7 common hotel software mistakes independent hoteliers often make

In most cases, the problem isn’t the software itself. It’s how it’s set up, how different tools interact and how much manual work is still happening behind the scenes. Small habits like overriding prices, skipping setup steps or checking the wrong system can quietly cancel out automation and lead to missed revenue.

The good news? These mistakes are common, understandable and fixable.

Key takeaways

• Stop manually overriding automated pricing and inventory decisions. Frequent user overrides send mixed signals to your automated system that then affects the system's ability to make sound recommendations in the future.

• Get the setup right from day one: complete your settings, define room types and rate plans consistently and keep configurations updated over time

• Make sure your systems actually talk to each other: weak integrations create manual work, errors, overbookings and missed revenue

• Treat distribution as an ongoing strategy, not “set and forget”: manage LOS and restrictions, protect rate parity and focus on the channels that bring profitable bookings

• Use your software as a performance tool, not digital paperwork: review reports and KPIs, act on guest feedback, keep learning new features and think long term instead of resisting change

Mistake 1: Too much manual interference in your software

Independent hoteliers often think that you’re giving up control when automating tasks via hotel software. In turn, they prefer to still handle some tasks manually, which can lead to inaccurate recommendations or even mistakes. 

Manual overrides can block automation and synchronization

Do you still manually change prices, availability or restrictions when you have a tool to automate this and save time? You might be doing more harm than good, even though it seems harmless. 

When you’re manually editing or changing prices, for example, there might be overrides in the system. The more overrides, the harder it is to keep track of which dates you've manually changed. Remember that the settings and rules you define in the system should take precedence most often. In the end, too many manual overrides will result in an inaccurate update across all your booking channels. 

If you do have to manually change a price, availability or restriction, you have to make sure you’re adjusting the price in all the necessary fields on your channel manager, dynamic pricing tool or even PMS. The more you change manually, the higher the risk of mistakes being made.

Presets are there to make your pricing strategy easier

Common practice in European independent hotels, is to add a markup to your third-party booking platforms like OTAs. Most hotel software with automated pricing already has the option to add presets, so you don’t have to calculate what +10% on the price would be, for example.

You can simply add a preset for each booking channel you’re connected to, choose the markup you want and it automatically applies it to all your prices. If you still add a markup to all your prices, you’ll end up with overpriced rooms and double markups. Once something is automated, you shouldn’t have to manually calculate anything anymore. 

As mentioned above, manual adjustments often mean mistakes. That’s why it’s important to trust your system to do what it was made for. The more you adjust manually, the less information your system has to generate accurate recommendations.

Distrusting automation in your systems

Your automated pricing software was made to give recommendations based on occupancy, market demand, local events and competitor data. It bases decisions on a market analysis you would otherwise spend hours on. Once you give it all the information it needs in your settings, it’s able to give the most accurate pricing recommendations.

But what if you accept some recommendations while manually adjusting others? If this doesn’t happen often, there’s no big implications for your system. But when you’re constantly overriding this, you’re creating inconsistency and are actively missing out on opportunities that you might not have spotted.

Going one step further, you can let your pricing software run on autopilot so it automatically sends the recommended prices through, without the need to manually approve them all individually. For properties where one person has to do all these tasks, it’s a huge time-saver. A good pricing strategy requires a lot of attention, so leaving automation off results in a half-done job or inaccurate prices.

All of this depends on the amount of trust you have for your software partner. It’s important to choose a provider you trust, can contact with issues and questions and has a personal onboarding process. Once that trust is established, you’ll find it easier to fully automate those manual tasks.

Next to trusting your software provider, it’s essential that you – as an end user – educate yourself on what everything means and how it works. If you don’t understand the system, it’s hard to trust its automations and get the most out of your tech stack. Most companies have a dedicated onboarding and support team to help you out with all of these questions, but also an extensive library of educational content pieces that can help you on this journey.

Mistake 2: Poor initial setup and configuration

This might often seem like small oversights or unimportant settings, but your initial setup and configuration are crucial to how good your system works and how accurate the recommendations are. Once your setup is good to go, you’ll get the most out of your system.

Incomplete settings

During the adoption process of your new hotel software, it’s important to check if all your settings are adjusted and personalized to what your property needs. If you, for example, don’t fill in your minimum rates, maximum rates or your competitor weights (so how important their prices are) you will get inaccurate pricing recommendations.

Naturally, during your onboarding process you’ll set up the basics with your specialist. But afterwards it’s also up to you to add to them, personalize them further and keep them up to date throughout the years.

Misconfigured or inconsistent room types and rate plans

One of the foundations of your whole tech system is room types and rate plans. If those are not defined clearly and consistently, your system’s logic breaks down.

Misconfiguring those room types and rate plans can cause a whole lot of confusion in your updates, recommendations and synchronization. If those are not mapped properly, or don’t have consistent naming and configuration, your price updates and availability logic malfunctions. Your system won’t be able to automate efficiently and accurately if your room names, rate codes or policies differ between your systems.

