The story behind The Hospitality Nerd

I'm a hospitality professional, an analytics specialist and, as you may have guessed, a bit of a nerd about numbers.

I started where hospitality people start: on the ground, learning how the business really works. Over 20 years later, that's still how I read a report. I've worked across hotel operations, finance, revenue management and commercial analytics, so I know what happens on the floor AND what the numbers say afterwards.

I studied Hotel Management in Switzerland and Hospitality and Tourism Management in Scotland. The rest I learned from the people around me: in leading hospitality brands, hotel chains, independent hotels, and hotel consulting and management companies, across different markets and business models. From a single hotel to a multi-property portfolio. And I've analysed the performance of hundreds of food and beverage outlets, which taught me that a busy restaurant isn't always a profitable one.

I've seen the numbers. I've seen the reality behind them.

A hotel can post excellent occupancy and still struggle to make a profit. A restaurant can fill every table while the margin quietly disappears. A department can look like it's overspending when the real cause is somewhere else in the operation.

Numbers are brilliant at telling us what happened. Why it happened, and what to do next, is where the real value is. I've also seen the other side: reports nobody reads, dashboards that look impressive and answer the wrong questions, and decisions made on instinct because the data was too complicated, too late or told half the story.

Having data doesn't make a business data-driven. Knowing what to do with it does.

Analytics shouldn't belong to finance teams and senior management. Whether you're an owner, a CEO, a General Manager, a restaurant operator or running your first department, you should be able to see where you're making money, where you're losing it and where there's room to improve. Without being a data analyst. Without a 40-page report.

My approach is straightforward: understand the operation, ask the right questions, make sense of the numbers, and turn the findings into actions you can actually take. KPIs, margins, reporting, the tools that give you a clearer picture. Technology and AI help, but they're tools, not the answer.

Because I don't see your venue as a collection of numbers. Behind every KPI are people, guests, costs and decisions, and a recommendation is only any good if the people who have to put it into practice can use it. I connect the dots between departments instead of looking at each one in isolation.

No jargon. No dashboards for the sake of it. No telling you what you already know. I'll challenge assumptions, find what you're missing, and explain the WHY, not just hand you a number.

Hospitality is a people business. Data should help us serve people better, run stronger operations and build more profitable businesses, not make everything harder than it needs to be.

Let's make sense of the numbers, ask better questions and turn insight into action.

Welcome to The Hospitality Nerd.

The best operators don't need more data. They need better visibility, and a system that tells them what's working, what isn't, and where the next opportunity is hiding.

Not more reports. Not more noise. Just the right information at the right time.

Because insight is only valuable when it helps you decide what to do next.