Hotels and Hospitality Management Companies
Managed IT, Cybersecurity, and Practical AI for Hotels and Hospitality Management Companies
AdvancedBITS provides managed and co-managed IT, cybersecurity, Microsoft 365 management, backup and disaster recovery, and practical AI readiness for hotels, resorts, hotel management companies, and multi-property portfolios. We keep the systems guests depend on secure and running, including reservations, check-in, payments, Wi-Fi, and email, so your teams can stay focused on service.
Whether you manage one property or a portfolio, you get one technology partner with more than 11 years of managed services experience, a SOC 2 Type II examined security practice, and a plain-language view of what to fix first. Start with a complimentary assessment, below.
Managed IT for hotels: the gaps we close
Hotels run on systems that cannot stop. Property management systems (PMS), reservation platforms, point-of-sale (POS) systems, payment processing, guest Wi-Fi, key cards, Microsoft 365, financial applications, and a network of vendors all must work together, around the clock, across every property. Table 1 shows the gaps we see most and what AdvancedBITS does about each.
Table 1. Common hospitality technology gaps and how AdvancedBITS closes them
| Your challenge | What it looks like | What AdvancedBITS delivers |
|---|---|---|
| Downtime at the front line | Check-in, payments, or reservations slow or stop, often at night or on a busy weekend. | Managed or co-managed IT with monitoring, patching, defined response targets, and written downtime procedures. |
| Guest and payment data | Guest records and payment-related systems are open to more people than needed. | Identity and access management, MFA, role-based access, and Microsoft 365 governance. |
| Vendor access | PMS, POS, Wi-Fi, keycard, and camera vendors have remote access nobody tracks. | A vendor inventory with time-limited, logged access and a named owner for each vendor. |
| Flat networks | Guest Wi-Fi, payment systems, and operational devices share too much of the same network. | Network design and separation, with documented rules. |
| Email and payment fraud | Booking-themed phishing, fake invoices, and executive impersonation reach busy staff. | Email security, impersonation protection, a written payment-verification rule, and hospitality-specific training. |
| Inconsistent properties | Each hotel has its own setup, standards, and support habits. | A common baseline for devices, accounts, onboarding, and reporting across the portfolio. |
| Unproven recovery | Backups exist, but nobody has timed a restore of the systems guests depend on. | Backup and disaster recovery with restore testing and recovery priorities in guest-impact order. |
| Informal AI use | Staff paste guest or company details into public AI tools. | AI readiness with an acceptable use policy, permission clean-up, and controlled, human-reviewed pilots. |
Hotel technology risk is business risk: the evidence
Hotels combine valuable data, constant payment activity, many vendors, and no tolerance for downtime. In a July 2025 survey of North American hotel IT and security leaders, VikingCloud found that 82% of hotels were hit with a successful cyberattack in summer 2024 and 44% had more than 12 hours of downtime from an attack. Table 2 summarizes that and other recent findings, and Table 3 shows what happened at two well-known hospitality companies.
Table 2. What independent research shows
| Finding | Source | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| During summer 2024, 82% of North American hotels were hit with a successful cyberattack, 58% were targeted by five or more attacks, and 44% had more than 12 hours of downtime from an attack. | VikingCloud, 2025 State of Hospitality Cyber Report (survey of hotel IT and security leaders) | Attacks on hotels are frequent, repeated, and often disruptive. |
| Exploiting software vulnerabilities was the most common way in, at 31% of breaches. Breaches involving a third party rose 60% and now account for 48% of all breaches. | Verizon, 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report (2025 data, all industries) | Patching and vendor access are front-line defenses. |
| Ransomware was involved in 48% of confirmed breaches, up from 44% the year before. | Verizon, 2026 DBIR, as reported by SecurityWeek | Recovery has to be tested, because paying is not a plan. |
| PCI DSS v4.0.1 is the current version of the payment card standard, and the requirements introduced as future-dated became mandatory on March 31, 2025. | PCI Security Standards Council, as summarized by Rescana | Payment-security expectations are current, and they reach your service providers. |
Survey figures are self-reported, and VikingCloud sells cybersecurity and PCI compliance services. The Verizon figures cover organizations of all industries and sizes.
