Diego de Ponga: Leadership lessons from revenue management to the C-suite

Diego de Ponga

I’m always seeing that, you know, resilience is something that all the revenues must have. Because, you know, in a revenue manager, you work with something which is very personal, which is price. Because price for the owner of the company is always cheap, and for the sale team, the same price is expensive. You need to be also really resilient because you will not be able to make everyone in the hotel happy.

Sebastien Leitner

Welcome back to the turndown. Sebastian here. And today, we’re jetting off to Benidorm in Spain to chat with Diego Druponga, CEO of Port Hotel. We’re diving into managing a dozen properties, almost two thousand rooms, and being responsible for more than a thousand employees. We talked to Diego about his personal journey from revenue management to becoming CEO. He’s got some incredible insights about the future of AI in hospitality, especially in revenue management. And the one thing every revenue manager needs to know about commissions. But what Diego reveals about the future of real ADR may just change how you see revenue management forever.

Hi there. It is my pleasure to welcome Diego. Diego is the CEO of Port Hotels and joining us from Benidorm today. Welcome to the program, Diego.

Diego de Ponga

Thank you very much, Sebastian, to host that podcast and giving me the opportunity to be here with all of you. So I’m really, really, really happy with that.

Sebastien Leitner

It is my pleasure to have you. I wanna get started with our standard question, our opening question, which is, Diego, I’m curious what is keeping you up at night these days?

Diego de Ponga

I need to say that I’m sleeping almost pretty well during all my life. But if I need to say something about, that question, is, you know, trying to don’t let down people. I think that it has been something during all my life. First, with my parents, second, with my wife and kids, now with my professional career. I I don’t like to let down people in in my daily basis. So I’m trying to do always my best with high standards because of that. If I need to say something, take into account that I’m sleeping pretty well because I’m trying to, you know, always do core things. If you but I don’t want to let down people. Okay? If I do something in my life, I try to do with a high one hundred percent standards and try to get the best result possible. So this is if something makes me awake, this is something like that.

Sebastien Leitner

And you have, if I understand correctly, in your company, about a thousand employees that are working for you or working with you.

Diego de Ponga

Yeah. They are way I I think that you have, said perfectly. They they are working with me. They are part of the team. I’m part of the team also. And, you know, working with one thousand employees is is so so happy for me. I mean, I’m always learning something from somebody because we are a lot for sure, I mean, I have a a really close group of colleagues in in my in the headquarters, which is almost ten, twenty, ten, twenty persons right now. But, you know, when when you when you visit the hotels and you know people, you know your colleagues in the hotels, you are always learning something about them. It’s my dream, my job, my dream job right now. So I I’m enjoying every minute that I’m I’m living right now. So I’m really happy with that and and to collaborate collaborate with almost this one thousand people.

Sebastien Leitner

That’s amazing. That’s amazing. Now for the listeners of this program, I who don’t know port hotels, I would love for you to give us a quick overview of the properties, the type of hotels that you have. You know? Help us discover port hotels.

Diego de Ponga

Yeah. Porto Hotel is a Spanish company based in in Costa Blanca. Costa Blanca is one of the most important areas for for for our industry, the touristy the touristy industry right now in Spain. We have eleven properties, which are almost two thousand rands. It’s almost almost two thousand rands. Eleven properties. And we have hotels in Valencia, Bernadore, Alicante, Elche, Denia, and Kalp, which is almost the whole the whole area of of Costa Rica.

We have hotels, from three star hotels, four star hotels, and four star superior hotels. And some part of the portfolio are family hotels. Some part of the portfolio, hotels. Almost we have vac vacational hotels and also city hotels. So we try to to cover some big part of the markets. We we we have two, three, including four type of hotels. We we try to to give our clients what they need or what we think that we need they need.

We are one of the most important chains here in in the area, so we are happy with that. The company has almost sixty years of history in in the in the area. So we are a family business. We’re a family owned business, and we are really proud of that. We we work for the major family, which is one of the most important families in the Costa Blanca. They have been delivering excellent results since almost sixty years ago. Sixty, six zero, which is impressive. That’s amazing. To see to see that in the markets. So I’m, you know, I’m speaking for my company as when I’m speaking with my kids. So honored to have my kids and also so honored to to work in this company. You know? So please visit our hotel dot dot s, and and and we would love to be your next holiday or resort or city hotel resident for for the next occasion.

