Joan Cruz, "The Silent Executive", 40 years and 40 hotels under his belt: "That money is already inside the hotel, you just have to go and get it"
Forty years in the hotel industry, 40 hotels, and 10.000 rooms managed attest to Joan Cruz's expertise. He's one of those executives who has built his career behind the scenes. He has led expansions, asset management, and lease negotiations throughout Spain, with a strong presence in the Canary Islands, and today serves as an independent consultant to hotel groups through HKI Hotels. Starting September 1st, he'll be sharing his insights on LinkedIn and Instagram each week, offering insights gained from four decades of hotel operations.
Forty years behind the scenes at 40 hotels. What's the first thing you want to talk about?
The sector is experiencing its highest revenue ever, and it's only fair to acknowledge the merit of the many people who make it possible every day. My message is one of opportunity: if we add a little more management discipline to this boom, the results can be even better.
Why "The Silent Executive"?
Because I've spent 40 years working behind the scenes, managing 40 hotels and 10.000 rooms without seeking the limelight. Silence is my method: observing operations and listening to the teams before offering my opinion. Now I want to share what I've learned, with gratitude to everyone who has taught me along the way.
Where do you see the greatest opportunity?
Regarding people: absenteeism, turnover, and motivation. In a medium-sized group, I've quantified over €7 million in recoverable annual losses from absenteeism, personnel, salaries, and internal sales. And the best part is that taking care of teams and improving the bottom line aren't separate paths: they go hand in hand.
He talks about "invisible money." How much is it?
Between €3 and €4 per stay slip through the net without appearing in any report. Upselling encompasses almost everything: room upgrades—view, higher floor, superior room, suite—, meal plan upgrades—adding breakfast, switching to half-board or all-inclusive—, early check-in and late check-out, and services such as special dinners, spa access, parking, or celebratory touches. In a 250-room hotel, all of this untapped revenue amounts to around €550.000 per year. This is fantastic news: that money is already within the hotel's reach; we just need to go and find it, and doing so also enhances the guest experience. And there's another step that I think is important: why shouldn't we be able to generate revenue from what guests spend outside the hotel? Bars, restaurants, shows, events... Guests ask us for recommendations every day; if the hotel organizes this well, guests gain convenience, local businesses increase sales, and the hotel can earn a commission for that service. It's a revenue stream that almost no one is currently leveraging.
And what about absenteeism?
It's the least visible cost in the sector and, for that very reason, one of its greatest opportunities. A 250-room hotel with around 90 employees and an 8% absenteeism rate loses between €210.000 and €375.000 a year. It's nobody's fault: it's simply never had a clear owner within the organization. When it's measured and addressed carefully and methodically, the figures improve, and above all, the well-being of the staff improves.
Will next season be different?
I believe this will be a great opportunity. When demand normalizes, hotels that control COST will have an advantage and will be able to continue taking care of their guests and their teams. The recipe that has worked for me for 40 years consists of three things: an obsession with cost, proactivity, and Spartan discipline—doing what needs to be done every day, regardless of whether the season is good or bad. I see 2027 as the year that good management will truly shine.
He says that the boom encourages relaxation. Where is the greatest potential for cost improvement?
Absenteeism and staffing are the biggest expenses for any hotel: measuring and managing them effectively is where the greatest savings can be made. And then there's a classic issue that almost no one addresses: food waste. Weighing what's thrown away from the buffet each day changes orders, reduces waste, and improves profit margins. With daily logs, I've seen hotels discover they can save significant sums simply by measuring. In a 250-room hotel, that's more than €40.000 a year. What gets weighed gets managed.
Do hotels know how much each stay costs them?
More and more people are asking themselves this question, and that's the good news. They know their revenue per room; the next step is to quantify each stay: absenteeism, staff costs, technology... and also lost revenue, such as upselling. When you first calculate this with a manager, there's silence in the room at first, and then enthusiasm, because they discover a profit margin that was all along.