Two public examples of how technology risk becomes business risk
Table 3. Public examples
| Company | What has been reported | Takeaway |
|---|---|---|
| MGM Resorts (2023) | In September 2023, MGM disclosed a cybersecurity issue and shut down systems, which disrupted some properties. In an SEC filing it estimated a negative impact of about $100 million to adjusted property EBITDAR for the month, plus less than $10 million in one-time costs, and said it had prevented access to customer bank account numbers and payment card information. Public reporting describes social engineering of the IT help desk as the way in. | Verifying identity at the help desk is a control, and guests feel an outage immediately. |
| Marriott and Starwood (2014 to 2024) | Intruders had access to Starwood's guest reservation database from 2014 to 2018 without being detected, and Marriott acquired Starwood in 2016. The FTC's order, finalized December 20, 2024, covers three breaches between 2014 and 2020 affecting more than 344 million customers worldwide. The FTC alleged failures that included password, access, firewall, and network segmentation controls, patching, logging and monitoring, and multi-factor authentication. Marriott also agreed to a $52 million penalty to 49 states and the District of Columbia, and to a security program with independent assessments every two years for 20 years. | Basic controls, applied consistently across properties and acquired brands, are what regulators ask about. |
Details come from SEC filings, regulator and attorney general announcements, and press reports as of October 22, 2026. The Marriott matters were settled, and the FTC’s statements describe allegations. General information, not legal advice, and no AdvancedBITS involvement in these matters is implied.
Hotel cybersecurity and guest data protection
Our objective is simple: protect sensitive information, reduce operational risk, and keep your property running. Hotels hold guest identities, payment data, loyalty information, employee records, vendor details, and financial transactions. AdvancedBITS strengthens your security with controls sized to a hospitality operation.
- Identity and access: MFA, role-based access, individual front-desk sign-ins, administrator separation, and a joiner, mover, and leaver process for seasonal and transferred staff.
- Help desk safeguards: second-channel verification before any password or MFA reset.
- Email and endpoint security: anti-phishing, impersonation protection, endpoint detection and response, patching, and ongoing security awareness training.
- Monitoring and response: security monitoring, incident response planning, and business continuity planning.
- Secure remote access: controlled, logged access for staff and vendors.
For a worked scenario, see our Cybersecurity in Hospitality case study.
Guest Wi-Fi, vendor access, and PCI DSS support for hotels
Guests, staff, devices, and vendors all connect to a hotel network, and payment security reaches all of them. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a contractual standard enforced through card-brand rules and acquirer agreements. We help you keep guest Wi-Fi apart from payment, operational, and management systems, with documented rules that are tested on a schedule. Your acquirer or qualified assessor decides PCI scope, and we provide the technical changes, documentation, and testing support alongside them.
We also help you manage the third parties around your systems. We build a single inventory of PMS, POS, reservation, Wi-Fi, keycard, camera, and building-system vendors, replace standing remote access with time-limited, logged access, and keep contacts ready for an incident. A clean vendor list also supports your payment-security program.
Compliance and cyber insurance readiness for hotels
Owners, brands, lenders, insurers, and auditors increasingly expect hospitality organizations to show their controls. AdvancedBITS helps you document and strengthen the controls that answer those questions.
- PCI DSS security support: technical responsibilities are mapped across your systems, vendors, and teams, in coordination with your acquirer or assessor
- Framework alignment and policies: cybersecurity framework alignment, security policy development, and data privacy and security practices.
- Cyber insurance readiness: a control review and an evidence file for underwriting conversations and renewals.
- Vendor and third-party risk: inventory, access review, and risk questions for key platforms.
- Audit and risk support: documentation and control assessments, and operational risk reviews.
Microsoft 365, backup, and disaster recovery for hotels
Microsoft 365 holds your procedures, event documents, HR files, ownership reports, and daily communication. Good governance gives every property and department a site with an owner, limits who can see sensitive material, and prepares your environment for Microsoft Copilot.
Recovery should be proven, not assumed. We set recovery priorities with your leaders in guest-impact order, back up Microsoft 365 and endpoints, test restores, and work with property teams on front-desk downtime procedures, so you know how long recovery takes before you need it.
AI for hotels: practical, governed, and human-reviewed
AI can improve guest communication, review analysis, reporting, workforce productivity, and portfolio oversight, but only when the data behind it is organized and the rules are clear. AdvancedBITS helps you evaluate, implement, and govern AI while protecting guest privacy, security, and brand standards.
- See what is already in use: find the AI tools your teams use and what data goes into them.
- Set simple rules: approved tools, data that must never be entered, and human review of anything a guest will see.
- Clean up access and data: fix Microsoft 365 permissions and align guest and revenue definitions before AI search touches your files.
- Pilot and measure: start with low-risk uses and track time saved and quality.
See our AI in Hospitality case study for a worked example.