Sebastien Leitner

And your typical hotel is on the beach, is on, like, in a leisure setting?

Diego de Ponga

Yeah. We have we have half of the portfolio in the leisure segment and half of the portfolio in the in the city hotel segment. Also, we accept pets, Sebastian. So no problem. You do want to bring then it’s okay. So we we try to cover almost the whole spread of of of the markets. As Asha said, see the hotels resort hotels close to the beach and and having some part of the portfolio focus on families with some part of the portfolio focus on on couples or individuals.

Sebastien Leitner

That’s amazing. That’s amazing. I’m curious about your own career. How did you become CEO of Port Hotels? I I saw you have your your origins are in revenue management, but help me understand how how do you become CEO of of a hotel group like this?

Diego de Ponga

I was appointed as CEO of Port Hotels, almost ninety months ago. So I’m pretty new in the in the in the in the job.

Sebastien Leitner

Congratulations.

Diego de Ponga

Oh, that’s almost pretty now. I’m pretty new pretty new. From a career, I I I was working for Paladine Hotels, Paladine Hotel Group, which is one of the biggest change in Spain. And I was the head of revenue management for the last, fifteen years. So the last two, three years of my career, I tried to to prepare myself to to give a step further in my career. Okay?

And, you know, things happen in life, so I I had an opportunity. I I know the family of my yard, and and, you know, these things happen in life. You never know on your next promotion or your next new job is coming. I can say something specifically how can I get to to to be a a a CEO of a company? I mean, I think that this is a result of a consolidate career. I try to to study a lot to to hold that job. I was preparing myself during almost my my my entire life. I was taking English lessons. He was taking, you know, speaking in public lessons from, I mean, probably ten years ago.

As I say before, this is one of my dream job. I wanted to be something like that during all my life. And, you know, in my income, I was preparing myself to have that. Probably, you know, you never know if you can get some opportunity. Being honest, I I think that the opportunity, came to me earlier than expected. I’m let’s do it. For oh, Chantico. I wish I’m forty two years old, so I’m pretty pretty young for for the role. I was expecting to have that opportunity, man, probably in ten years. But, you know, when when when you see the opportunity and you feel prepared for that, do take it in life.

So I think that not not always for being a CEO of a company. I think that being for every single single thing that you do in your life, you need to trust yourself. Probably once person in my in my source who thought that this is too much for me. No? But I said, okay. Probably it’s too much, but I get it. You know, I need to get it. You know, there is nothing specifically to to answer your question, Matt.

Sebastien Leitner

Yeah. I’m curious when you I mean, it is fairly recent that you became CEO. So I’m curious when you became CEO, what surprised you about the role? What was new that you did not expect?

Diego de Ponga

When when you are a as a director of revenue management or a director of an area in a in in the hotel, you are specialized with something. But really highly specialized. In my case, it was highly specialized in revenue management. So I know I knew almost everything in revenue because I was the head of revenue of that company. Of course. You know, with with a time of one hundred twenty person. So I was managing my daily basic decisions with a really confidence Because I I know how can I do in every moment that I was working? No?

But when you are a CEO and when you are starting as a CEO, I mean, I have a lot of doubts, because a lot of things came to my desk, and they are asking for for for AdWords. And I I I I said to myself, okay. What can I do with that? Because it’s the first time in my life that I need to take this kind of decision. K? This is really tough. It’s it’s not tough, but it’s complicated.

But for me, it really is easy to resolve that because I’m speaking a lot with my team. I say, okay. I’m the CEO of the company. Yeah. No problem. But what do you think about that? I’m asking to you, what do you think? Do I bring in to me one question? But the first question I, like, bring back is, what do you think about that? What do you think that we need to do with that? Because if you think that this is necessary, I will support doing that. Don’t worry. I will support you. You need to to learn to support your team when you ask when you are in this kind of position.

