Hi, I'm Gonzalo 👋
In this edition I come with a bit of everything: I'll tell you about an event we're preparing with a lot of love, share an opinion that might rattle you, give you a prompt for your marketing and answer a question I get all the time. Let's go.
We're heading to Asunción: Hospitality & AI Summit 2026
I have to tell you about this. Together with the Asociación Industrial Hotelera del Paraguay we're organizing the Hospitality & AI Summit Asunción 2026: two days at the Sheraton Asunción (July 15 and 16) on artificial intelligence, marketing and distribution for hotels.
And I want to be clear about something: it's not a product event. It's an industry conversation about what defines a hotel's revenue today —where AI is heading, how distribution has changed, what's actually working—. From colleagues, for colleagues.
If you're in Paraguay, or you know a hotelier who should be in that room, here's the registration. Limited seats.
Register here
🔥 Unfiltered opinion: your staff turnover costs you more than any OTA commission
Every hotelier I know is constantly fighting OTA commissions —that 15, 20, 25% hurts, I know—. But few look at a cost that's just as big and far more silent: their own team's turnover.
When a good receptionist leaves, you don't lose just one person. You lose months of experience, you lose the time and money of finding and training someone new, and —the most expensive part— you lose service quality while that person learns. The guest notices. A team that knows the hotel by heart is not the same as a constant parade of new faces.
And here's the striking part: we pour a lot of energy into lowering commissions or into the latest tool, but very little into what moves the guest experience the most: getting good people to stay. A stable team sells better, cares better and solves problems better than any technology.
My honest opinion: look after your team with the same obsession you look after your distribution. Train, recognize, offer good conditions. That «commission» you pay your people by having them stay is the best investment you can make. Technology amplifies a good team; it doesn't replace one that's walking out the door.
⚡ Today's prompt: a content plan for your hotel in 2 minutes
You know you need to be on social media, but between the day-to-day operation there's never time to think about what to post. This prompt prepares a ready-to-use plan. Copy it and fill it in with your hotel's information:
«You are an expert in hotel marketing and social media. I'm going to describe my hotel and I want you to prepare a content plan for the next two weeks on Instagram. Give me: 1) three post ideas that show the experience and the destination, not just the room; 2) three ideas that answer my guests' most frequent questions; 3) two ideas to attract the guest who travels on weekdays or in low season. For each idea, give me the hook or title and one line on what to show. Here's my hotel: [describe your hotel, your type of guest and your destination in 2 or 3 lines]»
In one minute you'll have two weeks of thought-through, intentional content, instead of posting for the sake of posting. Edit it with your own voice and you're done.
💬 Ask Gonzalo
This week, a question a Hotels Director in Colombia asked me by email:
«How do I reply to a negative review without sounding like I'm making excuses?»
Great question, and a very common one. What I often see is that, without meaning to, we end up getting defensive: explaining, justifying, giving context. It's a natural reaction, but it usually backfires. And keep this in mind: you're not writing that reply for the person who complained — you're writing it for all the future guests who will read it before booking.
My formula is simple:
- Thank them and mention the specific issue. «Thank you for taking the time to write to us. We're sorry about what happened with [the specific issue].» You show you actually read it, not that you copied and pasted.
- Take ownership, no excuses. A «you're right, we fell short» is worth more than three paragraphs explaining why it happened. People aren't looking for culprits, they're looking for maturity.
- Show the action. Tell them what you're going to change or already changed. That speaks to the future guest: «if something goes wrong, this hotel responds.»
- Close by taking it private. «We'd love to make it up to you, write to us at…». It takes the argument out of the shop window and shows real willingness.
Short, human and without fighting. A well-answered negative review is more convincing than ten positive ones.
What did you think of this edition?
If you think it could help someone else, share it with them. And if you have doubts, suggestions or a question for me, I'd love to hear from you.
See you in the next edition!
Gonzalo.
