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90-Day Pilot Setup Guide

This guide is for delivery teams setting up a new HMP pilot at a property. It covers the full lifecycle from prerequisites through completion and handoff.

Prerequisites​

Before starting the pilot, confirm the following are in place:

Property Configuration​

  • Property created in HMP with correct details (name, address, star category, timezone)
  • Room types defined with base inventory counts
  • Rooms created and numbered to match the physical property
  • Rate plans configured (BAR, corporate, OTA, package rates)
  • Cancellation policies set up
  • Tax configuration verified (GST rates, SAC codes)

User Accounts​

  • Staff accounts created for all participating departments
  • Roles assigned correctly (GM, front office, housekeeping, F&B, revenue)
  • Each user has logged in at least once and confirmed access
  • Department heads trained on their Control Center view

Operational Setup​

  • Category pack thresholds reviewed and adjusted with the GM
  • Exception rules configured for the property's context
  • SOPs reviewed with department heads — steps customized if needed
  • Review cadence schedule agreed (daily briefings, weekly GM review)

Integrations​

  • Channel manager connections verified (if applicable)
  • Payment gateway configured and test transaction completed
  • PMS data migrated from legacy system (if applicable)
  • Email/SMS notification templates reviewed

Step 1: Create the Pilot​

  1. Navigate to the Pilot page in the admin section
  2. Click New Pilot
  3. Enter the pilot name (e.g., "Grand Resort OpEx Pilot Q1 2026")
  4. Set the start date and end date (90 days from start)
  5. Select the property and departments included in the pilot
  6. The system captures a baseline KPI snapshot automatically:
    • Current occupancy rate (trailing 30 days)
    • Current ADR and RevPAR
    • Average MPOR (minutes per occupied room)
    • Guest satisfaction score
    • Exception resolution rate (if prior data exists)
    • Revenue per department

Baseline Review Meeting​

Before activating, schedule a 60-minute meeting with the GM to:

  • Walk through the baseline KPI snapshot
  • Confirm target improvements for the pilot period
  • Agree on success criteria (e.g., "10% improvement in MPOR")
  • Set expectations for staff adoption timeline

Step 2: Activate the Pilot​

  1. After the baseline review, return to the Pilot page
  2. Click Activate to start the pilot
  3. The system begins tracking KPIs against the baseline
  4. All SOPs and exception detection become active
  5. Cadence schedules begin generating reminders

Week 1: Onboarding Phase​

The first week focuses on staff familiarity:

DayActivity
Day 1GM and department heads walk through Control Center
Day 1Front desk team practices check-in and check-out flows
Day 2Housekeeping team practices room board and task management
Day 2F&B team practices POS order flow
Day 3Run first Morning Briefing SOP with all department heads
Day 4Run first Shift Handover SOP at each shift change
Day 5First Night Audit SOP execution
Day 5Week 1 retrospective with delivery team

Step 3: Weekly Operations​

Monday Routine​

  1. Take weekly KPI snapshot: Navigate to the pilot dashboard and click Snapshot. The system records current KPIs for trend tracking.
  2. Run weekly GM review: Open the Weekly GM Review SOP from Action Center. Walk through performance, exceptions, and planning with the GM.
  3. Review exception trends: Check if exception volume is decreasing as the team adapts.

Daily Routine​

TimeActivityOwner
08:00Morning Briefing SOPGM + Department Heads
07:00 / 15:00 / 23:00Shift Handover SOPFront Office Supervisor
Throughout dayProcess exceptions as they ariseAssigned owners
Throughout dayComplete housekeeping tasks and inspectionsHK team
23:00Night Audit SOPNight Auditor

Weekly Check-in with Delivery Team​

Schedule a 30-minute call each week between the delivery team and the property:

  • Review KPI trends (improving, flat, declining)
  • Address system questions or workflow friction
  • Identify training gaps
  • Plan any configuration adjustments

Step 4: Mid-Pilot Review (Day 45)​

At the midpoint, conduct a formal review:

  1. Generate a mid-pilot report from the pilot dashboard
  2. Compare current KPIs against baseline
  3. Identify which metrics are improving and which need attention
  4. Gather qualitative feedback from staff (what is working, what is not)
  5. Make configuration adjustments:
    • Tune exception thresholds if too many false positives
    • Adjust SOP steps if staff are skipping irrelevant items
    • Add or remove KPI tracking if priorities have shifted
  6. Document findings and share with the property leadership team

Step 5: Complete the Pilot (Day 90)​

Pre-Completion​

  1. Ensure all weekly snapshots have been taken
  2. Resolve or close all outstanding exceptions
  3. Complete any pending action items

Completion​

  1. Navigate to the Pilot page
  2. Click Complete Pilot
  3. The system generates an outcome report:
    • Baseline vs. final KPI comparison
    • Weekly trend charts for each metric
    • Exception volume trend (should show decreasing pattern)
    • SOP completion rate and consistency
    • Staff adoption metrics (login frequency, feature usage)

Post-Pilot Review Meeting​

Schedule a 90-minute meeting with property leadership:

  1. Present the outcome report
  2. Highlight top 3 improvements achieved
  3. Discuss areas that did not meet targets and root causes
  4. Gather staff testimonials and feedback
  5. Decide: scale to full operations or extend pilot with adjustments
  6. Document learnings for future pilot deployments

Pilot Success Criteria​

The following are typical benchmarks for a successful pilot:

MetricTarget
SOP completion rate> 90% of scheduled SOPs completed on time
Exception resolution time< 24 hours average
Staff adoption> 80% of staff logging in daily
MPOR improvement5–15% reduction from baseline
Guest satisfactionMaintained or improved from baseline
Revenue metricsADR/RevPAR maintained or improved

Troubleshooting Common Pilot Issues​

Low staff adoption​

  • Schedule additional hands-on training sessions
  • Pair less confident staff with power users
  • Simplify workflows — reduce optional steps in SOPs
  • Celebrate early wins to build momentum

Too many exceptions​

  • Review and raise thresholds for noisy exception rules
  • Focus on the top 3 most actionable exception types
  • Mute low-priority categories during the onboarding phase

Data quality concerns​

  • Verify room inventory matches physical property
  • Check rate plan configuration against actual pricing
  • Ensure legacy data migration is complete and accurate
  • Run a reconciliation report against the old system

Staff resistance​

  • Involve department heads as champions
  • Show data on time savings from automated workflows
  • Address concerns directly — listen and adapt
  • Keep the GM visibly engaged with the platform daily