From the archives* Rogier Braakman from Net OS and Mr. Green Offices joins Matt to talk occupancy, why offices have tolerated emptiness for decades, and what happens when you apply hotel logic to desks, pricing and space. Along the way, Rogier dives into what technology should handle, where people still matter, why hotel room desks are often a mistake, and how underused meeting rooms could become a serious revenue stream if hoteliers rethink how work actually happens today. *Note that this episode was originally released in March 2025.

From the archives* Matt sits down with Alexander Edström, founder of Atomize RMS, a Mews Company, to dive into the world of revenue optimization. They explore how revenue management software can help hotels of all sizes, the state of RMS adoption in hospitality and the undeniable revenue uplift these systems provide. Note that this episode was originally released in February 2025.

For this end-of-year special, Matt is joined by Mews founder Richard Valtr. Except this time around, they both ask each other questions. What was the first app they opened this morning? What advice have they ignored? What decision looked smart at the time but almost broke the company? From there, they talk about the drivers behind great hotels, the core of hospitality and the 13 years of working together to shape Mews into what it is today.

How do you build a revenue strategy for a hotel that melts away every spring? When the temperatures fall in Finland, Maria Mänty, Sales Director at Snowhotel Family, and her team shape memorable stays out of snow, freezing nights and the glow of the Northern Lights. They build extraordinary ice rooms, set up ice sculpture workshops and even snow saunas. Maria joins Matt to talk about what it takes to keep their Arctic SnowHotel & Glass Igloos thriving when what you sell only exists for a few months of the year.

Armen Melkonian was forced to flee war-torn Syria and then Lebanon, until he rebuilt his life from scratch in the Netherlands through UNHCR’s resettlement programme. He opens up about finding safety as a member of the LGBTIQ+ community, the challenges of acclimatizing to a foreign culture and how his experiences shaped a deeply personal approach to service. To Armen, hospitality starts with something small –⁠ a greeting, a moment of acknowledgment, the thing that tells someone they’re no longer invisible.

A five-star hotel and a Michelin-starred restaurant that welcome dogs? There’s a big difference between a hotel that embraces pets and one that simply tolerates them. Dean Culpan, General Manager of South Place Hotel in London, has built a dog-friendly approach that even drives more revenue: fuller weekends, higher on-property spend and loyal guests who return because their pets are treated well. He joins Matt to talk about rising demand for pet-friendly stays and how his team delivers a luxury experience for both guests and their fluffy companions.

When Luka Berger landed a summer job as a housekeeper at Yellowstone National Park, he didn’t expect it to inspire his whole career trajectory. But seeing staff juggle walkie-talkies and race between rooms to remain on top of housekeeping tasks ultimately sparked the idea behind Flexkeeping. In this episode, Luka shares how Flexkeeping, now part of Mews, uses AI to automate time-consuming housekeeping tasks and break down language barriers.

AI in hospitality so far meant chatbots and big promises, while hotel teams still worked using manual checklists and post-it notes. Matt talks about the rise of AI agents and how the next wave will move fast for hotels built on the right tech stack. He explains why Mews acquired DataChat and how its technology brings a new kind of intelligence into hotel operations, one that listens, learns and acts.

When Maurits Bots stepped into the Hotel ICT Specialist role at WestCord Hotels, some properties still ran on legacy systems. Others used Mews like the old PMS. He didn’t set out to replace tools, but rather to rebuild how the work gets done. “The fact that somebody has to check every reservation – that time has passed”, Maurits says, as he joins Matt to talk about what it takes to automate the everyday without slowing anyone down.

Staff turnover in hotels is up to 70-80%, as Matthew Parker, Senior Manager of Talent Acquisition at Mews, points out. Between that and outdated recruitment and retention methods, many hotels are stuck in a loop of constant rehiring. Matthew joins Matt to discuss what it takes to attract and hire the best people in hospitality. They talk about the most effective recruitment channels, using AI in hiring and focusing on trial shifts over case studies.

