Strategy Hospitality

A new guest experience and revenue model for 42 boutique hotels

Lumen Ridge priced 42 hotels with 42 spreadsheets and was trailing its competitors on RevPAR. We centralized revenue management, redesigned the guest stay and lifted RevPAR by 18%.

Client: Lumen Ridge Hotels Duration: 11 months Year: 2024
The challenge

Full hotels, thin returns.

Lumen Ridge Hotels grew to 42 properties in the US, Canada, Portugal, Spain and Italy through three acquisitions. Occupancy was healthy, but each general manager set prices alone and guest reviews were slipping.

  • 42properties priced in separate spreadsheets
  • −12%RevPAR versus the competitive set
  • 4.1★average guest rating, down from 4.5

Online travel agencies took a growing share of bookings, and with it up to 18% commission. Three brand standards from the acquisitions meant guests had very different stays under the same name.

The owners wanted one model that would raise revenue per room without turning boutique hotels into a chain.

Our solution

Start with the guest, then price it.

Two partners and a team of five worked across both continents, with a pilot cluster of six hotels in Florida and Portugal before the full rollout.

  1. 01

    Listen to guests

    We analyzed 11,000 reviews and interviewed 60 guests to find the five moments that drove ratings — and the three that drove complaints.

  2. 02

    Centralize revenue management

    A new team in Miami now sets prices for all 42 hotels with a dynamic pricing tool, while general managers keep control of local events.

  3. 03

    Redesign the stay

    Five signature guest moments, a single service standard and staff schedules matched to arrival peaks rolled out hotel by hotel.

The results

One full year later.

Portfolio results for the first full year after rollout, compared with the same hotels and the same competitive set.

+18 % RevPAR

Across the portfolio in the first full year.

4.6 ★ Guest rating

Average across the main review sites.

+9 pts Direct bookings

Share of revenue booked without online agencies.

$14 M EBITDA uplift

Annualized and confirmed by the group's auditors.

“We thought we had a pricing problem. Corwell showed us it was a guest problem first, then helped us fix both without losing what makes each hotel different. It is the best investment we've made.”
Michael Torres Managing Director, Lumen Ridge Hotels