This is not only a problem for your software and staff. Outdated policies, different naming conventions and price rules on booking channels confuse your guests. 

Mistake 3: Fragmented systems and weak integrations

As an independent hotelier, you’ll need different tools for different jobs. Even the most basic tech stack consists of a few tools that have to work together seamlessly. Your systems need to communicate effectively with each other for them to work efficiently and actually save you time.

Disconnected or misused tools create manual work and errors

A commonly made mistake is not leveraging your system fully, and instead manually handling tasks that could have been automated. 

Unfortunately, this connection is not always so self-evident. This creates blind spots, manual work and errors. Just think about it: 

• When your availability doesn’t update instantly to your booking channels you’ll get a double booking

• When your bookings via a booking engine don’t come through on your PMS, you’ll have availability issues

• When your prices are not automatically synced to your booking channels, you’ll undersell rooms

There are so many mistakes waiting to happen when your technology is not connected properly. And you’ll have to fix all of those manually.

Another aspect that costs hoteliers a lot of time, is not using all the features your software offers. A common example is using your PMS more as a planner or calendar than leveraging the automation it encompasses as well. Most PMS systems also have automated reporting, automated guest communication, automated payment processing etc. Imagine how much extra time these features can save you. This doesn’t only apply to a PMS system, but to every tool in your tech stack. Being aware of what your software can do for you, is the start of more efficient hotel management.

Next to knowing what your tools can do, you should also know where to manage everything. Are you changing pricing, availability and restrictions in the right tool? Are you adding in-person reservations via the right system? If you’re unsure which system does what, you’ll make changes in the wrong place and eventually cause mistakes.

In the end, all of this causes extra manual fixes instead of saving you time.

Leaving integrations as an afterthought

Your booking channels are the foundation of your distribution strategy. If you adopt a tool and then discover you can’t add all the ones you’re listed on… you’ll only add more manual work for yourself.

It’s important to check the integration possibilities when choosing a new main hotel management system. Not only with OTAs, but also payment providers, accountancy software, dynamic pricing tools, key systems etc. Having the possibility to directly (or later on) integrate with systems you’re used to, will help you out a lot in learning to work with the new system. 

Mistake 4: Under-utilizing distribution and channel management

Connecting to your listed OTAs is only the first step of channel management. Many independent hotels don’t know that it requires a lot more than that to create an effective distribution strategy. Being visible online is not the same as well-managed distribution.

“Set and forget” channel management

A “set and forget” approach means restrictions aren’t adjusted, length-of-stay (LOS) rules aren’t used and availability isn’t aligned with demand. In the end, you’ll only lose revenue and pay higher commissions to third-party channels.

For your distribution to work well, you’ll need a system that applies length of stay restrictions to the right rates, allows for easy opening or closing of certain channels, or adjusts restrictions. This way, you’ll increase bookings from lower-cost channels and avoid costly commissions. 

Another common mistake in channel management is not respecting rate parity on your booking channels. If your prices and policies aren’t consistent across channels, your listing gets pushed down by the platform and guests notice big price differences.
For European hoteliers, this is a bit different. There, it’s common practice to add a markup to OTA listings, so your rate parity behaves differently. In general, as long as all your third-party booking platforms are the same prices or markups, your rate parity is good to go even when your direct booking channel is lower in price.

Adding as many channels as you can

It might seem logical to add more channels so you’ll get more bookings, right? But in the end, you’ll only give yourself extra work and lose revenue due to high commissions from just a few bookings.

Instead of adding more and more, it’s wise to regularly revise your booking channels to see which ones work for you and which ones only cost you money. Your best-performing channels should form the foundation of your channel mix. They’ll show what type of traveler you attract, which room types are popular and so much more to base your strategy on. With all that information, you’ll know which types of OTAs to connect and keep a nice overview of where your bookings are coming from. 

That best-performing channel should also form the blueprint of what to add to your listings. Inconsistent content across OTAs creates confusion and increases questions at the front desk. Another bonus here is that when you fill in all possible fields on the OTA extranet, your listing gets a higher ranking. 

Mistake 5: Using software as digital paperwork

Almost all independent hoteliers start adopting software because it’s impossible to manage a property efficiently without any software. Trying to get a handle on reservations, payments, price updates, invoicing and so much more, is just impossible to do without the right tools.

With adopting a new tool, there is a new way of working as well. You can’t keep working in the same way as before, because that will cause difficulties and mistakes. So don’t use your software like a digital version of pen and paper.

Your tools don’t align with your daily routines

If your tools don’t offer the digital functionalities that you’d need on a daily basis, you’re instantly reverting back to the old way of working. Make sure your whole tech stack has every functionality you need. Because going back to spreadsheets or pen and paper should never be the solution to a software problem.