You mention technology. What role does it play in a well-managed hotel?
It's the greatest ally in this phase. Today, there are tools that calculate upselling, measure absenteeism, and optimize shifts better than any spreadsheet. And let me tell you something else: I use artificial intelligence as a daily work tool, and it's spectacular. To my 40-year career, I've added an assistant that analyzes, calculates, and drafts in minutes what used to take days. If I've been able to incorporate it, any manager can. My advice is simple: technology doesn't replace the team; it frees them up to focus on what no machine can do, which is taking care of the customer.
Why is cost management less important when things are going better?
It's human nature: revenue makes headlines, while costs mean quiet work. Boosting RevPAR gets celebrated; renegotiating contracts doesn't make the news. But I've learned that managing costs is about safeguarding the future of the hotel and the people who work there.
What's the most expensive lesson you've seen in 40 years?
Confusing revenue with profit. I've seen hotels at full capacity struggling, and hotels at 70% occupancy earning more than their fully booked competitors. The good news is that the difference isn't luck: it lies in costs, internal sales, and staffing, and all of that can be improved.
What have you learned in 40 hotels that no school teaches?
The numbers are always out in the hallway, not in the office. The manager who walks the hotel at 7 a.m. finds money and, above all, finds their team. Listening to a housekeeper or a head chef teaches more than many reports.
What does a good hotel manager do that an ordinary one doesn't?
He walks around the hotel and talks to the department heads on the job, not in the office. He goes to the guest rooms, the engine room, the storeroom; sometimes he even has lunch with the staff. He greets the guests and the team. And in the afternoon, he sits down with the cost representatives. He sees the details and, above all, he listens: they know more than we do. A manager like that makes the team want to stay and the owner want to invest. When that happens, the bottom line practically writes itself.
He talks a lot about walking around the hotel. Is there a method behind it?
It exists, and it has a name: Management by Walking Around. I call it being a walking manager: two hours a day outside the office, on the floors, in the kitchen, at reception, and in the engine room. And it has its rituals. The golden question I ask each person on the team is: what complicates your job the most? That's where the real improvements emerge. Another one I recommend: spend one night a month in any room in the hotel, chosen at random, and experience what the guest experiences. And every now and then, a 3 a.m. walk around, because the hotel at night reveals things that the daytime keeps quiet about. It's the new hotel manager: fewer reports and more hallway time. It doesn't cost money, and it's the most cost-effective management tool I know.
You have brought up menopause as a topic of hotel management.
This is a topic that deserves to be treated with the utmost respect, and that's precisely why it needs to be discussed. In housekeeping, 91% of the staff are women—they are the heart and soul of the hotel—many at a stage of life that deserves support. The data speaks for itself: according to the EADA 2025 study on menopause and work in Spain, 93,5% of women aged 45 to 58 experience at least one symptom—fatigue (80%), sleep problems (75%), muscle aches (74%)—and more than half have considered leaving their jobs. Applied to a housekeeping department, with demanding shifts and physical labor, this translates into sick leave, high turnover, and lost talent. Addressing this with medical rigor is a way to care for magnificent professionals who have dedicated years to their work—and, incidentally, the bottom line benefits.
You have led the expansion of several chains. What makes for successful growth?
Three things: choose the right asset, negotiate the contract well, and don't lose sight of the core values along the way. I've signed leases, purchases, and management agreements all over Spain, and the ones that worked best were those where the rent allowed the operation to operate sustainably. A good contract is one that both parties are still honoring ten years later.
He has signed dozens of contracts with property owners. What are the keys to a good contract?
The first is that the rent should allow the operation to breathe: a contract where the hotel can't make money ends badly for both parties. The second is to clearly define from day one who is responsible for what: investments, maintenance, replacements. Conflicts almost never arise from the rent; they stem from what wasn't written down. The third is the duration: a term that allows for amortization of the investment and provides stability to the project and the team. And the fourth, which for me is the most important, is transparency: providing the owners with thorough information, with their figures on the table, every month. A well-informed owner is a partner; one kept in the dark is a lawsuit waiting for a court date. In the end, my rule is simple: a good contract is one that both parties are still honoring ten years later.
