Owner / assetThis budget cycle

Job brief

Decide lobby refresh vs rooms capex

How and who for the hotel job—verified when attested.

When both the lobby and the rooms look tired, I want an evidence-led sequence so I spend the next dollar on the guest job that actually books.

Usable on this screen

Scoped brief

Start from review language and booking comments, not a mood board. Price a rooms package, a public-space package, and a do-nothing case. Sequence what guests name. A pretty lobby on tired baths is how independents waste a year.

Outcome: A sequenced capex memo with payback, a 'do nothing' case, and a recommendation an investment committee can vote.
Catalog budget band: $20–45k study; capex separate. A worksheet range, not a quote.
Catalog timeline: 4–8 weeks to a decision memo. Not a promise.

Step 1
Read the last year of guest jobs
Cluster comments and sales notes: baths, beds, noise, lobby, F&B. Weight by booking influence if you have it. The loudest Instagram surface is not always the booking job.
Step 2
Price three cases, including do nothing
Rooms package, lobby/public package, and a hold. Same horizon. Same ADR/occupancy sensitivity. If the designer will not price do-nothing, get another designer.
Step 3
Sequence, do not 'reimagine'
Often baths then beds then public space. Historic buildings still cost what they cost — say so. Leave the restaurant fantasy for a later memo.
Step 4
Write the vote
One recommendation, the risk if you are wrong, and the guest comments you will watch after go-live.

Provider shortlist

People
Vale Street Capex
Rooms vs public-space capex
Catalog score 8.3. A post-job shape, not a verification. Stable id vale-street.
People
Ashcroft Asset Advisors
Owner asset management
Catalog score 8.8. A post-job shape, not a verification. Stable id ashcroft.
People
Hearth & Key
Housekeeping quality & guest comfort
Catalog score 8.9. A post-job shape, not a verification. Stable id hearth-key.

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The next hotel starts from what you leave

Harbor by Signalry stays hotels only. A description, a claim, and a reported result each leave a stable id behind. Nothing here is a price, a customer, or a verification.

Buyer
Describe your job
No account. Harbor by Signalry opens the closest catalog brief, when not to buy, and a shortlist. A weak sentence stays on the catalog.
Open a brief
Supplier
Join as a supplier
Company, jobs served, regions, and a hotel reference. The packet is queued as unverified pending. The form cannot mark it verified.
Start a claim
Hotel
Record a result
A metric, before and after, and the dates. It is shown as reported until a person checks the evidence. Verified Outcome is not insurance.
Record a result

AdviceSpend where the comments already are.

VerifiedThe Holloway: 61 baths; lobby $0 this cycle; review +0.4.

Name a verified-outcome price Sit a 30-minute pilotHow ranking works

Situation

What is actually on fire

The lobby deck is prettier than the baths. Guests are writing about the rooms. The IC wants a rendering.

Approaches

Two or three paths — with the give

Rooms first

When. The product people sleep in

You give. A lobby that still photographs tired this season

Lobby first

When. A story and a sales tour

You give. Guests who still write about the bath

Do nothing this cycle

When. Cash and optionality

You give. A year of the same comments

Who to involve

· Owner
· GM
· Rooms / engineering
· Controller

First 7 days

YAML-shaped: day / theme / tasks / owner / risk / exit. Advice until a case is verified.

day: 1
Read the comments
- · Last 90 days. Rooms vs public space. Count them.
owner:
GM
risk:
A designer brief
exit:
Comment split
day: 2
Walk ten rooms
- · Photograph baths and beds. No guest names.
owner:
Rooms lead
risk:
Lobby walk only
exit:
Room file
day: 3
Cash vs pretty
- · What the owner can spend this year. Write the cap.
owner:
Controller
risk:
Rendering first
exit:
Named cap
day: 4
When not to lobby
- · If rooms comments outnumber lobby, the lobby waits.
owner:
Owner
risk:
Brand-standard lobby
exit:
Kill line
day: 5
Vendor ask
- · Will they price rooms first? Or only the render?
owner:
GM
risk:
FF&E catalog
exit:
Scored checklist
day: 6
One-page IC
- · Rooms vs lobby, cash, caveat. One page.
owner:
Owner
risk:
18-slide deck
exit:
One-pager
day: 7
Pick or hold
- · If rooms lose, write why. Publish it.
owner:
Owner
risk:
A shrug
exit:
Named choice

Decision worksheet

Questions, red flags, bands

Take this to a vendor call. Budget bands are Advice — a Harbor shape, not a quote.

