Find out why Actabl CEO Steven Moore sees a data-powered, performance-driven culture as an untapped growth factor in the hotel profit equation.
ATLANTA – In today's challenging economic environment with its downward margin pressures, hotel owners and investors who focus solely on top-line metrics like RevPAR and traditional measures are overlooking a critical element: the hidden driver of profitability. In this interview, Actabl CEO Steven Moore identified this as a data-powered, performance-driven culture. By intertwining these metrics with an engaged and motivated workforce, hotels can unlock unprecedented profitability and long-term success.
"The best-performing hotels create a culture where employees are engaged, accountable, and motivated to maximize results," said Moore. "Studies show that engaged employees lead to higher guest satisfaction, which drives repeat business and direct bookings."
This paradigm shift comes at a critical moment for the industry as hotels navigate unprecedented pressures from both consumers and capital markets. Far from being a feel-good cliché on a careers page, culture has never been a more critical or more concrete factor in hotel investment success.
The profitability equation: Why culture and performance go hand-in-hand
Hotels today operate at a challenging intersection: rising guest expectations on one side and increasing investor demands on the other. This dual pressure creates a unique operational challenge that can only be effectively addressed through culture.
"Guests are spending more than ever and seeing prices higher than ever, and they're coming into hotels with this social media expectation that everything is going to be a highlight reel all the time," said Moore. "Investor expectations also continue to accelerate in terms of projected returns. Increasing capital flowing into the industry is a great thing, but it makes it that much more competitive."
In other words, the bar is now higher for every employee — and so is the payoff for hoteliers who can keep them engaged. According to research cited by Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) Business School, a mere 5% increase in employee engagement drives a 3% boost in customer loyalty growth, critical in an industry looking to cut customer acquisition costs by boosting repeat business.
Engagement also delivers a possible solution to one of hospitality's perennial challenges. "The industry has one of the highest, if not the highest, turnover rates in the country," noted Moore, adding that there is an opportunity to change that landscape through performance-driven culture.
"I don't want people dreading coming to work or just counting the minutes until their lunch hour or the end of the day. I want people to be drawing energy from their work and actually feel like they're making a difference in moving things forward and finding some purpose," he added.
Increasing capital flowing into the industry is a great thing, but it makes it that much more competitive...the bar is now higher for every employee — and so is the payoff for hoteliers who can keep them engaged.
Steven Moore
The role of data: Not just for reports, but for performance gains
Hoteliers already have significant operational data at their disposal, but many fail to capitalize on its potential to drive real-time performance improvements. Moore noted that relying solely on retrospective insights fails to leverage the wealth of information available to inform and enhance day-to-day operational decisions.
"On a tactical level, I don't think there's some silver bullet where a hotel is going to say, 'if I could just discover this, then I've cracked the code for the next decade. I don't need to think about anything,'" said Moore. "The hotels that are going to win are going to say, 'I know the formula is changing day to day, month to month and year to year. And so I need something that can help me iterate quickly to adapt to those changes.'"
Speed matters. Having immediate feedback on what's working — or not working — accelerates managers' and teams' ability to take ownership of their work and make proactive decisions before revenue is left on the table. Rather than waiting for a monthly or quarterly review or working from three-month-old data, real-time statistics enable employees to feel and see the impact of their work as they're accomplishing it.
"If you can increase the speed of data to insights to action, then you feel more engaged to do something about it," Moore explained. "By moving quickly, I can do something and I can see what the outcome was. Then I can change based on that outcome and get better and better."
Combining these tools for engagement with timely benchmarking against the competitive set provides a 360-degree framework for managing labor costs and responding to changes in guest needs and occupancy trends—protecting margins while capturing revenue opportunities.
Driving healthy competition: How performance tracking increases profitability
A performance-driven culture thrives on visibility and recognition. When operational achievements become transparent, employees gain real-time feedback on their contributions to the hotel's success.
"Hospitality isn't about doing one thing well, it's about doing a thousand tiny things well," said Moore. "Many of them are just thankless. Nobody sees what you're doing day in and day out, but it makes a big impact for the guest experience."
That's where data comes in as a motivational tool. Having metrics gives employees a clear roadmap of both their individual responsibilities and their impact on the property overall. Progressive hotel operators are implementing systems that transform routine tasks into dynamic, goal-driven activities such as:
● Housekeeping teams improving room turnaround times and quality scores
● Front desk staff increasing guest satisfaction metrics and loyalty enrollments
● Engineering teams reducing maintenance response times and preventative maintenance compliance.
