700 years of hospitality: The Lion & Key Hotel story

On Leyton High Road in East London, The Lion & Key Hotel is carrying forward a hospitality tradition that dates back centuries.

The site is documented as having operated as a traditional pub and coaching inn as far back as the 14th century. Over 700 years later, The Lion & Key continues welcoming travelers, combining its historic roots with contemporary design, modern technology, and the personal warmth of an independent boutique hotel.

The 55-room hotel welcomes a diverse mix of corporate travelers seeking convenient access to Central London and leisure guests looking to experience East London’s vibrant neighborhoods.

What began as a compact operation with around 10 employees has grown into a team of approximately 30, supporting the hotel’s rooms, brasserie, and evolving guest experience.

For Giorgio Brocco, General Manager, being an independent hotelier is about freedom and authenticity.

As he puts it, “It means not being boxed into rigid, mechanical corporate structures or scripts. Instead, it allows us to offer genuine, warm, and family-like customer service where guests feel truly welcomed as individuals rather than just reservation numbers.”

To protect that independence while preparing for future growth, The Lion & Key needed technology that could work just as hard behind the scenes as its team does on the front line.

For The Lion & Key, the decision to move away from its previous property management system was about recognizing that the economics of running an independent hotel were changing.

With market demand, competitor pricing, and booking patterns constantly shifting, manually managing room rates was becoming increasingly difficult.

The hotel’s existing approach lacked the intelligent automation needed to respond to those fluctuations around the clock.

Giorgio recognized that remaining competitive required a more proactive revenue strategy, supported by technology capable of continuously monitoring market conditions and informing pricing decisions. The hotel also needed to reduce the operational workload associated with reservations and distribution, simplify staff training, and build a technology foundation capable of supporting additional properties.

When evaluating new PMS platforms, The Lion & Key was drawn to Cloudbeds’ modern, integrated approach to hotel management.

The combination of property management, centralized distribution, and Cloudbeds RMS offered an opportunity to simplify operations while making more informed commercial decisions. As Giorgio puts it,

“With automated tools like Cloudbeds RMS working continuously in the background, I can spend less time reacting to data and more time focusing on high-impact goals, like leading my team, and connecting with guests.”

One of the biggest changes since adopting Cloudbeds has been The Lion & Key’s approach to pricing.

Previously, managing dynamic rates required significant manual oversight. Keeping pace with market fluctuations meant continually reviewing conditions and determining when to adjust prices.

With Cloudbeds RMS, the hotel has moved toward a more automated, data-informed approach.

Continuous market monitoring and intelligent pricing tools help the team respond to changing demand without relying entirely on manual intervention.

For a hotel balancing corporate and leisure demand, that flexibility is particularly valuable.

Business travelers and leisure guests often follow different booking patterns, creating opportunities to optimize rates and occupancy across different periods.

According to Giorgio, Cloudbeds RMS has helped the hotel maximize room yield and increase occupancy through automated market-based pricing. And the benefits extend beyond revenue.

By reducing the time spent monitoring rates and reacting to market changes, Giorgio can devote more attention to strategic priorities, employee development, and the guest experience.

At The Lion & Key, where genuine human connection sits at the heart of the guest experience, hiring decisions prioritize empathy, warmth, and communication over technical expertise.

That makes an intuitive PMS especially important. With Cloudbeds, the hotel has significantly streamlined onboarding through a combination of hands-on operational training and self-paced learning resources from Cloudbeds University.

New employees typically become comfortable with essential daily PMS tasks in under 1 week. Giorgio credits Cloudbeds’ logical interface with minimizing errors, speeding up check-ins, and making the learning process more straightforward.

Cloudbeds’ training materials and responsive customer support provide additional reassurance when employees need guidance.

For a growing hotel team, faster onboarding means less time learning software and more time developing the skills that matter most to guests.

As The Lion & Key looks to expand across East London, its ambition is to grow the business without losing the personality that makes it special. With Cloudbeds centralizing operations, streamlining administration, and supporting smarter pricing decisions, the hotel has already seen a positive return on its technology investment while giving its growing team more time to focus on guests. 

That same operational foundation will help the business scale without sacrificing the independence, authenticity, and personal connections at its heart.

When asked if he would recommend Cloudbeds, Giorgio responds: 

“Without a doubt, I would recommend Cloudbeds to any independent hotelier. My advice to someone feeling trapped by their current technology is don’t let the fear of changing systems hold your business back. A legacy PMS that frustrates your staff and limits your revenue isn’t just inconvenient, it actively costs you money every day. Switching to a modern, intuitive platform like Cloudbeds will free up your time, empower your team, and allow you to focus on delivering exceptional guest hospitality.”