I mean, if you want to take all the decision in the company, in the field, you will from my perspective, you are making a huge mistake. You need to let your team taking decisions. You are to support them. I think that part of my job is trying to give the necessary tools to my team to get the results, to get the result of the company.

Sebastien Leitner

And you’re there to support them?

Diego de Ponga

I’m there to support them, all for that. I I I I think that the CEO of a company has two main roles, which is build a variety team and also be the protector of the culture of the company. This is a huge role for the CEO of the company. And I’m starting to feel that you have in your own hands the direction of drive the culture company. And this is one of the most important things because a bad culture could end a company. So you need to work a lot in the values of the company, in the culture of the company, how the company behaves in the daily decisions. This is one of the main tasks that a CEO must do.

Right now in my role, as I said, I I was appointed almost nine years nine months ago. So I’m stuck. I’m learning a lot from the from other departments. I control a lot the commercial side because view my expertise in revenue management, I almost control that part perfectly. But, you know, human resources, operation, maintenance, all this all all the areas that supports a company. You know? It’s like MBA daily because learning a lot because I’m listening a lot to my team. But I have done that all my career. So if you want to lead really lead a team, you need to listen more than talk. So I’m trying to do that, and I’m trying to learn. I’m trying to give to my team the necessary tools and, you know, trying to be a good person, trying to do my job as good as I can. And, you know, when you have faith in that, you will you will get your results with no doubt.

Sebastien Leitner

I wanna get back to revenue management. But before we go, I I’d love to for you to explain or describe the culture of Port Hotels. Right? Because you you spoke very passionately about, you know, maintaining the culture. How would you describe it?

Diego de Ponga

I mean, you know, the companies has a culture always. Every single company has their own culture. There is no doubt about that. Some part of that has writing. You have your your culture write it in in some papers, in some in some in some thing in some spaces. And other companies don’t do that. They don’t have, like, a, you know, manual where you where you can lead your your your DNA of that company. No?

If I need to to explain how is our culture, we are a family business. And we truly, believe that our company is our employees. The employees are in the center of everything, and we try to do our best. Maybe sometimes we don’t get that, but we try at least be humans. We are a very human company. And when we need to take a decision, we’re starting, okay, is that correct for our team or not? Maybe it’s not correct for the business, but the first thing is is this correct for our team? Is this correct for our business?

We are a very trusted people. You know? When you speak with somebody on your team, you know that they are telling you the truth. And this is one of the most important value in in in life. Because, you know, when somebody lies to you, you build something from from a lie. And when this lie the lie is always I I can’t I can’t say that in English, but, you know, the lies are really short term short term prop. Okay? Because all lies come to the reality in in some way. No?

So we are all also very passionate when we do something. We do it with passion with passion, and we we like to host our guest. You know? And and and and we try to do things thinking also from the guest. For sure, there is more details on on that story. You know? But but the core is we are a family. We truly be the family’s first. I mean, it’s always first. We have a job, but we’ve our family is always the first part.

Sebastien Leitner

That’s beautiful. That’s beautiful. You know?

Diego de Ponga

Because the results sometimes will come, sometimes will not come, but your family is staying with you the whole life. So I I was speaking this this week with with with one person who has a a a really important health problem. And I called the I called her and I told her, don’t worry about the company. We will survive. Don’t worry any minute of the company. Worry about you. Worry about your family. And once you are fully recovered, you come back. You will have your space with us. But, please, I’m begging you that you rest and you spend time with your family because it’s the only way that you can recover for your illness. Okay? And this was this week. It’s a little bit emotional, but, if your people is not happy, you don’t treat well your people, your guests are not going to be well trained.

And, of course, we need to improve a lot of things. We don’t do things perfectly. We do a lot of mistakes daily as a company. But, also, we do a lot of things in our in our way.

Sebastien Leitner

You spoke as a CEO how important it is to surround you with people who you can rely on. Right? You can help them make decisions. You have a thousand employees. Recruitment must be a challenge. Right? How do you attract the best possible, I guess, executives, leaders, employees?

