About Richard Bolte
I filled hotels the slow way.
Now I help you do it faster.
For 30 years I have looked at hotels from three sides: as the person running them, as the person selling their rooms, and as a real estate broker working with the owners and investors behind them. Today I write about what actually fills rooms and event calendars at independent hotels, resorts and venues, and I build simple tools that do the busywork.
Where it started
A boutique hotel in Texas, before booking sites.
More than twenty years ago I was General Manager of an award-winning boutique hotel in the Texas Hill Country. We had a restaurant, a pub that brewed its own beer, and in summer a steady stream of vacationers and weddings. Then the quieter months came. And an empty room tonight can't be sold tomorrow.
There were no booking sites to fall back on. So we got creative. We mailed real autumn leaves to our summer guests with an invitation to come back in the fall. We handed our regulars a voucher to pass on to a friend. We opened the house to one group at a time: parents planning birthday parties, local business owners, families with relatives coming to town. We turned empty rooms into boardrooms for company retreats, and put together weekend packages with the golf course and the theater.
Most of what worked had nothing to do with a big budget. It came from real relationships and a good idea, followed through.
Background
Education, employment, entrepreneurship.
01
Education
The craft first, then the strategy.
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Hotel Management Apprenticeship (CCI)
Hotelkaufmann (IHK)
Where it all began: front office, housekeeping, kitchen and service. Every department, learned from the inside.
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B.Pro Tourism (CCI)
Touristikfachwirt (IHK)
State-certified Bachelor Professional, with a focus on the business of travel and hospitality.
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Cert. Revenue Mgmt.
Revenue Management (FH)
The right price, for the right guest, at the right time.
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Dip. Tourism Econ.
Tourismusökonom (FH)
How destinations, demand and travel markets really work.
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MSc (E-Commerce & Online Marketing)
Graduated with honors. The bridge between classic hospitality and the way guests discover and book today.
02
Employment
Responsible for full houses.
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General Manager
An award-winning boutique hotel in the Texas Hill Country, with a restaurant, a brewpub, weddings and events.
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Deputy General Manager
A family-run property in Germany: hotel and apartments, two restaurants, event space and a wellness center.
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Department Head
Across several hotels. Among them, in charge of sales and marketing at Europe's largest Holiday Inn resort, with 1,800 beds and events for several hundred guests.
03
Entrepreneurship
Building my own business.
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RE/MAX Broker/Owner
My own real estate office. Working closely with owners and investors showed me what they expect from the people who run their properties.
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Founder, Be My Guest Marketing
For six years now, creating marketing ideas and tools that help independent hotels, resorts and event venues fill more rooms and dates.
What I believe
The tools have changed: social media, email, text messages, AI. What fills rooms has not.
Real relationships and a good idea still win. Today you can reach people faster and for less money than ever. The idea and the personal touch decide whether they come.
Free when you join the newsletter
One practical idea a week. Plus the Slow-Week Playbook.
5 promotions you can run this month to fill your quietest nights.
Get the playbook