When AMANO Group asked independent turnaround consultant Mirco Weber to review their hotel accounting processes, it didn’t take long to see the problem ran deeper. He found that the entire tech stack needed rebuilding, including the PMS. That shift triggered both a systems and a concept change, as AMANO rolled out Mews and rethought how guests are welcomed, including removing the reception desk at some of their hotels. Matt sits down with Mirco to hear how they pulled it off.

We’re celebrating. Matt Talks Hospitality turns one and hands over the mic to Ella McCann-Tomlin, VP of ESG at Mews. On this 50th episode special, Matt is the guest. He shares how the podcast began as a creative spark during a rough patch, how it turned into a weekly ritual, and what he learned from fifty weeks of honest conversations with hoteliers and industry leaders. Along the way, Ella gets Matt’s podcasting tips and tricks as she gears up to launch her own show, The Future is Human.

No Wi-Fi, a cold shower and a power outage topped with a frog jumping in his face. That’s what greeted Jason Noronha in a budget guesthouse in Goa and inspired him to open his own hostel. Years later, frustrated by disconnected hotel systems, Jason created D3x, a platform powered by AI agents that route guest messages from any channel straight to the right hotel system. Today, Jason joins Matt to share how it all works.

Hostels face younger, tech-savvy guests who want speed. Diogo Vaz Ferreira shows how their rapid innovation points to hospitality’s future.

Hospitality is at its best when everything just works. That’s the idea behind the very first Mews Summer Release, aptly named Smooth Operations. It's a bundle of new Mews features intended to make hotel operations (and stays) smoother. Think guest ID & selfie collection, wallet-based room keys, guest lifetime value insights and automatic payment routing, among others. Adam Britton, Product Director at Mews, joins Matt to talk it all through.

What happens when you hire for personality? That’s how Staypineapple built a culture where staff aren’t afraid to be themselves at the front desk, where genuine interactions win over guests and where hospitality feels authentic, not scripted. The hotel group’s president Dina Belon explains how that same culture kept the staff resilient when Staypineapple overhauled most of its tech stack – PMS, POS, CRM, housekeeping and guest communication tools. Learn more about the podcast here: http...

Michael Coscetta, President of Mews, knows how to build and scale global business teams in high-growth industries. He also spends about half of every year staying in hotels, which makes him an expert on loyalty programs from the guest perspective. In this episode, Michael joins Matt to talk points: are they still relevant, and do they have anything to do with loyalty? Learn more about the podcast here: https://hubs.ly/Q0350wrf0 #hoteltech #hospitalitypodcast #mews #hotelmanagementsystem #pms ...

Charlie Delamare knows hotel operations inside out. Before joining Mews, he was a hotelier himself, dealing with the same manual tasks every hospitality team faces. In this episode, Charlie and Matt discuss how AI tools like ChatGPT are already lightening the load for hotel teams. Think scheduling staff rotas without the spreadsheet pain, replying to reviews and guest emails in any language or staff onboarding that’s quick and interactive. Learn more about the podcast here: https://hubs.ly/Q0...

It’s mid-afternoon and the reception line is growing. Guests are restless, and staff are heads down just trying to keep up. Sound familiar? In this episode, Matt uncovers why lines really build up—and how smart tech keeps arrivals and departures flowing without overloading the front desk.Learn more about the podcast here: https://hubs.ly/Q0350wrf0 #hoteltech #hospitalitypodcast #mews #hotelmanagementsystem #pms #hotelrevenue 0:00 Introduction 0:46 Identifying check-in spikes  ...

Rebecca Lane knows every inch of Paradise Resort. Having first served breakfast, 15 years later, she’s now running revenue across the entire property. Rebecca’s seen the resort transform from outdated systems and long check-in lines to one of the best rated family resorts in Australia. In this episode, she tells Matt how better tech and a shift in focus helped the team stop chasing room revenue and look at the full picture, leading to more efficiency and revenue. Learn more about the podcast ...