Ask the vendor

1. Who types the status / number — a person, or your product?
2. What would have happened anyway in 90 days without you?
3. Show a property of this size and stack. Demo-labeled categories do not count as proof.
4. What can your agent never do (folio post, mark clean, change a rate)?
5. What is the kill-switch if guest comments move?

Red flags

· A signature restaurant to save a rooms product.
· A PIP copied from a flag you are not.
· No post-reno comment watch.

When not to buy. A lobby storyboard when the comment cluster is baths. Fashion is not a guest job.

Do it in-house

Time and a named owner. No vendor. Use the 7-day plan first.

$20–45k study; capex separate

Typical Harbor band for this job — advice, not a quote.

Full program

People + system + 90-day proof. Only if the 7-day plan already failed.

Vendor checklist

Score the call. Keep it on this browser.

Weighted questions — yes/no, scale, or text. Must-pass ids persist on this browser. Pass threshold 70. A no on a must-pass is a walk-away — not a maybe.

Keys

Brand

Stack shape — not a partnership

property context · weight 2 · must pass
Can they name your key count and whether you are independent, soft-brand, or major — without a discovery theater?
property context · weight 2 · must pass
Do they treat your PMS as a shape (Opera-class / Mews-class / Cloudbeds-class) — not a fake partnership slide?
control · weight 3 · must pass
Who types the status / number — a person, or your product?
vendor · weight 2
What would have happened anyway in 90 days without you?
vendor · weight 2
Show a property of this size and stack. Demo-labeled categories do not count as proof.
vendor · weight 2
What can your agent never do (folio post, mark clean, change a rate)?
vendor · weight 2
What is the kill-switch if guest comments move?

Does not clear

0 / 100

must_pass: lobby-refresh-vs-rooms-capex-ctx-rooms, lobby-refresh-vs-rooms-capex-ctx-stack, lobby-refresh-vs-rooms-capex-q1

A must-pass failed. Walk away.

How

The brief

Step 1
Read the last year of guest jobs
Cluster comments and sales notes: baths, beds, noise, lobby, F&B. Weight by booking influence if you have it. The loudest Instagram surface is not always the booking job.
Step 2
Price three cases, including do nothing
Rooms package, lobby/public package, and a hold. Same horizon. Same ADR/occupancy sensitivity. If the designer will not price do-nothing, get another designer.
Step 3
Sequence, do not 'reimagine'
Often baths then beds then public space. Historic buildings still cost what they cost — say so. Leave the restaurant fantasy for a later memo.
Step 4
Write the vote
One recommendation, the risk if you are wrong, and the guest comments you will watch after go-live.

Tradeoffs

Rooms first
You get. The product people sleep in
You give. A lobby that still photographs tired this season
Lobby first
You get. A story and a sales tour
You give. Guests who still write about the bath
Do nothing this cycle
You get. Cash and optionality
You give. A year of the same comments

Choice	You get	You give
Rooms first	The product people sleep in	A lobby that still photographs tired this season
Lobby first	A story and a sales tour	Guests who still write about the bath
Do nothing this cycle	Cash and optionality	A year of the same comments

Pitfalls

· A signature restaurant to save a rooms product.
· A PIP copied from a flag you are not.
· No post-reno comment watch.

Success criteria

· Three cases priced, including do nothing.
· Recommendation tied to guest-job evidence.
· Post-project comments named in advance.

Who

Ranked for this job

Rank is post-job score, then listed order. Not for sale. Software marked demo is an archetype.

Agencies & contractors

#1People

Vale Street Capex

FF&E and renovation sequencing that starts from guest-job evidence, not a lobby mood board.

$20–45k study; implementation bid separate

8.3

Post-job

14 reviews

Name a verified price Record an outcome Claim this listing

#2People

Ashcroft Asset Advisors

Independent owner advisors for GOP, management agreements, and capex sequencing — not a brand desk.

$25–60k engagement or $8k/month retainer

8.8

Post-job

22 reviews

Name a verified price Record an outcome Claim this listing

#3People

Hearth & Key

Room-quality programs that treat complaint rate as an operations number, not a training slogan.

$14–28k program, 8–12 weeks

8.9

Post-job

27 reviews

Name a verified price Record an outcome Claim this listing

Systems

None ranked in Systems yet. Harbor will not invent a provider.

AI agents

None ranked in AI agents yet. Harbor will not invent a provider.

Compare up to three

Fit first. Then the contract.

Default sort is fit, high to low. Unpublished SLA / term / switch cost is labeled ask — not invented. Demo software is a shape.

