Hotels webinar: spend data tactics
- HOTELS Magazine opened registration on April 29 for a free May 13 webinar with Entegra, Wyndham, and PM Hotel Group on turning spend data into profit. - The panel centers on three concrete levers: raising contract compliance, cutting cost leakage, and making smarter substitutions across multiple properties without hurting guests. - The timing matters because hotel margins remain squeezed, pushing operators beyond RevPAR toward tighter procurement control and total-profit management.
Hotel procurement is usually treated like back-office plumbing. But that misses the point. In a margin-squeezed hotel business, the way operators buy towels, food, chemicals, fixtures, and replacement parts can change profit just as much as a small bump in room rates. That is the idea behind a new HOTELS Magazine webinar announced April 29 and scheduled for May 13 — a session built around one question: how do hotels turn messy spend data into better daily decisions? (hotelsmag.com) ### Who is actually in this webinar? The lineup is pretty specific. Debbie Shepard, director of digital solutions at Entegra, is joining Rachel Dabrowa, VP of sourcing operations and engagement at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, and Kirk Pederson, COO of PM Hotel Group, with HOTELS editor-in-chief David Eisen moderating. That matters because this is not a generic tech panel — it pulls to(hotelsmag.com)ortfolio. (hotelsmag.com) ### What problem are they trying to solve? Basically, hotels already have purchasing data. The problem is that the data often sits in separate systems, shows up too late, or never gets translated into action at the property level. The webinar frames the fix as a “digital layer” for procurement — using visibility, benchmarking, and guided purchasing to decide what to buy, what to standardize, and what to substitute when prices or availability shift. (hotelsmag.com) ### Why does spend data matter so much? Because a hotel can hit revenue targets and still leak profit everywhere else. If one property buys off-contract, another pays too much for the same item, and a third swaps in products that create operational headaches, the portfolio loses margin in ways that barely show up until later. Spend data is supposed to catch those leaks early — the (hotelsmag.com)ing patterns. (hotelsmag.com) ### What are the panelists promising in practical terms? Three things stand out. First, better contract compliance — meaning hotels actually buy from negotiated suppliers instead of drifting into ad hoc purchasing. Second, lower cost leakage — the quiet creep of unnecessary spending, duplicate buying, and inconsistent pricing. Third, smarter substitutions across multiple properties(hotelsmag.com)in if it creates complaints, housekeeping friction, or brand inconsistency. (hotelsmag.com) ### Why is “substitution” such a big deal? Because procurement is no longer just about locking in one supplier and forgetting it. Hotels are still dealing with volatile input costs and periodic supply disruptions, so operators need a way to swap products intelligently. Think of it like having a controlled detour instead of a road closure — the property still gets what it needs, but(hotelsmag.com)and guided buying tools become useful rather than cosmetic. (hotelsmag.com) ### How does this fit the bigger hotel-industry shift? The broader trend is that hoteliers are talking less about pure top-line growth and more about total profitability. A HOTELS webinar earlier this year made the same point from the revenue-and-operations side: RevPAR alone is not enough, and operators need tighter control over labor, forecasting, and cross-department data. This new session applies that same logic to procurement — not as a side function, but as a profit engine. (hotelsmag.com) ### Why is PM Hotel Group’s presence notable? Pederson was just appointed COO in March, and PM framed his role around operational consistency, discipline, and long-term asset value growth. So his appearance here signals that procurement data is not being pitched as a purchasing-office niche. It is showing up as an executive operations issue — something tied directly to owner expectations and portfolio performance. (hotelsmag.com) ### Bottom line This webinar matters because it treats hotel buying as a live operating system, not a clerical task. When margins are tight, the gains come from fewer leaks, better standards, and faster decisions. That is the real pitch here — use spend data well, and procurement stops being overhead and starts acting like profit protection. (hotelsmag.com)
