Ted Horner: Navigating hotel tech ROI, AI, and the future of hotel profitability
Ted Horner argues hotels underinvest in technology due to weak vendor ROI cases, while OTA commissions squeeze owner margins and major brands increasingly resemble marketing companies.
Photo by Cloudbeds
In this episode of The Turndown, hospitality technology pioneer Ted Horner challenges the hotel industry’s outdated approach to technology and profitability. He argues that major hotel brands now operate more like marketing companies, while hotel owners struggle with razor-thin margins as OTAs take increasingly large commissions.
Ted also explains why the industry continues to underinvest in technology, pointing to weak ROI cases from vendors. Looking ahead, he predicts a more seamless, mobile-first guest experience that blends high-tech convenience with personalized service.
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About Cloudbeds
Cloudbeds is the hospitality management system built for ambitious hoteliers who demand more. The Cloudbeds platform unifies operations, distribution, guest experience, and revenue marketing, giving operators a breadth of tools to capture demand, grow direct bookings, optimize pricing, maximize upsell revenue, and act on real-time intelligence within a single system.
Designed to scale with independent hotels, large hotel groups, and multi-property portfolios, Cloudbeds is trusted by tens of thousands of properties in more than 150 countries. Founded in 2012, Cloudbeds is recognized as a top Hotel Management System, PMS, and Channel Manager — and Best Place to Work — by Hotel Tech Report for eight consecutive years.