Sometimes, yes. An early product cannot produce a history it hasn’t had time to earn. That doesn’t mean the hotel should replace evidence with enthusiasm.
The useful middle ground is a bounded pilot with a real problem, a proportionate commitment and a decision the test is designed to support.
I would want Finance involved before the first demonstration becomes a budget request. Skepticism can help build a better test.
Define the reason to try
Name the friction: repeated content assembly, unclear space recommendations, unhelpful remote evaluation or avoidable clarification work.
Identify the people affected, the current process and the observable improvement being sought. ‘Innovation’ is a direction. It isn’t yet a testable problem.
Use the hospitality software evaluation guide to examine the workflow with an actual inquiry before setting the pilot scope.
Limit the investment to the question
Choose the relevant spaces, participating users and inquiry types. Include implementation effort, content work, training and support alongside the fee.
Agree who owns the inputs and what happens if the test stops. The hotel should understand access, export options and continuing obligations through its normal procurement review.
A tiny pilot won’t demonstrate the full product. It can show whether one important workflow deserves a broader commitment. That is a useful first decision.
AHLA’s cost-pressure survey supplies industry context for careful investment. It doesn’t tell a specific hotel which pilot to buy.
Set the gates while everyone is calm
Agree what would justify expansion, revision or stopping. Measure staff adoption, active preparation, buyer clarity, content errors and maintenance effort at a minimum where those relate to the chosen problem.
Don’t require a small pilot to prove causal revenue lift if the sample cannot support it. Do require honest labels for commercial outcomes and an explanation of the workflow change.
The HFTP accounting resource is useful context for the financial review; the property should approve its own cost and benefit inputs.
Give the vendor an honest chance
The hotel needs to supply approved content, participating staff and feedback. A pilot abandoned in a folder will tell you little about either the product or the problem.
The vendor needs to describe current capabilities accurately and respond to the operating evidence. FOH Visual’s current pilot work concerns sales, property understanding and engagement; live booking and BEO synchronization aren’t part of that claim.
A missing case study raises the burden on the test design. It doesn’t automatically make a test unreasonable.
Finance doesn’t have to become a believer. It needs enough information to authorize the next sensible step and enough discipline to stop when the evidence says stop.
Read more in Hospitality Field Notes.