Travel and Hospitality Tech Outlook: Specials Magazine

Hotels have figured out how to let guests check in by phone, order room service through an app and unlock doors with a tap. But ask most housekeeping staff how inspections are tracked, and they’ll show you a clipboard from a bygone era, with papers filled with rushed handwriting that’s hard to read. That disconnect hit home for Scott Brown, founder and president of Innspector Software, when his wife, an HR staffer at a hotel, spread inspection papers across their dining table and a spreadsheet with never-ending rows. Hours went into digitalizing handwritten notes. It was clear that, while guest-facing tech had advanced, the tools supporting staff hadn’t. To close that gap, Brown built Innspector, a cloud-based system that gives hotel managers and inspectors a mobile-friendly, paperless and efficient way to document, score and manage cleanliness inspections. The first version was launched at a single hotel and developed in close collaboration with the team that would use it daily. From setup to support, every feature is focused on speed, simplicity and respect for the user’s time. Hotels can complete onboarding in under 30 minutes and go live within hours. From that initial rollout, adoption spread organically, driven by teams that saw the impact and spread the word. “Every update we make comes from listening to the user,” says Brown. “Innspector didn’t grow through marketing budgets; it grew through trust. When housekeeping teams find something that saves time and work, they talk about it.” A Setup So Simple, You Can Start Today The system’s fast setup includes avoiding more work for hotel staff. During implementation, Innspector gathers all required information, such as room lists, team members, user roles and custom checklists. Once configured, staff simply log in to the app, select a room and the housekeeper who cleaned it and begin the inspection. Each inspection uses a customizable checklist, ranging from 10 to 100 items or more. Inspection managers can start with a pre-built checklist template, then tailor it to their property’s standards. Items can be weighted based on importance. For instance, a broken smoke detector counts more than a smudge on a mirror. Managers control how inspections are scored and can easily determine where to focus follow-ups. To expedite inspections, all checklist items are pre-filled as “pass.” Inspectors only need to tap the ones that don’t meet expectations. It’s a small design decision that reflects reality. Most rooms pass most checks and only a few details typically need attention. When issues do arise, documentation is immediate. Inspectors can take photos, add comments and create work requests from the same screen. For newer staff, built-in item descriptions provide guidance and are available in English and Spanish. Most inspections take just five to seven minutes. That means housekeeping supervisors spend less time on paperwork and more time on quality. And because the checklist is broken into logical sections, by room area (bathroom, bedroom, common areas) or task type (cleaning, maintenance, amenities), no one has to scroll through a massive, disorganized list. All of this is priced to work for hotels of any size. Plans start at $50 monthly, depending on room count and subscription length. No long-term commitment is required, though many clients choose the 12-month plan. Flexible month-to-month options are also available.