To counter, traditional hotels from the Ritz-Carlton all the way down to the local innkeeper need raise their respective games and remember what the core of their business is: service, grace and providing comfort for guests. They need to bring back small, human moments that add up to something far deeper and more substantial than a points scheme. And they need to remember that the best hotels are vibrant ecosystems in the community and that is part of what makes them interesting.

This is easier than it sounds. For one, like the airline industry, there’s a lot of weird, operational scar tissue that still exists in the hotel world. Namely the fact that you can’t officially check-in until 3pm and have to be out at noon. And, sometimes you get the feeling there’s been so much emphasis on operational efficiency (read: cost-cutting) that some of the texture and nuances of a stay are missing.