One Month. 300+ Job Roles. 99% Activation: Hotelplan's Skills-First Success Story

The Challenge

Before implementing HowNow, Hotelplan already had a strong commitment to employee development.

But its L&D team recognised that to unlock the next level of growth, employees and managers needed even greater clarity around their learning: a clear view of the skills required for success, and a more structured way to support career conversations and development.

Rather than relying on traditional, time-consuming approaches, Hotelplan wanted a solution that would help it move faster, personalise development for every employee, and build a future-ready workforce - without adding complexity for its teams.

Mapping skills across hundreds of roles and multiple brands could have been a daunting task. But with the right tools and approach, it saw an opportunity to not just react to a short-term need, but to set a new standard for career development across the entire organisation.
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The Solution

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‍We chose HowNow because we’re not just investing in learning - we’re shaping a culture of continuous growth that’s powered by smart, connected technology. - Craig Randell, Group IT Director at Hotelplan.

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Hotelplan leveraged HowNow’s AI-powered skills mapping tool to turn a traditionally manual, slow process into a fast, intelligent transformation.

Using HowNow’s smart mapping capabilities, they were able to:

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• Dynamically map skills to job roles based on industry standards, business needs, and future growth plans.
  
  
• Align skill profiles to each brand’s unique needs and career pathways, ensuring local relevance while driving group-wide consistency.
  
  
• Automatically connect employees’ focus skills to tailored learning resources, surfacing personalised content for every team member based on the skills they needed most.
  
  
• Empower employees to view clear, role-relevant content and development pathways, removing the guesswork and helping them take charge of their growth.
  
  
• Equip managers with a framework to drive better, data-backed career conversations.
  
  

Rather than overwhelming teams with manual input, skills mapping became a streamlined, collaborative exercise. Leaders and managers validated the AI-suggested skills, ensuring relevance while significantly speeding up the process.

By connecting mapped skills directly to personalised learning recommendations, Hotelplan made development feel immediate, actionable, and personal, helping its team build the right skills at the right time.

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The Impact

We wanted something that didn’t just meet a need but actually made learning a part of how we work and shifted the business to a skills-based approach that developed skills for today and for the future. - Nicky Lyle, HR Director at Hotelplan.‍

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The results tell a powerful story. Within just one month, Hotelplan had successfully mapped the skills of hundreds of roles across the entire organisation - a process that would traditionally take several months, if not longer.

In doing that, they set the foundation for a culture where career development is not just aspirational, but actively supported every day.

And employees responded.

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• 99% activated their accounts within the first three months.
  That means nearly everyone in the team is engaged with their personalised skill development and learning content recommendations - a true signal of trust and interest in the new approach.
  
  
• 78% now say they feel confident in the skills required for their current role.
  By aligning mapped skills with tailored learning content, Hotelplan gave people clarity and direction - turning skill building from an ambition into something real and relevant.
  
  
• 50%+ employees continued learning even during peak business periods.
  That’s not a temporary spike - it’s a sign that skills growth is now woven into the flow of work, not set aside for quieter times.

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By focusing on personalisation, structure, and speed, Hotelplan didn’t just complete a skills project, they sparked a cultural shift.

One where employees feel empowered to drive their own growth, managers can better support their teams, and skills development is no longer aspirational, but achievable.

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Moving to a skill-first learning approach empowers our people to develop to their full potential. We’re committed to supporting their growth - whether that journey continues here or takes them to new opportunities elsewhere. - Joe Ponte, CEO at Hotelplan.

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Want to see how Hotelplan made skills the foundation of their learning culture?
‍From winning over leadership to launching with buzz and embedding development in the flow of work - the full story is packed with practical insights and proven strategies. Read the full playbook here and discover how Hotelplan brought their skills-first vision to life with HowNow.