LODGING LEADERS
025 | Bringing Magic To Hotels With Kunal Patel
LODGING LEADERS
Kunal Patel grew up in the hotel industry. The son of successful multi-property owners, he learned firsthand how difficult it is to make a hotel run efficiently.
Kunal commenced studies in Business at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Fla, before transferring to Florida State/Florida A&M College of Engineering, where he majored in Chemical Engineering.
After excelling in his coursework and completing an internship with Carbonyx Inc., he joined the Carbonyx office in 2011 in Dahej, Gujarat, India. There, he oversaw daily operations at a $100 million facility where his responsibility including human resource management of more than 300 staff members, procurement, marketing, and product sales.
In 2014, he formed Hoteligent.com to provide innovative software and hardware solutions to help hotels improve efficiencies and drive profits. As Chief Executive Officer, Kunal partnered with MagicJack to create a commercial-quality VoIP solution for hotels – HOTELiJack. Together, they’re offering dependable, unlimited local and long distance telephone service for Hotels using their existing Internet connection, enabling hotels to save 60% or more compared to traditional phone solutions.
In This Episode, Kunal Talks About:
- Trends – hotel phone usage by guests is declining, but rates continue to soar
- The truth about many current phone solutions
- How VoIP (Voice over IP) technology works and why it’s a smarter solution
- Redundancy in the event your Internet connection goes down
- Why long contracts, early termination fees, and bad customer service are a thing of the past
Resources & Links
- Email: kunal.p[at]hoteligent.com
- Kunal on LinkedIn
- Kunal on Facebook
- Hoteligent.com
- HOTELiJack video
- MagicJack.com
LODGING LEADERS
-
321 | Here to Help: Pandemic crisis fuels third-party management growth
Hotel owners and operators who believed they could go it alone before the coronavirus pandemic devastated the hotel industry are having another think and turning to third-party managers to work their way back to profitability in the post-pandemic recovery. Another trend contributing to the growth in third-party managers’ business is more commercial real estate investors armed with cash entering the hotel sector and in need of an experienced operations team. Episode 321 of Lodging Leaders podcast explores the growth of third-party management companies over the past 12 months. This report is part of Lodging Leaders’ coverage of the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the hospitality industry.
-
320 | Where’s My Stuff?: Breaks in the global supply chain disrupt hotel projects, increase costs
The Ever Given container ship running aground on March 23 in the Suez Canal got worldwide attention, but it is just one of many reasons for the breaks in the global supply chain that are impacting the U.S. hotel industry’s post-pandemic revival plans. Shipping companies in Asia and Europe are contending with a boatload of challenges, including a lack of containers, traffic jams at West Coast ports and increased costs. Long Live Lodging explores what the problems mean to hotel owners and developers eager to refresh their properties and welcome guests back.