Why hospitality organizations choose AdvancedBITS
Hospitality organizations choose AdvancedBITS because we treat technology as guest-facing infrastructure. We have more than 11 years of managed services experience and a SOC 2 Type II examined security practice to hotels and hotel management companies, and we act as an extension of your team.
- Guest-impact priorities: recovery and support are ordered by what guests feel first, and changes are staged around your occupancy peaks.
- Security aimed at the front line: individual sign-ins, verified password resets, booking-themed phishing defense, and separated networks.
- Payment security and vendor access together: one vendor inventory, logged access, and PCI DSS support alongside your assessor.
- Proof, not promises: timed restore tests, dated evidence, and regular reports for owners, brands, and insurers.
- A model that fits a portfolio: co-managed or fully managed, with one baseline across properties and respect for brand standards.
- AI with guardrails: discovery, simple rules, Microsoft 365 clean-up, and human review of anything a guest sees.
Choosing a provider is a decision about trust. Our Why AdvancedBITS for Hospitality guide explains each reason, shows how to verify it, and gives you the questions to ask any provider, including us.
How we get started
- Assess: a short, read-only review of your sign-ins, Microsoft 365, networks, vendor access, backup and recovery, and AI use.
- Secure: close the highest risks first, staged around your occupancy peaks.
- Prove: test recovery, keep dated evidence, and report to leadership and owners in plain language.
Learn more
- Why AdvancedBITS for Hospitality guide: how to choose a managed IT and cybersecurity partner, with PCI and vendor questions.
- Cybersecurity in Hospitality case study: how a hotel management company secured sign-ins, vendor access, networks, and recovery.
- AI in Hospitality case study: how a hotel management company governed guest data and adopted AI with human review.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is managed IT for hotels?
Managed IT for hotels is an ongoing service in which a provider runs and secures the technology a property depends on, including support, monitoring, patching, Microsoft 365, backup and recovery, and security, instead of fixing problems only after they occur. It can be co-managed with your own IT staff or fully managed. AdvancedBITS provides both.
Do hotels need managed IT?
Many do, especially management companies with several properties. If one person covers technology for multiple hotels, properties are set up differently, vendors have remote access nobody tracks, or nobody has tested a recovery, managed or co-managed IT can add structure and coverage. A short assessment can tell you where you stand.
Are hotels a target for cyberattacks?
Yes. Hotels hold guest identities and payment data, run around the clock, and depend on many vendors. A 2025 survey of North American hotel IT and security leaders found that 82% of hotels were hit with a successful cyberattack in summer 2024. Survey results are self-reported, but the direction is consistent with what we see.
Should guest Wi-Fi be separate from payment systems?
Yes. Guest traffic should not share network space with payment, operational, or management systems. Segmentation is not itself a PCI DSS requirement, but the PCI Security Standards Council strongly recommends it, and it only helps if it is documented and tested.
How should hotels manage vendor remote access?
Yes. Guest traffic should not share network space with payment, operational, or management systems. Segmentation is not itself a PCI DSS requirement, but the PCI Security Standards Council strongly recommends it, and it only helps if it is documented and tested.
Does my IT provider need to be PCI compliant?
PCI DSS asks you to manage the third-party service providers that can affect the security of your cardholder data environment, which typically includes managed IT vendors. Ask any provider which requirements it supports, in writing. Our Why AdvancedBITS for Hospitality guide explains what to ask.
Can hotel staff use ChatGPT or Copilot safely?
Yes, with rules. Decide which tools are approved, what guest and company data must never be entered, and who reviews anything a guest will see. Fix Microsoft 365 permissions first, because AI search can surface any file a user can already open.
How much does managed IT cost for a hotel?
Cost depends on the number of users, devices, and properties, the services in scope, whether support is co-managed or fully managed, and the after-hours coverage you need. Ask any provider, including us, for a written all-in price and a list of what is billed separately so proposals can be compared fairly.
What happens in the complimentary assessment?
We look at your sign-in protection, Microsoft 365, networks, vendor access, backup and recovery, and AI use, then give you a plain-language list of priorities. There is no obligation.
Does AdvancedBITS provide legal, tax, or insurance advice?
No. We provide technology, cybersecurity, and AI readiness services, and we work alongside your attorney, accountant, payment assessor, and insurance broker.
Ready to strengthen guest experiences, security, and operational performance?
Schedule your complimentary Hospitality Technology & Risk Assessment. Whether you want to modernize Microsoft 365, strengthen cybersecurity, support compliance, prepare for AI, improve continuity, or find a trusted technology partner, our specialists will evaluate your technology risks, cybersecurity readiness, compliance considerations, and operational vulnerabilities, with no obligation.