Hiring the cheapest agency that hands you pretty photos with no strategy? Expensive, thinking social media is optional because you believe guests will just find you? Very expensive.

• Letting staff turnover spin out of control because you treat employees like they’re disposable? Extremely expensive.
• Cutting corners on guest experience and hoping no one notices? The most expensive mistake of all.

This industry is full of leaders who brag about saving money upfront, then act shocked when the hidden bill shows up later. Bad reviews, empty rooms, wasted ad spend, burned-out teams. The cheap option always ends up costing more.

I’ve seen it everywhere. Hotels that pour millions into renovations but ignore their digital presence. Resorts that spend a fortune on F&B but won’t invest in photography that drives bookings. Cruise lines that cut WiFi budgets to save a few thousand, then lose repeat guests because people couldn’t stay connected. Destinations that hire influencers based on follower counts instead of relevance, then complain when nothing converts.

Here’s where leaders cut corners and always lose:

• Training: Skip it and you’re not saving, you’re paying. A poorly trained employee costs you repeat guests every day.
• Digital marketing: Treat it like an afterthought and you’ll burn cash on ads that don’t convert while competitors own the feed.
• Content: Use outdated photos and you’ll kill your brand before a guest even books. Fresh, authentic content is the new currency.
• Tech: Ignore WiFi, mobile check-in, or payment systems and you’ll lose modern travelers before they arrive.
• Culture: Treat staff like numbers and you’ll be writing job postings nonstop instead of building loyalty with the team that delivers your product.

Hospitality is about details. Guests feel when you care and they feel when you don’t. If you cut corners on the details that matter, the market punishes you. If you invest in them, the market rewards you.

Here’s the truth. You can spend $10K now on strategy, training, and storytelling. Or you can spend $100K over the next year fixing problems you could’ve prevented. You can spend energy building culture, or you can spend energy replacing people who left. You can spend time creating experiences guests can’t stop talking about, or you can spend time writing responses to negative reviews. Either way you’ll pay. The choice is whether you pay upfront as an investment or later as a penalty.

The winners in hospitality get it. They invest in people, marketing, storytelling, tech, and training. They invest in experiences that drive loyalty and revenue. They don’t take the cheap way out because they know cheap is the most expensive decision you can make.

Because paying less now doesn’t save you if you’re paying for it in lost guests later.

If you like the way I look at the world of hospitality, let’s chat: scott@mrscotteddy.com

Scott Eddy
Hospitality’s No-Nonsense Voice | Speaker | Brand Strategist | Building Loyalty & ROI Through Real Storytelling | #15 Hospitality Influencer | #2 Cruise Influencer |🌏86 countries |⛴️122 cruises