Stop Treating Your Front Desk Like An Expense. It's A Profit Center | Geoffrey Toffetti E64
The Hotel Investor Playbook
Intro
Michael Russell introduces the episode topic and guest Geoffrey Toffetti, previewing front desk revenue opportunities.
Stop treating your front desk like an expense; it's costing you hundreds of thousands in property value. The biggest mistake boutique hotel owners make isn't about the property itself. It's ignoring the untapped revenue sitting right at your check-in counter.
In this episode, you'll discover how to turn your front desk into a profit center that can add 5% to your bottom line and potentially $500,000 to your hotel's valuation.
A hospitality revenue expert who helped pioneer the car rental upsell model and has spent 25+ years turning frontline employees into sales engines joins us to break down the exact system. Joffrey Toffetti's company, Frontline Performance Group, works with properties from 20-room boutiques to major brands, and his approach has transformed front desk agents from minimum-wage employees into top earners making $50K+ through incentives alone.
In this episode, you'll discover:
- Why the "value mode vs. experience mode" mindset shift changes everything about guest interactions
- The 3-tier incentive structure that motivates front desk staff without blowing your budget
- How late checkout offers alone can generate $40,000+ annually (with almost zero cost)
- The conversion metrics and "URI" formula to track whether your upselling is actually working
- Why keyless entry and kiosks might be sabotaging your guest relationships and revenue
- How to spot upsell opportunities during due diligence before you even buy a property
If you're serious about maximizing hotel profitability, this episode will change how you think about staffing and guest experience. Don't leave five figures on the table every year because your front desk doesn't know how to sell.
About Geoffrey
Geoffrey Toffetti is the CEO of Frontline Performance Group (FPG), where he leverages over three decades of experience to transform hospitality frontline teams into powerful revenue generators. Rising from a resort valet to the C-suite, Geoffrey has guided FPG’s expansion to over 2,500 properties across 100+ countries, helping global brands like Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt unlock over $2.3 billion in incremental revenue. Through FPG’s innovative IN-Gauge SaaS platform and a "service-based sales" philosophy, he empowers hourly staff to elevate the guest experience while driving significant bottom-line profitability without additional capital expenditure.
Connect with Geoffrey
Connect with Geoffrey on LinkedIn or visit their Website.
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