Do you ever have the feeling that the hospitality business could be so much more than it is today? Are you ready for a little inspiration on what’s possible?
If so, you’ll love our guest today who is building an innovative new hotel brand that's rethinking everything when it comes to improving the lives of frontline workers and guests alike. Read on to learn more about this and be inspired by what's possible in hospitality today.
Building the Future of Hospitality: The Roomza Story
Curtis Crimmins, Founder and CEO, Roomza
Curtis Crimmins is the founder and CEO of Roomza, an innovative new brand that’s rethinking everything related to hotel operations and guest experience. Curtis invited me to stay at one of their properties recently, and I was really blown away by the level of personalization they offered and the end-to-end experience I had.
Free drinks and snacks at Roomza New York
You can listen to us here on the podcast, and I’ve summarized a few of my top takeaways below.
The proud son of a housekeeper
Curtis calls himself “the proud son of a housekeeper” in his bio, and speaking with him for just a few moments, it’s clear that his view of hospitality was deeply shaped by his mother and her ability to transform hotel rooms into welcoming spaces. Watching her, he learned the value of hard work and pride in serving others.
Going to those rooms and seeing how they started and seeing how she left them, I was so proud to be like, my mom did that!
The Roomza origin story
Curtis started Roomza with a vision to create a more inclusive and welcoming hospitality experience, driven by a sense of duty.
We had a moral responsibility to build a solution to problems we had ourselves. We're making safer, cleaner, better hotels.
Bringing the Roomza brand to life at a fraction of the cost with a “Hotel within a Hotel” concept
Roomza's innovative approach allows them to establish a presence in prime locations without the typical high costs.
We have a flag and a presence in Times Square and our overall investment in those rooms was around $7,500 per room.
Offering value as a way of driving direct bookings
Roomza focuses on providing transparent, value-driven experiences that appeal directly to guests, enhancing their likelihood to book directly in the future.
Guests will come and buy a room from us for $500 to not have to worry about the details.
Takeaway: Transparent pricing and increasing the value you offer through personalized amenities can drive guest loyalty and direct bookings.
“Personalization” shouldn’t be just a buzzword
For Curtis, true personalization is at the heart of hospitality.
"Personalization really just means that I care enough to ask. And then I care enough to be good on that promise.
Takeaway: Effective personalization requires proactive engagement with guests to understand and meet their individual needs.
Where guest segmentation goes wrong
Curtis believes in focusing on the individual guest rather than rigid market segments, understanding that people travel for various reasons and needs.
I don't think that [traditional guest segmentation] works anymore. What we're finding is the same Roomza guests that may be traveling through an agency on business will then come back and book direct on a personal stay.
Takeaway: Adopt a holistic view of guests, listening to their needs and preferences on every trip rather than confining them to traditional segments.
The power of a good interview question
Curtis values initiative and a guest-first mentality, seeking team members who prioritize guest satisfaction even if it means bending the rules.
The one question I ask everybody in an interview is, tell me a time that you broke the rules at work to help a guest.
Takeaway: Create a culture where your team feels empowered to prioritize guest needs over rigid adherence to rules.
Why everyone’s job title is “Host” at Roomza
Curtis believes in the power of language and uses the title "host" to convey dignity and respect for all team members.
If you tell someone that they are a host every day of their professional lives, they will believe and they will act like they are a host.
Takeaway: The language you use makes a big impact on your team’s morale and self-perception.
And that’s a wrap! This email was handmade for you—it took me 38 minutes to write this. If you found it helpful, I’d be very grateful if you could forward it to a friend or colleague who might also enjoy it.
Click here to forward this email.
(Or, if it’s your first time reading this, you can subscribe here.)
A few final things:
If you have any thoughts, ideas, questions, or suggestions for Hospitality Daily, please reply to this email. I’d love to hear from you.
If you’d like a private community where you can discuss things like this and ask other hotel operators and investors questions that you can’t just Google or ask ChatGPT, the Hospitality Daily Huddle might be a good fit.
If you have a product or service that would benefit the hospitality professionals who read, listen to, and watch Hospitality Daily, let’s work together to help you help more people.
Thank you for reading, and I’ll see you here tomorrow.
-Josiah
