Not every hotel problem needs an eSIM

When your product is the answer to everything

If you sell eSIMs, every hotel problem can start to look like an eSIM problem. That was roughly our reaction on a recent call with a founder who had built an eSIM business and was looking at hotels as a distribution channel.

His idea was a hotel-branded eSIM with an AI concierge on WhatsApp. The hotel could talk to guests before arrival, during the stay and after checkout, own more of the guest relationship and depend less on online travel agencies.

The problem is real; the eSIM is optional

These are real hotel concerns. In our years selling software to hotels, OTA dependence and access to guest data came up constantly. Hotels want a relationship with the guest that lasts beyond the booking.

But pre-arrival messages, in-stay chat, post-stay follow-up and a usable guest profile don't need an eSIM. Hotels can do all of that through the guest messaging and CRM tools they already have. Tying it to a connectivity product makes the guest relationship depend on something that has nothing to do with it.

Earn the right to integrate by proving that real guests want the product.

Commodities make poor anchors

To a guest, mobile data is mobile data. An eSIM is handy, especially for international travelers, but putting the hotel's name on it doesn't make the connectivity any different.

Making the eSIM the core platform also makes the implementation much bigger. Someone has to integrate with the booking flow. Some hotels sell mostly through third parties and don't control a booking engine at all. Others run customized systems. Then IT, security, integration testing and approvals all join the conversation, before a single guest has used the thing.

A simpler pilot: a QR code at reception

Our suggestion was to skip the integration for the first experiment. Put a small sign at the front desk: "Scan this. Free eSIM on us." Let international guests use it and count how many actually do.

A property with lots of international guests in a place like Johor Bahru, Pattaya or Phuket would be a good place to try it. The questions are basic. How many people notice the offer, activate it and use it? What questions or support problems come up? Does the hotel see enough value for its guests to keep going?

Earn the right to build the bigger product

A general manager will ask what any business owner asks. If it works, what do I get? If it fails, what does it cost me? A QR sign at reception is easy to judge and easy to take down. A new platform sitting between the hotel and its guests is a much harder call.

So get the product in front of real guests first, see where it helps, and only then decide whether deeper integration or a bigger guest-engagement platform is worth it. A vision that sounds plausible is no substitute for what the first pilot tells you.