Diego de Ponga

Do you know do you know do you know that this industry has suffered a lot after the COVID? Okay? I probably it was one of the most the industry who which has more problems after the COVID. Okay? Because we needed to to close our hotel worldwide and on the restaurant. So a lot of people left the industry, and we are facing a labor shortage right now. I’m not speaking about poor poor hotels in a specific. I I mean, I’m speaking about globally. We are sort of staff in our in our industry. You know?

But I think that we need to to focus in three three important pillars to to try to bring back to the industry to all the people who have who left the industry. Okay? First of all is work life balance. You know? Working in hospitality industry is really complicated sometimes. So we need to flexible schedules, try to make fair workloads, and ensure that the employees are okay in their tech in their in their in their job. Because burnout in our industry is a really pro is a really high problem in our industry. So we need to work really hard for that.

Second one, I think that a good culture will help to recover that that people. If you are able to go to your job with a smile in your face, you are in the right spot. You are always in the right spot. I’m always telling to my team, if you came to the your position on Monday with the same energy that on Friday, you get it. Okay? So we try to do that. I’m always speaking. I may smile in the whole day. Sometimes I’m not I’m angry. Sometimes I have problems at my at my home, but I try to smile. You know? I try to smile every single day. And I’m trying to go to my job on Monday with the same energy that on Friday. The same energy. Because I love my my job. I love what I’m doing. Not for being a CEO. I I did that during the my whole career. So I’m trying to to give to all the people who were with me that. Okay?

And also, we need to invest, and I’m not speaking about my company. I’m speaking also globally. We need to spend we need to spend more time and resources in training and career development. I think we need to give to our people careers internally. We need to create to them a path, a a way to to to become a better employee, a better professional, in terms of skills. So we need to train a lot our people. So we are trying we’re trying to to regulate recolocate all the puzzles, all the pieces on that puzzle puzzle. Because after the COVID, this industry is struggling a lot about workforce and labor storage.

Sebastien Leitner

Why is giving a career so important in your opinion? I I I read that you’re working with top hospitality schools. You’re investing as a company heavily in the training and education of your team members. Why do you think that’s so important?

Diego de Ponga

I think that this some part is like a message that you are launching to your people, to your team, to your employees. It’s like a message. I want invest in you. I want invest in your skills. I want that you become better professional, that you improve. It’s like we we we want to encourage our people. And you and the best way to encourage people is tell them, okay. I’m spending all this money in your career. I’m spending all this money in in in trying to develop a training program for you.

So, actually, we are we are training more than twenty percent of the housekeeping department right now. You know? The housekeeping department is like a forget it department in terms of training programs. You know?

Sebastien Leitner

Yet it’s the most important one. Correct?

Diego de Ponga

Yeah. I mean, because some part of the industry thinks that, they are not close to the client. They don’t need to have some skills. But in our case, in in in December last year, twenty twenty twenty four, we started, development program for all the, not all the housekeepers for sure, but it’s twenty. It’s almost twenty housekeeper of all of the whole company. Okay? And we are teaching them, new skills, management. How can you make a timetable? How can you manage your staff your tax in more efficiency? How can you treat your people? How can you learn English? How can you treat the guys? How can you upsell things in the hotel being a housekeeper? It doesn’t matter. I mean, you’re you’re really important part of of the hotel. Okay?

So we started last year. With that, we will develop during this year this specific program. And, also, we started also this January trying to give MBA to all our GMs. All the general managers are receiving a MBA, hospitality MBA, only to reinforce, the way that they do things in the hotel. And this is the starting point. We will deliver a lot of training hours this this year because we have a very important training program developed for that year. And we will increase our resources yearly because we want to invest in our people.

I mean, I I like to be trained. So I I I’m also also asking for training, to my company because I think that this is the best way that your company could tell to you very important for me because I’m training to you. And the train is spending money and spending a lot of time. Okay? Because the the training programs are really expensive. At least in Spain, if you want to to high really high standards in terms in terms of training, you need to spend a lot of money. But, you know, it’s a cost, but for me, it’s an it’s an investment. You need to invest in your people. And I think that one as I said, one of the main important parts are the training programs. We know that.

