By Ivana Johnston, Co-Founder and CEO, Puzzle Partner - 5.28.2025
Vanessa Osbourne’s resume reads like a blueprint for navigating high-stakes environments. Before launching Smart Hotel Manager, she spent years solving costly and complex operational failures in the oil and gas industry—where a single misstep could mean millions lost, or lives endangered.
“If you were to look at her resume, it would tell you that Vanessa Osbourne, founder of Smart Hotel Manager, has spent her career solving complex issues and helping companies avoid costly mistakes to the tune of 7 to 20 million dollars a day.”
But her passion goes far beyond process improvement or loss prevention. Osbourne’s deeper mission is centered around readiness: helping industries like hospitality close critical safety gaps to better protect their people, their reputation, and their operations.
“Oil and gas is a high-stakes realm, where a mistake could cost millions or, at worst, truly endanger people’s lives,” she explains. “As a Lean Operations Practitioner, I quickly learned how to detect inefficiencies, uncover hidden risks, and identify the root cause of issues before they had a chance to materialize.”
This high-risk background gave Osbourne the perspective she would later bring to hospitality—an industry she found surprisingly unprepared when it comes to handling emergencies.
“The hospitality industry often demonstrates a lack of readiness and preparedness that can stand in the way of a hotel’s ability to adequately protect their staff and guests.”
This realization was the catalyst for Smart Hotel Manager, the first AI-enabled, mobile-first safety platform designed to guide hotel staff in real time. Osbourne designed the platform to replace “a dusty, long-forgotten 300-400 page binder of protocols” with intuitive digital tools.
“Our nature, as human beings, is to panic – and unfortunately, that is usually where the trouble starts,” she explains. “I created Smart Hotel Manager as a simple but effective digital solution to help hotel staff prepare for and in the event of an emergency.”
Hotels present unique challenges—high turnover, language barriers, late-night staffing—and Osbourne’s solution accounts for all of them. The platform offers real-time, property-specific protocols, complete with audio and GPS-enabled guidance.
“A close friend told me about a catastrophic event that happened at the hotel property he was managing,” Osbourne shares. “A massive water leak that occurred around 2 am cost the property owner hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages, because the staff working at the time didn’t know where the main control point was located. The incident was a disaster – and yet, it was totally avoidable.”
That story marked a turning point for Osbourne, highlighting how even well-meaning teams can fall short when they lack tools and training.
“It revealed how even a good team is often unprepared for certain kinds of disasters. Without the proper digital tools and training, you could be left scrambling in an emergency,” she adds. “Hotels also need a smarter way to train, respond, and protect their properties before disaster strikes.”
And Smart Hotel Manager is built to provide exactly that.
“Even with tabs and indexes, paper-based solutions are often insufficient in a crisis,” she notes. “Everyone reacts differently to emergencies. But when they have a device in their hand that can quickly tell them exactly what to do and where to go – with GPS guidance and audio support – it helps them to feel calm and in control, and can ideally reduce the damage to a property.”
More than just digitizing emergency manuals, the platform makes them usable—operationalizing preparedness with mobile accessibility, intuitive navigation, and property-level customization.
“We don’t just digitize safety plans, we operationalize them. Our platform provides real-time functionality, allowing you to quickly access any emergency-compliant plan you need, all tailored specifically to your property, within one intuitive app.”
This, Osbourne stresses, isn’t just about peace of mind—it drives real business value.
“These features aren’t just about convenience — they translate into tangible value for hotel owners, from a reduction in insurance claims and premiums to faster onboarding for new staff, higher guest satisfaction during crisis scenarios, and, of course, operational savings through preventative maintenance.”
With the hotel industry beginning to embrace cloud infrastructure and digital transformation, Osbourne sees this as a pivotal moment.
“A lot of hotel companies are finally moving to the cloud. They might not be as comfortable there as some high-tech industries, but this shift is necessary for a strong future – and we’re at the forefront of this move.”
She’s also investing in AI—but not as a buzzword.
“AI-driven training is progressing rapidly. You already see elements in hotels with apps for guest experience, ratings, food, and spa services. But our approach to AI is different. We use AI not as robots, but as guides. For example, we provide audio guides to help staff prepare for over 20 types of emergency asset management scenarios. This is especially helpful in hotels with 500 to 1,000 rooms, where new hires and night staff need to quickly locate assets and get up to speed without the ongoing costs of traditional training facilities.”
As a female founder in traditionally male-dominated industries, Osbourne’s leadership approach is both pragmatic and principled.
“I’ve often been the only woman in the room, and it’s taught me to lead with both empathy and decisiveness. I value listening, but I don’t wait for permission to solve problems,” she adds with a grin. “Look to build credibility by continuously solving real problems – that is what inspires others. Being able to execute under pressure earns you respect, not just the title.”
She believes safety and emergency preparedness should no longer be relegated to back-office compliance. Instead, they should be recognized as strategic differentiators.
“When you invest in protecting your property and your people, you’re investing in your brand reputation and operational resilience.”
And for decision-makers focused on ROI, Osbourne makes a compelling case:
“Reactive maintenance costs organizations millions, and I’ve seen the difference a data-driven, proactive approach can make. It’s financially smart to invest in safety technology. In the long run — and even in the short run — you turn what’s traditionally seen as a cost center into a profit lever.”
Her advice to hoteliers is clear and urgent:
“Don’t wait for a crisis to rethink your approach. Embrace solutions that empower your staff, protect your assets, and position your business for long-term success.”
Ivana Johnston, CEO and co-founder of Puzzle Partner, is a trusted brand strategist that collaborates with some of the world’s most innovative companies in hospitality, travel, wellness, healthcare and technology. She has a proven track record of initiating, driving, and cultivating high-value business ideas and relationships, helping her clients outperform the competition, achieve profitable exits, and expand into the Americas. Her insights are regularly featured in business trade publications, Forbes.com, Entrepreneur and other prominent media outlets. As a member of the Forbes Agency Council, Forbes Business Council she contributes to Forbes Expert Panels®, offering her expertise on the interplay of advanced technologies and business success.
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