Commit Yourselves

Dear colleagues,

My name is Calin Munteanu and I am the owner of the 24-room Christina Hotel in Bucharest, Romania. I am writing this letter to you as I have grown tired of what is happening to us, the hotel owners and managers: although we do all the work in the hospitality industry, the army of booking platforms has turned us into their cash cow as they are getting greedier every day (sometimes their commissions exceed 30%). Our hotel spent 67,000 € last year on booking commissions only; this equates to approximately 232 €/room (occupied or not) each month.

In this age of globalization, when everything is getting connected, we stand to face a serious loss if we do not take initiative. In my opinion, we have to commit ourselves and create a worldwide community of hotels. Together we can change our businesses and make the world a better place for us and for our children. You may say I am a dreamer, but this can be achieved if we work together!

We, the hotels of the world, represent a huge power in the global economic system, offering jobs to over 50 million people. The 20 billion overnight stays mean that we accommodate around 7 billion people a year (equivalent to the entire world population). We also pay 20 billion Euros/year to intermediaries, who use the money for their own advertising purposes, while we become less and less important and visible. The booking platforms are not our enemies, but we have to commit ourselves and stop their greed.

Why aren’t there any lists with hotels around the world, with email addresses, phone numbers, etc.? This is because no one wants us to know about each other, preventing us from cooperating. I am dreaming of a community of hotels around the world. Do you share my dream?

Personally, I have spent time and money trying to create this database of hotels from all over the world. It is a great deal of work and I need your help. Do you want to get involved in this enormous project? Do you think that we can create this community? The way I see it, the only answer is: yes, we can!

Yours faithfully,

Călin Munteanu