Sebastien Leitner

Let’s go to revenue management. You have a long career in revenue management. I’m curious what you’ve seen in the last few years happening to revenue management. Meaning, what are some of the changes that you’ve noticed to revenue management? And, Reversely, like, what are some of the challenges that revenue management faces today?

Diego de Ponga

Yeah. I I’m trying to to mix both questions. Okay? Because I think that from the last five years, there is a a very important technology who came very popular, which is the RMS, the revenue management system. With the introduction of this technology, okay, the companies are able to manage more portfolio with less hands, with less revenue managers. Okay? And this is the first part that you need to take into account if you want to be a revenue manager. If your job, it’s only changing prices, you will not be a revenue manager anymore. If your role mainly is to see the competitors, seeing your pickup, and changing the prices, you have less than three years of job right now. Because in five years, all the present strategies for all the companies will be made by Ramesh with no doubts.

But I encourage people to to to to be a revenue manager because I think that we need to change a little bit the main the meaning of that role. We need to to focus on profits instead of focus on revenue. That revenue managers the problem that they have right now is that they are only focused on revenues. Revenue streams, nothing more. I made a really great change in my career when I was a revenue manager, a director revenue manager, when I started to think about profits, all my strategy changed completely.

Sebastien Leitner

And and I Give me an example. What changed?

Diego de Ponga

I’m always when I’m teaching that to the students, that example. What do you prefer? One hundred euros of Speedy of Booking dot com or or eighty two euros of Speedy collect? And all the revenues say to me Booking dot com. But at the end, it’s the same rate because Booking dot com enters in your system in PBB, and you need to rest at the end of your course structure a cost, which is, the the the I don’t know the name in English. Sorry, Sebastian.

Sebastien Leitner

Commission.

Diego de Ponga

The commission of booking. What are the commission of booking? The revenue manager don’t doesn’t see the commission of booking. And this is the first question. What do you prefer? One hundred of that or eighty two of that? No. No. One hundred. This increase in my my ADR. You will be replaced with a matching in two years.

So this is a a a really easy example because when all the revenue managers in almost all my career told or spoke with me about the ADR or the hotels, This ADR contains the PPP rates of Booking dot com without the commissions. So it’s not real, your ADR. And you are taking decisions with this ADR, which is not real. So I think the next step on revenue management is at least control all the cost of distribution into your product. This is the first advice that then I can give I can give to our our new revenue manager. Learn a lot about the course of distribution of your change, of your hotel. You need to learn that. You need to know them.

And also, how your incomes affects the operation of your hotel. Because you can get to revenue through two important levers, ADR or occupancy rates. You know, it’s not working in the same way, an all inclusive resort in the Caribbean that, bed and breakfast in the middle of the of downtown. They are not working in the same way in terms of cost structures. They don’t work in the same way. Okay? And, also, they don’t work in the same way in high season that in low season. So you need to understand that. You need to start speaking about profits, and they will go really smooth. You will become more more powerful in the hotel because you will be able to connect the incomes, the revenues to the GOP, you know, and these revenue managers will not be replaced by AI or Fenera MS right now.

A second adviser that I can I am always giving to the revenue managers is give or take a public speaking training program? Because, you know, revenue managers has a very back office profile. But, I I mean, I I I needed to take lessons of of public speaking. I was enabled ten, fifteen years ago to speak publicly. And it’s very important because you could be the best revenue manager in the world, technically technically speaking. But if you are in front of a GM, of a head fund, and you need to explain your strategy, and you are not able to deliver the information in the correct way, you are not a good revenue manager.

Okay. You need to sell your ideas. You need to sell your strategies. You need to work a lot your selling strategies because you need to convince a lot of people. I’m always saying that, you know, resilience is something that all the revenues must have Because, you know, being a revenue manager, you work with something which is very personal, which is price. Because price for the owner of the company is always cheap. And for the sale team, the same price is expensive. You need to be also really resilient because you will not be able to make everyone in the hotel happy.

So probably these are my my three best advices. Focus on profits, train your public speaking, and be resilient.