"Executives at the property level and above can see who's making a difference and putting that extra effort in at a hotel and email or call that person to say, 'I see this and it makes a big difference,'" said Moore. "When you can tie it to metrics, it's clear that it's more than just a scheduled email, and that makes it much more motivational."
Those same statistics form a foundation for a friendly competition to raise the bar. "Another happy byproduct of all of this data in driving motivation, insights and action, is that it gives people something to aim for," added Moore. "We've probably all had that experience of thinking we're good at something and then seeing someone up close who is expert at it. It completely changes your perception of what good looks like."
This creates opportunities for coaching to help employees excel and identify and correct performance issues —improving retention and minimizing costs associated with the industry's notoriously high turnover rates.
Actionable takeaways: How owners and investors can ensure a performance-driven culture
For hotel owners and asset managers seeking to maximize returns, implementing a performance-driven culture requires strategic investment and ongoing commitment. Peak performance comes from hotels that keep every team member from front-line workers to the general manager engaged, motivated and accountable.
Property-wide goals can only be achieved through property-wide alignment, according to Moore. Finance, labor and operations teams need to collaborate — and they need to invest in real-time reporting tools that empower managers to make profit-maximizing decisions proactively rather than retroactively.
Having metrics gives employees a clear roadmap of both their individual responsibilities and their impact on the property overall.
Steven Moore
Moore referenced some key points industry leaders recommend:
1. Invest in real-time reporting tools that provide actionable insights rather than just data collection.
2. Hold GMs and department heads accountable for actively using data, not just reviewing reports. Department heads and general managers need to act on that data to capitalize on the capabilities of their teams.
3. Recognize and reward top performers to reinforce engagement and reduce costly turnover. "Hospitality attracts a very personable, outgoing, empathetic type of individual," says Moore. "I don't want to see their spirits get crushed. I want to see them empowered and excited versus becoming cynical."
4. Ensure cross-departmental alignment so that labor, finance, and operations teams work toward shared profitability goals. Breaking down silos creates efficiency and improves overall financial performance.
Creating a resilient performance culture for long-term success
In an industry known for constant change, building a resilient performance culture becomes essential for sustained profitability. Moore emphasized that leadership plays a critical role in this process.
"I think when you're going through a large change, which is something everybody's going through all the time, you have to have a very strong why," he explained. "If that is tied to the way that you're feeling day to day, I just don't think there's going to be a lot of sustainability there."
Moore outlines three key aspects of effective leadership in building a performance culture
1. Help people find their unique gifts. "Part of the responsibility as a leader is to help people find their unique gifts and help amplify those and share those gifts with the world."
2. Help people regain purpose in work. "I don't think you're ever going to find your ultimate fulfillment in work. But I do think there's something about the way that we're wired to find some purpose and meaning in the way that we work."
3. Be a good steward of leadership opportunity. "That comes with a massive responsibility to be a good steward of the opportunity that you have and the things that you're responsible for, whether that's customers, your team, or trying to leave a positive dent in the world," he said.
Hotel profitability starts with culture
Making the most of the talent on-property is one of the few profit-optimizing tactics that works across locations, sectors and business cycles. Available to hoteliers 24/7, it is a powerful tool for creating impactful returns for investors, improved experiences for guests and a more positive work environment for the team.
As market pressures continue to intensify, hotel owners and investors who prioritize a performance-driven culture will see stronger financial outcomes and more resilient asset performance through market cycles.
The winning formula becomes clear,, said Moore: Technology + transparency + accountability = maximum ROI. As capital continues to flow into hospitality investment, the most successful hotel investments will consistently be those operated with a strong culture of performance excellence.
Moore summarized this approach, saying, "All of the beauty and purpose and fulfillment that we're trying to achieve in the world, all of the returns and additional investments and happy investors that we're trying to achieve in the world, starts with really intense clockwork execution — right decisions, right time, right people.The business of hospitality comes down to exactly that."
In the end, a hotel's culture may prove to be its most valuable asset — and the most reliable driver of investor returns.
Mary Scoviak is custom and design content director for Hotel Investment Today by Northstar.
The views and opinions expressed in this content do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Hotel Investment Today by Northstar or Northstar Travel Group and its affiliated companies.