Build the hotel you want to run, not the one your tech allows

A dinosaur serving breakfast. A mermaid by the pool. Bounce houses in the atrium. At Cactus Cove Inn and Suites in Amarillo, Texas, family-friendly hospitality is anything but conventional. 

Behind the spectacle is a universal hotelier lesson, whether you’re running one independent property or managing a growing portfolio: the guest experience you want to create relies on having the right technology in place. 

That was a central theme in the latest episode of Matt Talks Hospitality, where Mews CEO, Matt Welle, spoke with Matt Marrs, owner and operator of Cactus Cove and part of Llano Real Estate Group. Marrs has grown a business spanning short-term rentals, hotels and RV parks. His approach combines an appetite for experimentation with a clear-eyed view of the technology needed to make it work. 

The upshot? Your tech stack shouldn't dictate your ambitions. It should help you realize them. 

Start with the experience you want to create 

In 2021, Matt Marrs’ team took over the Big Texan Motel and used self-check-in, integrations and a property management system (PMS) to quadruple its revenue. They then bought a rundown hotel, rebranded it and reopened it as Cactus Cove Inn and Suites. 

The ambition was to change the property's reputation, but the real opportunity emerged when Marrs recognized what it could offer families. 

Rather than trying to be another place to sleep, Cactus Cove became a destination in its own right. Alongside its pool, restaurant, arcade and indoor slides, the hotel introduced experiences designed to make children want to return – from fresh cookies at check-in to breakfast with Carl, a towering dinosaur. 

As Marrs put it: “If the kid is having fun and they're making memories and they know where they're going to stay, the parents are going to fall in love.” 

Differentiation doesn't always require a bigger marketing budget or luxury positioning. It requires understanding your guests and delivering something they can't get everywhere else. 

Make sure your technology can keep up 

Creative ideas are one thing. Delivering them consistently – while running a profitable business – is another. 

Marrs's growing portfolio exposed the limitations of a tech stack originally designed for short-term rentals. As the business moved into hotels, their requirements changed. Handling a group booking of 30 people, for example, was a very different proposition to managing an individual rental. 

For Marrs, the decision to migrate his portfolio to Mews came down to two main factors: cost and fit. He wanted a platform better suited to hotel operations and future growth, without paying more for less functionality. 

Connectivity was also a big factor. Every additional system can introduce another workflow, another login and another point where something can go wrong. Integrations still have an important role to play, but operators should understand where their systems connect and where those connections create friction. 

For example, revenue management previously sat in a separate system. With Mews RMS, rate recommendations could sit within the same platform as other core hotel operations, allowing it to access accurate reservation data in real time. 

Technology that works well for today's business can become a constraint as your operating model evolves. Whenever it’s time to evaluate your current technology (which should be regularly), don’t just ask about features. Tell potential new vendors what exactly you’d like to achieve and ask how their technology would help you get there. 

A connected tech stack won't create a distinctive guest experience on its own. It can, however, give teams more time and flexibility to deliver one. 

Minimize disruption for your PMS migration 

Switching systems is rarely an appealing prospect. There's data to move, teams to train and the risk of disrupting day-to-day operations. It's easy to stay with a familiar setup because it feels safer than starting again. 

That’s a trap that stifles your business. Marrs took a staggered onboarding approach with Mews, and said his teams were comfortable with the new system within five days of switching each property. 

To minimize disruption, plan a migration around operational realities, not just a preferred go-live date. Peak demand, finance cover, training and the complexity of each property all deserve consideration. 

Use technology to make hospitality more personal 

Automation and personal service aren't opposing ideas. Done well, technology can take routine tasks off a team's plate, leaving more room for meaningful interactions. 

Marrs described how his team looks for opportunities to surprise guests. For example, a family might mention that they're celebrating a birthday, prompting the hotel to arrange a gift, a signed card or a cookie in the room. 

His ambition is to make those moments easier to capture and act on, rather than relying on staff members to remember every detail. 

That's where connected guest information, messaging and automation can help. Routine questions, such as pool opening hours, can be answered automatically, while teams can focus their attention on requests that need a human response. Guest preferences can also help operators deliver more relevant experiences, provided the information is captured and used appropriately. 

The opportunity isn't to automate hospitality out of the hotel. It's to remove the friction that gets in its way. 

Be willing to experiment – and learn 

Marrs's final consideration is less about software and more about mindset. His team has hosted a micro-wrestling event in the hotel's atrium, which became its most attended event to date. It also tried hosting a pool rave but discovered it wasn't right for a family-focused property. 

Although the success of each experience varied greatly, they each provided valuable evidence of what worked and what didn't. 

For operators, the challenge is to create a business that can evolve without losing sight of its identity. That means being prepared to test ideas, learn from the results, and make changes when the evidence points elsewhere. 

Technology is part of that equation. Before investing in another system or committing to the familiar option, ask whether your current setup supports your strategy, whether it can adapt as the business grows and whether it helps your team deliver the experience you want guests to remember. 

The best tech stack isn't necessarily the one with the most features. It's the one that makes your vision operationally possible – and gives you room to keep improving it. 

To watch the full conversation, check out the episode of the Matt Talks Hospitality podcast. 

Watch the episode