Sebastien Leitner

Because you have to say no. Right? The resilient part no a lot of times.

Diego de Ponga

If you have if you are a GM and your revenue managers talk to you just every time, this is not probably you will let you will leave money on the table for sure. You need to say no to a lot of people. Also, sometimes to the owners or the hotel or the business. This is not possible. And if you don’t like it, we will lose money if you if we do that. K? I mean, if you take a decision based of based on data and you are able to sell that decision to the owner or to the your boss, you will not have problems.

Sebastien Leitner

You mentioned something interesting, which is, like, AI will not replace you. Right? AI will not replace you if you do three these three things. Okay. If you’d only change prices, you will be replaced by AI. You know? Because Chargeptivity is able to make your, monthly business review for you. You enter the the the the data and, ChatGPT right now, today, is able to give you two, pages of, monthly review. So you do changes in prices. And if you do reports, you will be replaced in some years, for sure. Because the AI right now is is changing the world. If you are able to manage that AI for you, you will not be replaced. But if you are only doing task that a machine can do really, really easy, you will be replaced with no doubt.

Diego de Ponga

So as a successful revenue manager, let’s say you do all these three things.

Sebastien Leitner

Yep. Yep. What do you use the AI for?

Diego de Ponga

The RMS need to use the AI. The technology needs to use the AI the AI. Okay? And they are using that for all almost five years in another way. No? But, you know, if if I’m a revenue manager, I will spend less time doing reports sent to ChargepT, for example. I hate when a revenue manager spend sixty percent of their time making reports Because there is some companies that the revenue managers spend sixty percent of their time making reports, making graphics, making emails to say because you have turned that price or the result of the more the month are that because of that that that. If you are clever enough, you will spend less time doing that right now.

Sebastien Leitner

At Club Bets, we’re we’re working on a project called Club Bets Intelligence that puts together sales, marketing, and revenue management into a single platform. That’s been a struggle in hospitality for a long, long time. I’m curious on your perspective. How do you make sure that marketing or marketing investment, revenue management, and sales work hand in hand?

Diego de Ponga

Wow. This is a great question. Okay. Because I think that every single property in the world have the same problem. Okay? I’m trying to tell out what what we are doing in Port Hootas. I am a very lucky now because our very lucky professional because we have a very understanding team. So we don’t have internal problem. We don’t have this politics in in place in in in in our in our company. No?

But right now, marketing, sales, and revenue management are completely separate separated areas. And these three areas depend on me, but they need to work really close. They don’t have this they have the same boss because it’s it’s me. So when there is a problem, I’m I’m trying to add. But I’m not almost acting in that because, as a company, we need to know which is the area of each part. The problem is one, sales want to do revenue, revenue want to do sales, and marketing want to do everything. The problem starts with that.

So in in our perspective, market teams generate demand, sales capture that demand, and revenue management optimize on demand. Okay? The perfect cycle for that. And being a little bit more more specifically, was speaking more specifically, pricing and distribution strategies in terms of tactics are on revenue hands. So department who say that one hundred euros today is the current price, it’s only revenue management. Nobody, not including the owners or myself, could change that price. Okay? Because if revenue manager said that, it’s because we trust them.

In terms of contracting, the strategic, vision of the pricing is of the pricing you need to contract the rates. Sales came to the to the scenario. Also supported by the data of revenue management. Okay? They are supporting them to create the whole contracting periods for the next year. And marketing is working really close with revenue management in terms of campaigns. So when revenue when marketing need to make a new campaign, they go to revenue management and ask for the better periods and better channels or better, countries to make that campaign. Okay? So we try to do that. This is thoroughly because sometimes in the reality, it’s happened not like that, but we we we try to define the work of each every single department. We we try to you know, it’s always a a complete question in the companies, but as I said, I’m very lucky, man. My team is really gorgeous and really excited.

Sebastien Leitner

And and the results seem to speak for itself. Like, you’re running at record occupancy. You have fantastic ADR. Are are you happy with the result? What can be improved, if anything?

Diego de Ponga

I’m I mean, I I mean, the results of that year are really really impressive. I mean, we we have increased almost, twelve percent in our ADR, and we have got annual occupancy rate of ninety ninety one percent.

