, it is the thing that will drive guest satisfaction.”