Not only can your tool miss functionalities, you can also overlook them if you don’t get familiar with the system beforehand. It’s like using your PMS only for check-in and check-out, and never realizing you can automate emails or payments. For example, without lifecycle journeys, guests receive the same messages regardless of booking source or stay type. In the end, your revenue and guest experience suffers because guest communication remains manual and repetitive. You’ll be spending hours on those tedious tasks, all while the automation is sitting silently in the background.

Next to saving you time and increasing operational efficiency, these tools open extra doors for your strategy. There’s more extensive reporting, you have a better overview of your revenue, you understand what channel is bringing in bookings and which ones need improvement and so much more. 

Mistake 6: Data blindness and lack of performance tracking

Most hotel software gives you access to a wealth of data. The problem is that many independent hoteliers don’t actively use or keep track of it consistently. However, this data provides some of the most accurate insights into how you can improve your business.

Not using reports to guide decisions

When reporting isn’t part of your routine, decisions are often made based on gut feeling or habit. This can lead to missed opportunities, such as keeping prices too low during busy periods or relying too heavily on high-commission channels without realizing it.

Without structured reporting, it’s hard to understand what’s really happening in your business. Which channels bring in the most profitable bookings? Are your prices too low during high-demand periods? Which rate plans convert best? If you’re not regularly reviewing this data, these questions remain unanswered.

Many tools offer dashboards and recurring reports that show pickup, channel mix, occupancy and revenue trends. But if these reports are never set up or reviewed, the data might as well not exist.

No real-time awareness of availability and pricing

Another common issue is not having real-time visibility into your availability and rates across channels. If you only discover issues after bookings come in or guests complain, you’re always reacting instead of staying ahead.

Real-time data allows you to quickly adjust prices, close or open channels and respond to demand shifts. Without it, you’re often too late.

Ignoring guest feedback data

Guest feedback is also a valuable data source that’s often overlooked. Reviews, surveys and guest messages frequently reveal patterns about communication issues, unclear policies or operational friction.

When this feedback isn’t reviewed or acted upon, the same problems keep repeating, frustrating both guests and staff.

No clear KPIs to measure success

Finally, without clear key performance indicators (KPIs), it’s impossible to know whether your software is actually helping you. If you don’t track metrics like occupancy, ADR, RevPAR or channel mix, you can’t measure progress effectively.

Mistake 7: Short-term thinking and change resistance

Hotel operations are demanding, and it’s tempting to focus only on solving today’s problems. But this short-term mindset often prevents long-term improvements.

Choosing software only for immediate needs

Many hotels choose tools to fix one urgent issue, such as pricing or reservations, without thinking about future growth or scalability. As the business evolves, these tools no longer fit and manual work increases again.

A solution that works today should also support your hotel tomorrow, without forcing you to start over.

Ignoring updates and new features

Software evolves constantly. Updates often include performance improvements, new automation options or better integrations. When these updates are ignored, systems slowly become outdated and less effective.

What once saved time can turn into a source of friction simply because it’s no longer used as intended.

Lack of training and ongoing learning

Not training staff properly, or not taking the time to inform yourself as an owner, leads to underutilization. Features remain unused, processes stay manual and frustration grows.

Training shouldn’t stop after onboarding. Revisiting workflows and learning new features over time is essential to keep operations efficient.

Avoiding change when manual work is unsustainable

Finally, many hotels stick to manual processes simply because “that’s how it’s always been done.” Even when the workload becomes unsustainable, change feels risky.

In reality, avoiding change usually costs more time, money and energy in the long run than embracing it.

How you can avoid these mistakes

Avoiding these mistakes doesn’t require more tools, more dashboards or more work. It mostly requires a clearer understanding of how your software is meant to support you, and a willingness to let it do the heavy lifting.

Start by accepting that hotel software is not just there to store information. It’s there to make decisions easier, reduce repetitive tasks and bring structure to your daily operations. When you treat it as a support system rather than something you constantly have to correct, it becomes far more effective.

Clarity is key. Knowing where pricing, availability and restrictions are managed prevents confusion and unnecessary manual changes. When each system has a clear role, everything works together instead of against you.

A solid setup also makes a bigger difference than most advanced features. Taking the time to configure settings properly, keep them up to date and ensure your data is clean pays off long after onboarding is done. Good foundations lead to better automation, more reliable recommendations and fewer surprises.

Trust plays an important role too. Automation isn’t about losing control. It’s about shifting control from constant manual input to well-defined rules and smart decision-making. Especially when time is limited, letting automation run based on your strategy is often more effective than trying to manage everything yourself.

Finally, think beyond today’s problems. Hotel software delivers the most value when it’s seen as a long-term partner, not a quick fix. Staying curious, keeping up with updates and being open to changing how you work helps your systems evolve along with your business.

When everything is aligned, software stops feeling complicated. It becomes what it was meant to be all along: a quiet, reliable support in the background, giving you more time to focus on your guests and your property.