Sebastien Leitner

That’s crazy. Which is Sorry. That’s amazing.

Diego de Ponga

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It’s amazing. I mean, we are really happy. It’s true that in in this area, there is two two main important parts of the year, the winter and the summer. The winter are complicated ones. The the comp the the winter is really complicated in the area. But we have we have worked really hard to to increase our occupancy rates in occupancy rates during the the winter.

There are three important, decisions that we took some some years ago. That first one, we need to shift from static to dynamic rates and dynamic pricing. So we try to move all our contracts to FIT rates to dynamic rates. It was one of the most important movement that we did. Also, we optimize where we are optimizing our business mix. So we try to have more deal level rights on data sales. We have a very important strategy for increase our data sales. It has increased a lot for the last two years. And, also, we have expanded to the new markets. We didn’t have covered well some part of the market, so we we tried to launch new markets. So this is an incremental production for the hotel.

So these three aspect has been really, really, really key for us. But I need to say that all these results are one hundred percent of our team. I mean, I didn’t do anything for that. I was appointed nine months ago, and it was everything done by by by the team. So I I didn’t do anything. I only, made the PR in this case, but all the all our results are on our team’s hands with no doubt. And we are really proud not only for the results. We are really, really proud. I’m really, really proud about the team.

Sebastien Leitner

You talked about RMSs, as as a key component to effective revenue management. Walk us through your tech setup in general. Like I assume you use technology left and right.

Diego de Ponga

Yeah. We we we use technology at our company. All all our technology is one hundred percent centralized. Okay? This means that every single property has the same tech structure. Which is really important. Because it’s more efficient. It give us a really strong competitive advantage because we ensure consistency consistency in our process, efficiency, and real time data because all the portfolio have the same structure, have the same databases, have the same PBIS, have the same channel manager.

We have every single, software chosen in the in the same way for the whole inventory. Okay? So if you work in one hotel and you work tomorrow, and another hotel is the same. We work with the same technology. Okay? We have PMS, channel manager, BI, CRM, a software benchmarking technology, and a web app in every single property, the same. And one hundred centralized.

Navadi, in the company, incorporate something in terms of tech stack without the permission of the IT department in the central in the headworks. And I think that this is very important because when you are running a company with more than ten hotels, this could be a nightmare in terms of of of of technology because every single hotels have their own premier, have their own channel manager, has new things, new software that you go to our hotels and then the GMs tell to you, okay. I have this new system. No. No. No. It it doesn’t work like that. This is a nightmare in the future because you are not agile in making changes. You are not efficient in terms of course of textiles. So we try to to do one hundred percent centralized. And now only interest are are single a single so without knowing the headwaters.

Sebastien Leitner

Before we wrap up, I I I’d love to sort of talk about the future. Right? Like, what is in store for you, for yourself, but also for Port Hotels? Where are you going? What’s what what do you see happening in the future?

Diego de Ponga

In the future, speaking globally, I think that the AI agents will change the way that we work. There there are a lot of there are a lot of tasks that will be made by AI agents in three years. Almost repetitive task, administrative tasks. I think that this is the new revolution of that industry. Because in the hospitality industry, we do a lot of things in the back office. We do a lot of administration jobs and administration tools and administration task, better said. Sorry. So I think that this is going to be the next revolution, the AI agents. Okay.

Sebastien Leitner

And then for yourself and for your company?

Diego de Ponga

Yeah. And I speak and speaking about our company, I’m truly believer of of technology. I mean, I I I I’m very passionate in technology. I don’t know how can I say it in English, but I love technology? Okay? So we we tried to incorporate technology that it will focus in two aspects. Experience, guest experience, and also operational efficiency. Yeah. We try to to cover this this area.

During the last month, so on almost the last year, we have incorporated the paperless checking. So we are able to do check ins without papers right now. So we we we we do with some, tablets or something in the in the reception, not in the whole company, but some part of the portfolio has it. Also, the pre check-in, we do a lot of pre check ins. So when you get your your your your reservation, I think that one day one day before your arrival, you get an email and you can make the pre checking. So you check into the hotel, and they will give only the the key of your room.

