Hotel ÜJA CEO on Buying and Digitizing Boomer Hotels
What if buying a hotel no longer meant inheriting fourteen-hour days, outdated systems, and a business that owns you?
In this episode of Hotel Tech Insider, Simona Eicher, CEO and owner of Hotel ÜJA in Switzerland, shares how she and her partner bought an under-digitized independent hotel from a retiring owner and rebuilt it around a more modern operating model.
With a background in McKinsey, software procurement, and venture building, Simona entered hospitality with little traditional hotel experience. She used technology to simplify operations, improve the booking journey, make better commercial decisions, and preserve the human side of hospitality where it matters most.
The results are compelling: more than 80% direct bookings, a 30% increase in ADR, and higher occupancy.
Simona also breaks down the practical lessons behind the transformation, including how she selected and later replaced her PMS, why digital lock and local system integrations became non-negotiable, and where software demos can fail to reveal real-world operational limitations.
More broadly, the episode explores a growing opportunity in independent hospitality. As longtime owners retire and younger family members opt out of the operating model they grew up watching, a new generation of buyers can acquire under-digitized hotels and use modern technology to turn them into more profitable, flexible, and attractive lifestyle assets.
Subscribe to Hotel Tech Insider for more stories from hotel owners using technology to build better businesses.
In this episode of Hotel Tech Insider, Simona Eicher, CEO and owner of Hotel ÜJA in Switzerland, shares how she and her partner bought an under-digitized independent hotel from a retiring owner and rebuilt it around a more modern operating model.
With a background in McKinsey, software procurement, and venture building, Simona entered hospitality with little traditional hotel experience. She used technology to simplify operations, improve the booking journey, make better commercial decisions, and preserve the human side of hospitality where it matters most.
The results are compelling: more than 80% direct bookings, a 30% increase in ADR, and higher occupancy.
Simona also breaks down the practical lessons behind the transformation, including how she selected and later replaced her PMS, why digital lock and local system integrations became non-negotiable, and where software demos can fail to reveal real-world operational limitations.
More broadly, the episode explores a growing opportunity in independent hospitality. As longtime owners retire and younger family members opt out of the operating model they grew up watching, a new generation of buyers can acquire under-digitized hotels and use modern technology to turn them into more profitable, flexible, and attractive lifestyle assets.
Subscribe to Hotel Tech Insider for more stories from hotel owners using technology to build better businesses.
