Selling to Hospitality
US hospitality MRO + consumables spend ~$15-20B annually. Cleaning chemistry alone is ~$3-4B. Resorts and casinos disproportionately consume — top 200 properties drive 30%+ of category.
Independent / boutique: 30-90 days direct trial-to-PO. Branded franchise: 60-180 days for in-spec products; 6-18 months for brand-approval of new chemistry. Casinos: 90-180 days with extensive trial requirements.
$5K-$50K initial trial conversion; $50K-$500K annual recurring per property; $1M-$10M+ for portfolio-level managed accounts
Sub-segments inside Hospitality
Full-Service Branded Hotels (Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG)
150-1,000+ rooms; 100K-1M+ sq ft; full F&B operations, banquet space, fitness, pools
Franchise OR managed. Brand spec governs most chemistry, paper, and FF&E choices. Avendra (Marriott), HRH (Hilton), and brand-specific GPOs control corporate purchasing. Local engineer can recommend up the chain but rarely buys outside spec.
Limited-Service / Select-Service Hotels (Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Courtyard)
80-200 rooms; smaller footprint; breakfast-only F&B; pool common
Franchise-dominant. Brand standards still apply but with more local flexibility on consumables. The GM often wears the engineering hat. Smaller engineering teams (1-3 people) means the chief engineer is more accessible.
Resorts & Casinos
500-5,000+ rooms; massive grounds, multiple pools, golf courses, spa, multiple F&B outlets
Often independent or part of a regional brand (MGM, Caesars, Wynn). Largest MRO consumers in the segment. Casinos run 24/7 with no shoulder season — different rhythm than seasonal resorts. Dedicated grounds, aquatics, and F&B departments with their own buying authority.
Conference Hotels & Convention Centers
300-2,000+ rooms; large banquet/exhibit space (50K-1M+ sq ft of meeting space)
Drives massive cycles of setup/teardown. Banquet chemistry, carpet care, and ballroom turnover are constant pain points. Calendar driven by group bookings — buying windows align with low-occupancy weeks.
Independent Hotels & Boutiques
20-300 rooms; single property or small chain
No corporate spec to fight. The GM and chief engineer have full authority. Faster decisions but smaller volumes. Often the best entry point for a new vendor — earn here, then leverage the case study into branded properties.
Vacation Rental Portfolios (Managed)
50-2,000+ units across multiple properties; managed by a single ops company
Vrbo/Airbnb portfolios run by professional managers (Vacasa, Evolve, regional players). Centralized purchasing, distributed cleaning crews. Buy more like multi-family than traditional hospitality. Turnover-driven (4-hour window between guests).
Key personas you'll meet
5 researched personas for Hospitality. Each one carries its own vocabulary, pain-point ranking, and discovery question bank — used to make every brief persona-specific.