A 29-room boutique hotel in Miami Beach uses roommaster to simplify daily operations, reduce administrative work, train employees faster, and capture more commission-free reservations.
At a Glance
Property: The Shepley Hotel
Location: Miami Beach, Florida
Property type: Independent boutique hotel
Number of rooms: 29
Management company: Alquimia Hospitality Group
Featured customer: Gabriela “Gabi” Diaz, Manager
Reported results:
- 27% increase in direct bookings following the booking engine upgrade
- A recurring three-hour operational task reduced to approximately 30–45 minutes
- Faster housekeeping assignments and staff scheduling
- Simpler group reservation management
- More efficient payment processing
- Easier onboarding for employees without previous hotel experience
Preserving a Boutique Experience in the Heart of South Beach
Located on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach’s Art Deco District, The Shepley Hotel is an intimate 29-room property just steps from the beach.
The historic hotel dates to the late 1930s and was extensively remodeled in 2014. Its design preserves the character of classic Miami Beach architecture while giving guests the comfort and personalized service expected from a modern boutique hotel.
Delivering that personal experience requires the hotel’s team to spend less time navigating systems and more time attending to guests. For The Shepley Hotel, roommaster helps make that possible.
Making Hotel Technology Easier to Learn
When Gabi joined The Shepley Hotel in 2021, she had no previous experience working in the hotel industry. The property was already using roommaster, and its accessibility helped her learn the hotel’s operations without facing a long or complicated technology ramp-up.
That ease of learning is particularly important in hospitality, where hotels regularly onboard employees with different levels of industry experience. A system that staff members can understand quickly helps managers reduce training time and gives new employees the confidence to work more independently.
Today, the hotel relies on roommaster around the clock to support its front desk and operational teams.
Reducing Time Spent on Housekeeping and Scheduling
Housekeeping coordination is one of the most important daily responsibilities at a boutique hotel. It can also consume significant administrative time when room information must be collected and organized manually.
The Shepley Hotel created a custom roommaster report that identifies the day’s check-ins, stayovers, and checkouts. Managers can use that information to distribute assignments across the housekeeping team without rebuilding a list every morning.
Room availability and anticipated checkout information also help the hotel prepare its weekly staffing schedule.
“I’d say maybe a task would take us normally three hours. Now it takes us maybe 30 to 45 minutes.”
— Gabriela Diaz, Manager, The Shepley Hotel
By reducing the time required for recurring operational work, the hotel’s managers can direct more attention toward guests, employees, and the wider needs of the property.
Bringing Daily Operations Into One Place
For a small hotel team, fragmented technology can quickly become an operational burden. Switching between screens or separate systems adds unnecessary steps to otherwise straightforward tasks.
Gabi values being able to complete core workflows in one central platform. Instead of navigating multiple screens to reach the desired outcome, the team can access the information it needs through a more unified process.
This operational simplicity is especially valuable at a 24-hour hotel, where information must remain accessible and understandable across different shifts.
Making Group Reservations More Manageable
The Shepley Hotel regularly receives inquiries from small groups, including travelers arriving before or after a cruise.
Using roommaster, the team can create a dedicated booking code for guests who want to reserve several rooms for the same dates. The hotel can tailor the offer to the group’s requirements and provide a competitive direct rate.
This makes the booking process more convenient for guests while helping the property build a direct relationship with the group instead of relying entirely on an online travel agency.
Growing Direct Bookings by 27%
The hotel recently upgraded to the roommaster Premium Booking Engine. According to Gabi, the property subsequently recorded a 27% increase in direct bookings.
“We’ve seen a 27% increase in direct bookings due to this new upgrade.”
— Gabriela Diaz
For an independent hotel, increasing direct reservations can have an important commercial impact. Every booking completed through the hotel’s own website helps strengthen the guest relationship while reducing reliance on third-party distribution and its associated commission costs.
The booking engine also gives The Shepley Hotel greater flexibility in how it presents special offers. The team can promote last-minute rates, respond to changes in local demand, create offers for nearby travelers, or highlight partnerships with charitable organizations.
These capabilities allow the hotel to make timely offers without losing the distinctive personality of its brand.
Creating a More Seamless Payment Experience
The Shepley Hotel also uses roommaster Payments to manage charges, deposits, and refunds.
Bringing payment activity into the hotel’s operational workflow helps the team process transactions more smoothly. It also reduces friction during guest-facing moments such as booking, check-in, and checkout.
The result is a simpler process for employees and a more seamless experience for guests—giving the team more opportunities to focus on meaningful, one-to-one interactions.
Technology Supported by Real Partnership
For The Shepley Hotel, the value of its hotel technology extends beyond software features. Responsive assistance and access to a dedicated account manager are also important parts of the relationship.
When the team has a question or needs help completing a task, it can contact people who understand the platform and can guide employees through the process.
“roommaster feels like a partner—a support—instead of a merchant or a provider we pay.”
— Gabriela Diaz
That sense of partnership helps the hotel’s team feel supported rather than left to resolve operational challenges alone.
Supporting the People Behind the Guest Experience
The Shepley Hotel’s experience illustrates why operational simplicity matters for independent hotels.
An effective hotel management platform should do more than store reservations. It should help employees learn their roles, make essential information easier to access, reduce repetitive work, support direct-revenue strategies, and give hotel teams more time to engage with guests.
At The Shepley Hotel, roommaster supports that work across housekeeping, scheduling, group reservations, direct bookings, payments, and day-to-day hotel management.
For Gabi, the platform has been part of her development from someone entering hospitality without previous hotel experience to a manager confident in property operations, booking technology, and payment workflows.
Watch The Shepley Hotel Customer Story
Hear Gabriela Diaz explain how The Shepley Hotel uses roommaster to simplify operations, save time, increase direct bookings, and deliver more personalized hospitality.
Watch the customer story
Give Your Hotel Team More Time for Hospitality
Discover how roommaster can help your property simplify daily operations, grow direct bookings, streamline payments, and create a more efficient experience for employees and guests.
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