Also, we are implementing and and we today, I had one meeting with my team about that, the web app. We are we are developing with a company with a standard company, a web app for our guest, for our customers. In this app, all all our guests will manage reservation, require services. They will have exclusivity offers in that web app. And, also, we implemented AI chatbots one month ago in our website. So you go to porthoothill dot s. Right now, you you could speak continuously with an AI agent right now, driver driven by a chatbot. You can have a really proper conversation with with I know I I I I don’t know how can I say it with her, with him, with it? We try to implement, you know, this kind of of of of technology who help our guests to to have a better experience and also to help our our employees to be more efficiency and more happy. Happy.

Sebastien Leitner

That’s amazing. Alright. I’m curious. Diego, CEO of Port Hotels, where do you do where do you go for vacation? Till my final question. Where do you what’s your go to destination?

Diego de Ponga

I don’t know, sir, if I guess as if I I’m able to say what I’m going to say. I don’t take vacation. I mean, yeah, I have holidays, but, you know, I’m I was traveling a lot during the last fifteen years. Right now, my in my new position, I’m not traveling a lot, but my family lives I’m living far away from my family. I I see my family on the weekends. So when I’m at holidays, I want to be at home with my family. Nothing. So I don’t owe

Sebastien Leitner

That’s your destination.

Diego de Ponga

That’s that’s why you don’t do anything, Sebastian. I don’t owe to to fancy destination. I don’t spend money on holidays. I try to be with my family at home, with my kids, and and and trying to be happy. It make me happy to to be with them. I don’t see them so often, so I don’t want to travel. I don’t want to take planes. I don’t want to go to to hotels because, you know, when I’m in a hotel, I don’t I don’t enjoy the experience because, you know, I’m seeing

Sebastien Leitner

Your brain is working. You’re

Diego de Ponga

Yeah. I’m seeing all the defaults, all the problems, and I’m thinking we have paid that and look at that. And my wife say the the oh, this hotel is perfect. So, and I remember one one time, I probably ten years ago, I I went on holiday with my family. I I spent one week in the hotel and in and the checkout, I give to the reception a a a report of the hotel of ten pages. I said, okay. Give to the your GM. You do a fantastic holidays, but I will improve ten pages. Take it. So I don’t like to go vacation or or hotels. I try to spend with my family, Sebastian.

Sebastien Leitner

Nice. That’s typically also sort of our closing question, which is what lets you sleep easily at night. You know, what keeps you up at night in the morning, at the beginning, and then what lets you sleep at night? Sounds like you spending quality time with your family is the thing that that makes you sleep well.

Diego de Ponga

If I need to see something, for sure, my family. If I’m able to when I’m with my family, I’m I’m with my family almost one day, two days per week right now. When I’m with them, I must sleep pretty well because some part of the days I live with my kids and my wife. Everything together in the same room. So we’re happy with that. But if I’m taking that to my professional side, I’m able to speak well when I behave as a good person. You know? It’s simple as that. And I can’t I can’t finish the podcast with a better ending. I live well when I’m a a good person.

Sebastien Leitner

Diego, thank you so much for joining today. Really appreciate you sharing your thoughts, your insights, and your story. So thank you very much for joining the program.

Diego de Ponga

Thank you very much for your time, for for for the opportunity to be here with all of you. And really glad to to have had that that time together, Sebastian. Thank you.

Sebastien Leitner

That brings us to the end of yet another episode of The Turndown. Huge thanks for all of you to listening. We hope you enjoyed the conversation. Of course, this podcast wouldn’t be possible without the amazing team behind the scenes. A massive shout out to the producers, Talak Kahrero, Linda Pejai, Lana Cook, Ricky Sherman, and Eilifakuhasen for the incredible research and preproduction work always keeping us on track. To Pablo Sanchez, thank you for your stellar audio editing and for making us sound so good. And finally, thank you to Ying Liu for her organizational talents and keeping the season on schedule literally. Remember to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and follow us for updates and bonus content. Until then, take care and stay curious.