After four years as a hotel system trainer and implementation specialist, I’ve seen the same thing happen again and again.
When a hotel launches a new system, the focus is technical.
Install the software.
Migrate the data.
Set a go-live date.
Once it’s live, everyone breathes a sigh of relief.
But from experience, that’s when the real challenge begins.
Most system failures are not caused by bad software. They happen because the people using it were not fully prepared to adapt to it.
I’ve trained accounting teams who hesitated to post transactions because they were worried about making mistakes. I’ve seen managers go back to manual tracking during the transition. Others continued relying on their old software.
The system was working.
The numbers were accurate.
But the people didn’t fully trust it yet.
They didn’t feel confident enough to rely on it.
That’s where the gap lies.
One of the biggest challenges in any system rollout is expectation.
People expect the new system to work exactly like the old one. They look for the same buttons, the same steps, the same shortcuts.
When they don’t find them, frustration begins.
“This is harder.”
“Why is it different?”
“The old system was easier.”
But a new system is not meant to copy the old one. It’s built differently on purpose. It has its own structure and way of doing things. When someone tries to apply old habits to a new system, it naturally feels difficult.
That doesn’t mean the system is wrong. It just means there’s a learning curve.
If training consists only of step-by-step instructions, people will struggle the moment something unusual happens. Hotels are fast-paced. Every day is different. Guests have special requests. Rooms change. Payments fail. Things happen.
This is why I believe training should go beyond simply showing where to click.
So during training, I focus on helping teams understand why a process works the way it does. Once they understand the logic behind it, they become more confident. They stop memorizing steps and start understanding the flow.
Another important lesson I’ve learned: one training session is never enough.
You cannot expect someone to feel fully ready after just a few hours of practice. Confidence comes from repetition. From asking questions. From trying different scenarios. From making small mistakes in a safe environment before going live.
Hotels that invest in proper training consistently see better results. The transition is smoother. Staff make fewer errors. Managers use reports more effectively. The system becomes a helpful tool instead of a daily stressor.
Going live quickly is not the goal.
Going live confidently is.
From what I’ve seen, systems don’t fail because they are too complex. They fail because people feel rushed, unsure, or unsupported.
When teams feel prepared and heard, everything changes.
The system works.
The team works.
And when both are aligned, implementation stops being a task to complete and becomes a foundation for stronger operations.
Because in the end, success is not about going live.
It’s about being ready to move forward with confidence.
Written by Karen Lusung, Team Leader of the Training and Implementation Department and Project Lead for hotel system implementations across the Philippines, with four years of hands-on experience driving successful system rollouts and user adoption.
