Joe "Mr. Hotel" Hollier, Founder of Safe Hospitality Leadership Accreditation: Labor Is Not a Line Item - It’s Your Brand’s Backbone

"In the hotel business, we talk a lot about RevPAR, ADR, occupancy, and energy costs. But there’s one metric that rarely gets the credit it deserves. That’s the strength of your people.

Labor is not just an operational expense. It’s your most powerful strategic investment.

I’ve seen this firsthand in my work with hotel owners and operators across the country. From limited service roadside inns to full service urban towers, the greatest difference between properties thriving in today’s environment and those just surviving boils down to one thing: how they treat their people.

Joe "Mr. Hotel" Hollier, Founder of Safe Hospitality Leadership Accreditation

Let me be clear. I’m not just talking about pay. I’m talking about the total ecosystem of investment in your team. From training and communication to safety, culture, and leadership development. That’s why I created the Safe Hospitality Leadership Accreditation. Not to add another program to your HR toolbox, but to build a new standard for how we lead frontline teams and housekeeping personnel in hotels.

Why? Because too many properties are hemorrhaging talent. Too many hotels are settling avoidable claims. Too many properties are suffering from reputational damage, all because their approach to labor is reactive rather than strategic.

Here’s the truth: Your housekeepers shape your brand just as much as your marketing team.

The attitude at the front desk, the eye contact in the hallway, the way maintenance interacts with a guest, these are the real “touchpoints” that shape perception and loyalty. When that team is undervalued, overworked, or unsupported, it doesn’t just create HR issues. It creates revenue problems.

And the data backs it up. According to CBRE, labor accounts for 30–40% of hotel revenue. That’s not just a cost to manage, this is a force to harness. The best operators in the industry aren’t cutting blindly. They’re aligning labor investments with guest demand, equipping staff with the tools to succeed, and using programs like ours to protect their people, reduce claims, and improve retention.

At Safe Hospitality Leadership Accreditation, we’ve helped properties reduce turnover by as much as 40%, lower workers comp claims, and boost guest satisfaction, all by training hotel leaders to create safer, stronger workplace cultures from the inside out. We’re not just preaching values; we’re teaching tactical leadership to prevent burnout, address harassment, onboard better, and create real career paths for staff who often go overlooked.

Here’s the bottom line:

There is no guest satisfaction without staff satisfaction.

There is no brand reputation without internal trust.

And there is no profitability without protection.

In today’s labor market, you’re not just competing for guests, you’re competing for great people. And they’re watching. They want more than a paycheck. They want to work in a place where safety is prioritized, culture is healthy, and growth is possible.

Hotels that figure this out will win. The rest will keep burning money on turnover, lawsuits, and damage control.

So if you're a hotel owner, operator, or GM wondering where to invest next, start with your people. Treat labor like you treat your best amenities: with intention, care, and long-term vision.

Because in the end, beds don’t make themselves. Reputations don’t build themselves. And safety cultures don’t grow by accident.

They’re built, one empowered team member at a time."