MCR, a hotel owner-operator and developer, has invested heavily in hotels and hotel tech during the pandemic, buying 70 hotels and closing on four next week, with another 12 in the pipeline. The move makes MCR the third-largest hotel owner in the US, and the company now owns 150 hotels in 37 states. MCR acquired property management system Stayntouch in 2020 and hotel housekeeping software Optii in 2021, among six investments in other software companies, and Tyler Morse, MCR’s chairman and CEO, says the software investment aims to modernize the hotel industry by moving away from old, inefficient, and fragmented systems. The company also wants to offer part-day use of hotels as an option for business travellers. Despite hotels taking a financial hit during the pandemic, Morse believes that the investment will pay off.