Roadmap to Success
A Story of Digital Transformation
Impact at a Glance
Revenue Growth
Improved Conversions
Feature Delivery
New Prospects
The Situation
Crystal Springs is a complex, multi-property destination resort with diverse revenue streams: hotels and lodging, weddings and group events, corporate meetings, golf outings, memberships, dining, spa, and on-property activities. Each line of business had its own systems, processes, and data silos.
The resort's leadership understood that guest expectations were evolving faster than their technology could support. They needed a partner who could help them build a foundation for continuous improvement, not just execute isolated projects.
The Challenge
Crystal Springs faced the systemic challenges that plague many luxury properties:
Hidden Insights
Guest and operational data existed across dozens of systems with no unified view. Marketing relied on spreadsheet gymnastics to build email lists. Sales couldn’t measure true channel attribution or cost of acquisition. The data was there, but no one owned the strategy to make it useful.
Trapped Content in a Closed System
The existing content platform was a hospitality-specific system that promised simplicity but delivered constraint. Feature requests took months. Innovation required vendor permission. The resort didn’t own their content architecture; they rented it.
Running on Inboxes and Spreadsheets
Tens of thousands of inquiries annually for weddings, meetings, golf outings, and memberships flowed into individual inboxes. Leads were tracked in spreadsheets. Duplicates proliferated across channels. There was no unified pipeline, no visibility into performance, and no way to know what was actually working.
No Foundation for AI
The resort saw the potential of AI for guest experience and operational efficiency, but without unified data, structured content, and modern architecture, AI initiatives would be built on sand.
The opportunity wasn’t just modernization. It was building a foundation the resort could own and evolve continuously.
The Approach
Sherpera engaged as a long-term strategic transformation partner, not a project vendor. Together, we designed a roadmap-based approach built on three principles:
Own the Foundation
Every initiative prioritized ownership over convenience. Open platforms over closed vendor systems. Composable architecture over monolithic suites. The goal: build capabilities the resort controls, not capabilities they rent.
Govern with Authority
The resort needed to understand and direct their technology ecosystem, not just consume what vendors provided. We established governance frameworks, sprint-based delivery cycles, and clear ownership across data, content, and systems.
Realize Through Progressive Delivery
Rather than multi-year projects with distant payoffs, we structured work into continuous improvement cycles. Quick wins built confidence. Each initiative compounded value from the previous one. The roadmap evolved as the foundation strengthened.
The Solution
We unified Crystal Springs Resort’s data, content, CRM, and AI into a modern composable architecture, turning slow, fragmented systems into a connected engine for now and the future.
Data & Omni-Channel Content Foundation
The Problem
Data scattered across systems with no activation strategy. Content trapped in a closed platform that blocked innovation. Marketing operations running on tribal knowledge and ad-hoc processes.
What We Did
- Designed and implemented a modern data architecture that centralizes operational, marketing, and behavioral data
- Replaced the closed content platform with an open, composable system the resort owns
- Established the content platform as the authoritative source for all channels, including AI knowledge bases
- Implemented product discovery and project management systems for marketing technology initiatives and continuous improvement
The Shift
Feature delivery improved from 90-180 day cycles to bi-weekly releases. An 85-92% reduction in time-to-delivery. The resort now moves at the speed of guest expectations, not vendor roadmaps.
Sales & Revenue Engine
The Problem
Inquiries routed to individual inboxes. Pipeline tracked in spreadsheets. No visibility into what channels performed or what the true cost of acquisition was. Booking conversion rates stagnant.
What We Did
- Conducted a comprehensive sales systems assessment across all group sales lines
- Designed and implemented a centralized CRM as the system of record
- Integrated website forms and 10+ third-party lead sources into a unified pipeline
- Piloted with wedding sales, then expanded to corporate meetings, golf outings, and memberships
- Optimized the online booking experience through systematic A/B testing
The Results
- 31% year-over-year revenue increase in the first six months of the sales pilot
- 12% improvement in booking conversion rate
- Clear attribution and KPIs across the full lead-to-contract journey
AI & Automation
The Problem
AI was a buzzword without a strategy. No foundation existed to support intelligent automation. Sales teams spent hours on prospect research. Central reservations training was inconsistent.
What We Did
- Analyzed reservation calls using AI to identify training gaps and sentiment patterns
- Built automated research systems for corporate sales and golf outings that identify, enrich, and score prospects
- Designed enterprise AI architecture spanning website chatbot, voice systems, and internal assistants
- Structured content and data feeds to power AI knowledge bases
- Created multi-agent workflows for guided, natural-language interactions
The Results
- 6,000+ new prospects discovered through AI-powered research automation
- 18% increase in new golf outing proposals
- Reduced training time and improved consistency for central reservations
- Scalable AI architecture ready for continued expansion
The Outcome
Crystal Springs now operates on a foundation they own and can evolve continuously. Data flows from source systems into a unified architecture that powers analytics, personalization, and AI. Content publishes to any channel from a single authoritative platform. Sales operates with visibility across every inquiry and channel. AI augments team capabilities rather than replacing human judgment.
This isn’t a finished project. It’s an ongoing transformation with compounding returns. Each quarter builds on the foundation established in previous work. The resort has moved from reacting to vendor limitations to directing their own technology future.
The Pattern
This engagement demonstrates what becomes possible when organizations take ownership of their foundation:
Own Your Data
Stop letting it scatter across vendor silos. Centralize, structure, and activate it on your terms.
Own Your AI Strategy
Build the knowledge architecture that powers intelligent experiences across every touchpoint.
Govern Your Technology Architecture with Authority
Choose composable systems you control. Move at your pace, not your vendors’ roadmap.
Then Realize the Possibilities
Revenue growth. Operational efficiency. Guest experiences that differentiate. AI that actually delivers value.
Crystal Springs didn’t buy a solution. They built a foundation. And that foundation keeps compounding.