Myd Hoteles: Automation that changes the economics of hospitality

Myd was founded on the belief that budget hospitality didn’t have to rely on owners being available around the clock. In Madrid, many economy hostels were still operated almost like family businesses, with owners living on-site or nearby to handle every guest request.

David Vega, Operations & Technology Lead, and his team set out to prove there was a better way: one centralized reception team covering several nearby locations, with technology handling everything that didn’t strictly require a human, so staff step in only when something breaks, not for routine, repeatable tasks. What used to be a family’s live-in quarters could become another room to sell.

Before Cloudbeds, Myd Hoteles ran on a different PMS with a similar automated check-in concept, but one that required custom coding and depended heavily on an external revenue management and technology vendor. Over time, that dependency became a business risk. Switching providers would have been costly and disruptive, leaving Myd with little flexibility as it grew. With apartments scattered across Madrid, the system also lacked the centralized control needed to manage the portfolio as one cohesive operation.

David wanted a system with the same automated check-in concept, but built to be modified by people who understood the business. Cloudbeds delivered that balance: a comprehensive platform that was powerful without being overly complex, allowing his team to make changes themselves after some training rather than relying on developers or third-party vendors. It also expanded guest communication beyond email with native messaging through Booking.com, Airbnb, and WhatsApp. To support Myd’s multi-location apartment portfolio, the team also found a way to group dispersed apartments into a single property within Cloudbeds, overcoming what had initially seemed like the biggest implementation challenge.

Cloudbeds’ digital lock integration became the operational backbone of the business. Guest access codes are generated automatically, activated at check-in, and expire at 11 a.m. on departure day, updating instantly if a stay is extended — all without manual intervention. Staff only step in if a lock malfunctions or a guest hasn’t completed online check-in. Even then, adoption remains nearly universal, with guests simply guided through the digital check-in process on arrival.

The staffing ratio needed per guest has dropped substantially. Front-desk and management time that used to go toward routine supervision now goes toward tech development, guest services, and admin work. David is direct about where those savings go: not just to the bottom line, but back into the people and the price tag.

On the team side, that means compressed four-day work weeks, rotating full weekends off, and productivity and night-shift bonuses above the collective bargaining agreement — pay and flexibility David says are hard to find elsewhere in Madrid hospitality. On the guest side, it means Myd can price rooms a notch below competitors at a comparable quality level, which David credits with keeping occupancy high even amid Madrid’s rising accommodation costs.

“Everyone wins a bit: we have the cost savings to reinvest in fair wages for our employees, guests get a lower price because we can compete, and then obviously our margins benefit too.” 

That’s the case David makes for automation as a business strategy, not just an operations upgrade: lower overhead doesn’t have to mean a race to the bottom on wages or guest experience. Done right, it funds both.

The commercial impact has been just as significant. Myd’s leadership team now manages pricing in-house using recommendations from Cloudbeds’ pricing intelligence, eliminating the need to outsource revenue strategy. A new unified direct booking website, also powered by Cloudbeds, has replaced the company’s fragmented property-by-property booking experience and, in David’s words, “works great.” The team is also migrating guest communications to Cloudbeds Guest Experience, with plans to retire a separate check-in platform once the transition is complete.

As operations have become more streamlined, the business has continued to scale. What began with one or two properties has grown to seven, with three more set to open soon. Another twenty apartments are planned within the same Madrid neighborhood over the next two years, while a four-room pilot guesthouse in Oviedo is expected to expand to around fifty rooms. Interest from prospective partners in Málaga and the Canary Islands has also opened the door to future growth. Throughout that expansion, David credits Cloudbeds for helping the platform evolve alongside the business.

But despite that momentum, David has no interest in becoming a traditional chain or franchise. The company has built deep expertise navigating Spain’s complex regulatory environment, and he believes protecting that knowledge is a competitive advantage. Remaining independent allows Myd to retain control over its brand, pricing, and operating model—while ensuring the formula they’ve spent years refining doesn’t end up replicated by competitors.