HE Labs: Where Innovation Becomes Operational Advantage

HE Labs™ is Hotel Equities' dedicated innovation and incubation division, a structured platform for evaluating technologies, developing AI-enabled workflows, incubating hospitality concepts, and scaling what works. Hospitality does not lack new ideas or technologies. What it has lacked is a disciplined way to turn them into a scalable operating advantage.

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Why HE Labs Matters Now

The hospitality industry in its current state is becoming harder to sustain. Costs have increased faster than revenues, and the balance of profit between brands, operators, and owners has increasingly tilted toward the “asset light” players in the industry.

At the same time, hospitality has struggled to consistently turn innovation into a scalable operational advantage. The industry needs smarter systems that improve efficiency, enhance the guest experience, and better connect innovation with day-to-day hotel operations, all while remaining rooted in a people-first business. HE Labs was created to help bridge that gap.

Built to Maximize Owner Returns

Hotel management companies are built to operate assets, not to evaluate technologies or systematically scale innovation. HE Labs exists to fill that gap, providing a structured approach to evaluating, testing, and scaling innovation.

From revenue optimization tools to operational efficiencies and enhanced guest experiences, initiatives are designed to deliver stronger, more consistent returns for owners.

Key Owner Benefits

Structured Evaluation

Technology and workflows are assessed against defined problems, operating context, and measurable success criteria.

Real-World Testing

Initiatives are validated in live operating environments before broader implementation.

Operational Alignment

Innovation is built to work within operations, reducing friction and supporting smoother implementation.

Scalable Results

Proven solutions move forward, creating long-term value across the portfolio.

How it Works

HE Labs applies a disciplined approach to innovation through opportunity selection, system design, real-world testing, and scaling what works.

From Evaluation to Execution

Evaluate the Opportunity

Every initiative begins with a clearly defined problem, opportunity, and success criteria.

Design the Right System

Technology and workflow decisions are approached as part of a broader operating system—not as isolated tools.

Test in Real Environments

Pilots run in live environments, ensuring results reflect real operational conditions.

Scale What Works

Only validated solutions move forward into broader implementation.

Experienced Leadership. Structured Thinking.

HE Labs is led by experienced operators and strategic thinkers who bring clarity, discipline, and real-world perspective to each initiative. By combining industry knowledge with a structured, data-driven approach, they bring judgment and operational focus to ideas that drive performance.

Brian Jenkins Head of HE Labs

Leads HE Labs with a structured, data-driven approach shaped by experience across management and technology consulting and hospitality operations.

“Operators run hotels. HE Labs builds what improves them.”

Ben Rafter Chief Executive Officer

Brings a distinctive background in hospitality and technology, embedding innovation into Hotel Equities’ operating model and helping shape the vision behind HE Labs.

“The industry evaluates tools. We design systems.”