Is it a good time to grow in the hotel industry?
It's a fantastic time to grow strategically. There's capital interested in the sector, owners willing to professionalize their assets, and destinations like the Canary Islands with enormous potential. The key is discipline: every new hotel must be profitable from day one, not "we'll fix it later."
What do you look at first in a hotel before recommending it for expansion?
The profit and loss statement per stay and the actual asset status, in that order. And then something that doesn't appear in any report: the team. A hotel with a good team thrives; a hotel without one, however beautiful it may be, costs twice as much. I haven't seen a single exception.
What advice would you give to the owner of a group of 5 hotels who wants to reach 25?
He'll achieve it if he builds on a solid foundation: first get the house in order, then expand. Growing on a model that loses money per stay multiplies the problem fivefold; growing on a profitable one multiplies the joy. I've witnessed both phases, and order matters.
Let's get technical. Give me eight specific examples of improvements in a 250-room hotel.
One: Absenteeism—reducing it from 8% to 4% through measurement, monitoring, and a wellness program—costs approximately €150.000 per year. Two: Annual renegotiation of purchases and contracts—maintenance, insurance, telecommunications, supplies—with transparent accounting, costs €60.000. Three: Food waste—daily weighing of the buffet and adjustment of orders and losses—costs €40.000. Four: Energy—departmental monitoring and smart climate control—costs €50.000. Five: Reducing personnel costs due to overtime by planning shifts based on occupancy data, costs €60.000. Six: Staff turnover—reducing unwanted departures with effective onboarding and follow-up—each avoided departure saves on recruitment, training, and the learning curve—costs €40.000. Seven: Direct sales—moving a small percentage of bookings from intermediaries to the company's own channel, costs €80.000. And eight, which isn't savings but revenue: well-executed upselling, €550.000. In total, one million euros a year of improvement in the profit and loss statement, without affecting quality or staffing. That's the detail that separates a good profit and loss statement from an extraordinary one.
Does HKI Hotels also manage hotels?
Yes, and it's one of the things I'm most excited about. We help manage the hotel jointly with the owner: they retain control of their asset, and we contribute our 40-year operational methodology—costs, upselling, absenteeism, staffing, and tour operator relationships. There are many excellent owners who know their hotel better than anyone, and all they need is a skilled partner to maximize their bottom line. That close collaboration is exactly what we do: applying the experience of 40 hotels to theirs, with their financial data on the table and shared decision-making. The asset remains theirs; we provide the methodology.
What if an owner wants to sell? Do you have investors to buy hotels?
Yes. We work with investment funds and family offices with capital ready to invest in hotels, who trust us precisely because of our 40 years of experience: they know that when we present them with an asset, it has been thoroughly analyzed, with the actual profit and loss statement on the table, and no surprises. For the owner, this is a guarantee of professionalism and discretion: well-organized processes, reliable contacts, and successful transactions. And for the investor, it provides the peace of mind that behind every opportunity there is sound hotel management expertise, not just a pretty presentation. This bridge between ownership and capital is a natural part of our work.
What exactly is your social media series about?
Twelve weeks, every Tuesday on LinkedIn and every Thursday on Instagram, starting September 1st. An introductory post and ten numbered tips on costs, upselling, and absenteeism. All with real figures and a constructive approach: the idea is to build, not point fingers.
So now what?
Putting 40 years of experience at the service of those who need it. I continue advising hotel groups through HKI Hotels on expansion, profitability, and absenteeism. What's new isn't the work itself, but sharing it: I've experienced crises, expansions, negotiations with property owners and tour operators, and everything that works and what doesn't in the daily operation of a hotel. Starting September 1st, I'll be sharing it all every week. If that makes me something, I'd rather it be useful.