Sort

Ashcroft Asset Advisors
Highest fit
8.7
People
Price
$25–60k engagement or $8k/month retainer
Impl
7–21 (advice)
SLA
Not published — ask. Do not treat a slide as verified.
Support
On-property hours
Term
Ask. Annual-only is a red flag until the 7-day test.
Switch
Ask for the freeze window and folio owner.
Verified
None on Harbor
Hearth & Key
Highest fit
8.7
People
Price
$14–28k program, 8–12 weeks
Impl
7–21 (advice)
SLA
Not published — ask. Do not treat a slide as verified.
Support
On-property hours
Term
Ask. Annual-only is a red flag until the 7-day test.
Switch
Ask for the freeze window and folio owner.
Verified
None on Harbor
Vale Street Capex
8.1
People
Price
$20–45k study; implementation bid separate
Impl
7–21 (advice)
SLA
Not published — ask. Do not treat a slide as verified.
Support
On-property hours
Term
Ask. Annual-only is a red flag until the 7-day test.
Switch
Ask for the freeze window and folio owner.
Verified
None on Harbor

Side-by-side vendor compare. Fit is Harbor’s published score. Unpublished contract fields are labeled ask.
Vendor	Fit	Price band	Impl days	Integrations	SLA / uptime	Support hours	Contract term	Switch cost	GM rating	Last verified
Ashcroft Asset Advisors Highest fit People	8.7	$25–60k engagement or $8k/month retainer	7–21 (advice)	GOP, management agreements, capex, owner reporting	Not published — ask. Do not treat a slide as verified.	On-property hours	Ask. Annual-only is a red flag until the 7-day test.	Ask for the freeze window and folio owner.	8.8	None on Harbor
Hearth & Key Highest fit People	8.7	$14–28k program, 8–12 weeks	7–21 (advice)	housekeeping, guest complaints, linen, inspection	Not published — ask. Do not treat a slide as verified.	On-property hours	Ask. Annual-only is a red flag until the 7-day test.	Ask for the freeze window and folio owner.	8.9	None on Harbor
Vale Street Capex People	8.1	$20–45k study; implementation bid separate	7–21 (advice)	capex, FF&E, renovation sequencing, payback	Not published — ask. Do not treat a slide as verified.	On-property hours	Ask. Annual-only is a red flag until the 7-day test.	Ask for the freeze window and folio owner.	8.3	None on Harbor

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Compare

When to pick whom

People do the work beside the desk. Software is a system — demo-labeled when it is a category shape. Agents draft; they do not post money or mark a room clean.

Provider	Kind	Score	Fee	Pick when	Walk away when
Vale Street Capex	People	8.3	$20–45k study; implementation bid separate	Owners choosing between a pretty lobby and rooms that book.	Full PIP execution for a 400-key flag.
Ashcroft Asset Advisors	People	8.8	$25–60k engagement or $8k/month retainer	Owners who want a second set of books that is not the manager's.	Branded flags looking for a PIP vendor.
Hearth & Key	People	8.9	$14–28k program, 8–12 weeks	GMs watching housekeeping comments eat the rating.	Hotels that only want a mystery-shop report.

Open graph

Hotels on this job

The HollowaySavannah · 61 keysLabeled estimate

Open hotels Buy / sell desk

Evidence

Peer case studies

Owner / asset

8.5

The lobby waited. The baths did not.

The Holloway · 61 keys · Savannah, GA

Claim.: Capex went to baths because that is where the comments were.
Evidence.: Comment cluster vs spend; 61 baths complete; lobby $0.
Caveat.: The lobby still needs a future envelope. Unfashionable is not forever.

Read the case

Verified

Nearby jobs

Renegotiate a management agreement Lift GOP without cutting the guest experience Underwrite a boutique hotel acquisition

Scoped brief

Read the last year of guest jobs

Price three cases, including do nothing

Sequence, do not 'reimagine'

Write the vote

Vale Street Capex

Ashcroft Asset Advisors

Hearth & Key

The next hotel starts from what you leave

Describe your job

Join as a supplier

Record a result

What is actually on fire

Two or three paths — with the give

Rooms first

Lobby first

Do nothing this cycle

Read the comments

Walk ten rooms

Cash vs pretty

When not to lobby

Vendor ask

One-page IC

Pick or hold

Questions, red flags, bands

Score the call. Keep it on this browser.

The brief

Read the last year of guest jobs

Price three cases, including do nothing

Sequence, do not 'reimagine'

Write the vote

Tradeoffs

Ranked for this job

Agencies & contractors

Systems

AI agents

Fit first. Then the contract.

When to pick whom

Hotels on this job

Peer case studies

The lobby waited. The baths did not.

Nearby jobs

Fit first. Then the contract.