Something has been playing on my mind lately.
It feels to me that the hospitality industry has fractured. It is no longer one industry with shared values and a common understanding of what it means to welcome people. It has split into three very different worlds, and if you are running a boutique B&B, guesthouse or small hotel, you are probably feeling squeezed from both sides.
Let me tell you what I am seeing.
The Three Camps
The first camp is the big hotel chains. Volume is everything. Heads in beds. They will sell rooms at almost any rate just to fill them, and the guest experience suffers for it.
You have probably heard horror stories. Guests arrive to find their room has been sold twice. Overbooking is not a mistake at these places; it is a strategy. And when it goes wrong, what happens? The guest gets shuffled somewhere else or told to wait. No real apology, no relationship, no care.
These big operators rely heavily on OTAs and paid advertising. They have the budgets to play that game. But here is the thing: they have completely commoditised hospitality. A room is just a unit of inventory to them. The guest is a transaction.
The second camp is the casual Airbnb host. This is the mum who rents out a spare room because Johnny has gone off to university. Or the person who has bought a second property to “rent to renters” and make a bit of side income.
I want to be clear. Airbnb has done something quite clever. It has given almost anyone the chance to earn extra money from a spare space. That is a genuine opportunity for people who want it. But these hosts are not hospitality professionals. They are not running businesses. They are not investing in the guest experience beyond clean sheets and a keycode.
And that is fine for them. But it is not what you do.
The third camp is where you belong. Professional, independent hoteliers. Boutique places. Real hospitality. People who genuinely care about the experience they create, who know their local area, who want guests to leave feeling something more than “that was convenient.”
This is the camp that has been squeezed.
The Lost Core
Here is what has happened. You have watched the industry shift around you. You have seen the big hotels racing to the bottom on price and the Airbnbs popping up on every street corner. And somewhere along the way, many boutique owners have started drifting towards one extreme or the other.
Some have stripped back personality and service, trying to compete on price like the chains. They have started using dynamic pricing, dropping rates at the last minute, doing whatever it takes to fill rooms. They have turned their beautiful, characterful places into something that feels a bit more anonymous, a bit more transactional.
Others have looked at the Airbnbs and thought, “Maybe that is what guests want now. Maybe I should simplify everything, pull back on the personal touches, just give people a clean space and leave them to it.”
It is a crying shame. Because neither approach fits who you really are.
You are not set up to compete on volume. You do not have the marketing budgets of a hotel chain. And you should not be trying to copy what they do, because dynamic pricing and overbooking will destroy your reputation faster than any quiet week ever could.
And you are not a spare room host. You have invested in your property. You have years of expertise in welcoming people. You understand hospitality as something more than a side income.
So why are you looking sideways at these two extremes for answers?
Your Sweet Spot
Here is the reframe I want you to consider. The middle ground is not a no man’s land you need to escape from. It is actually your sweet spot.
Let me ask you this. What can you offer that a hotel chain cannot? Personal connection. Local knowledge. Care. A sense of place. Real conversation. The feeling that someone is paying attention.
What can you offer that a spare room host cannot? Professionalism. Consistency. A curated experience. Expertise about your area that goes far beyond “here’s the wifi password.”
You have the ability to be a trusted advisor for your guests. Not just a place to sleep, but a guide to your area. Someone who helps them plan their trip, discover hidden gems, feel welcomed from the moment they book.
I promise you, no one else in your area is doing this properly. The chains cannot do it because they are too big and impersonal. The casual hosts cannot do it because they are not invested enough. This is your territory.
But you have to stop trying to welcome everyone. You have to move from hobbyist to specialist. You have to get clear on who you want to attract and build your experience around them.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Here is what I see when boutique owners reclaim their identity.
They stop relying on OTAs as their main source of bookings and start building a community of people they can communicate with directly. They build goodwill over time rather than chasing one off transactions.
They compete on experience, not price. They create packages, curate recommendations, offer the kind of thoughtful touches that turn first time visitors into repeat guests.
They own the relationship. When someone books direct, you have their details. You can follow up. You can invite them back. You can build something that sustains your business through low season and beyond.
This is about creating a self sustaining economy around your property. You, your local community, your suppliers, your knowledge, all working together to offer something that cannot be replicated by a faceless booking platform.
Does that make sense?
One Step Forward
If any of this has struck a chord, I would love to have a chat with you. No pitch, no pressure. Just a conversation about where you are right now and what might be getting in the way of running your business the way you actually want to.
If you are ready to stop drifting towards extremes that do not fit you, and start building something that reflects your real strengths, book a complimentary call with me and let’s talk it through.
You are not a hotel chain. You are not a spare room. You are something much more valuable than either.
