Our Chief Operating Officer, Mercè Sánchez, took part as a speaker on March 24 in the event ‘Connectar dades, transformar hotels’, held at the H10 Urquinaona Plaza and organized by the Tech Tourism Cluster in collaboration with Business Insights and the Barcelona Hotel Guild. The event brought together more than 60 professionals from the hotel sector around a question that is increasingly present on the strategic agenda of hospitality businesses: how can data be turned into a true competitive advantage? She was joined by Marc Rovira (Yurbban Hospitality Group), Damià Font Taulina (Hotel Acapulco Lloret), Marc Perna Acevedo (HCC Hotels), Cristina Naches Olaria (Tech Tourism Cluster), and Albert Serra Torrent (Barcelona Hotel Guild), with an intervention by Jorge Perfontán (Business Insights).
The discussion revolved around data architecture, system integration, and intelligent decision-making within an ecosystem where PMS, CRM, RMS, channel managers, and countless specialized tools coexist—tools that too often operate as isolated, non‑communicating systems. All speakers shared the same diagnosis: the issue is no longer the lack of technology nor its cost, but rather the challenge of integrating disparate data sources and ensuring that all teams work with the same data, calculated in the same way.
In this context, Mercè shared The Net Revenue’s vision of SmartData: the transformation of information into intelligent decisions. Because it’s not about accumulating data but about knowing which data matters, how to normalize it, and how to put it at the service of those who need to make decisions—whether in Revenue Management, operations, or commercial strategy. The key does not lie in having the most beautiful dashboard or the largest number of KPIs, but in having three or four well‑defined, well‑calculated indicators that everyone trusts.
One of the most relevant points of the event was the reflection on the practical ownership of data. Although from a legal standpoint the data belongs to the hotelier, extracting it, transferring it, and truly making it one’s own remain one of the sector’s greatest challenges. APIs exist, but they are not always well documented, they often have limitations in granularity, and they do not always evolve at the same pace as the software behind them. Knowing what to ask before signing with a provider—which data can I extract, how, how often, and what happens if I decide to switch—has become a strategic skill for any hotel team today.
The discussion also addressed people. Because no technological transformation works without real support for the teams involved. Resistance to change is not an attitude problem; it is a natural response to tools that are not explained clearly enough or that are not connected to the concrete benefits for those who must use them every day. The hybrid profile—combining operational knowledge with technological capability—will become increasingly necessary within hotel organizations.
Events like this are exactly the kind of space the sector needs: honest conversations, with real cases, among professionals who deal with these challenges every day. At The Net Revenue, we remain committed to supporting hotels on this journey, putting data intelligence at the service of better decisions and better results.
