Ronan McAuley, founder of Alkimii, shares how his hotel experience led to a software platform that’s simplifying hospitality operations. Meet him at the Interceltic Business Forum this August.
When Ronan McAuley set out to run his own hotel, he didn’t expect to build a tech startup. But the everyday frustrations of managing payroll, rosters, and communication led him to create something bigger — a platform that now powers hospitality teams across the industry.
That platform became Alkimii, a human-centered software solution built specifically for the hospitality sector.
We spoke with Ronan ahead of his appearance at the Interceltic Business Forum in Lorient this August, where he will represent Ireland in the Interceltic Startup Challenge 2025.
After working for many years in hospitality IT, including as Director of IT for Doyle Hotel Group, I decided I wanted to try something different and run my own hotel. While managing it, I realised there just wasn’t a system out there that gave me the visibility I needed around payroll costs week on week. Payroll is the biggest cost in hospitality, and not having that clarity made it really difficult to make decisions confidently.
I found myself frustrated, using spreadsheets and chasing bits of paper just to understand where we stood each week.I didn’t set out to build a software company – at the start, I just wanted to solve that problem for myself and my team. But I quickly realised that what we were building could help so many other hotels facing the same challenges.
That’s really where Alkimii came from – seeing a problem first-hand and wanting to make life a little easier for people working in this industry.
Alkimii is a software platform built specifically for hospitality teams. We have two main products – Alkimii People and Alkimii Property.
People is everything to do with your team: HR management, onboarding, time and attendance, rosters, compliance, and payroll. But it’s also how teams communicate and engage with each other every day, whether that’s through chat, group chat, or sharing updates and news. Property is about running your building and operations – your daily checklists, maintenance tasks, fire walks, compliance, and shift notes. Everything you need to keep your property safe, compliant, and running smoothly.
The problem we’re solving is simple. Hospitality teams are still using tools that don’t fit how their work actually happens. We bring everything into one place, make it mobile, and make it human-centered, so people spend less time chasing signatures or scribbling notes on paper, and more time leading their teams and looking after their guests
The people who run hotels – general managers, operations managers, HR managers – feel the difference straight away, whether it's managing costs or building employee engagement. But it’s also everyone else in the team.
The housekeeper, who can see their roster in seconds. The maintenance person who knows exactly what tasks are due today.
The finance team can finally manage costs and have day-to-day visibility of all areas that need attention. Ultimately, it benefits everyone from the top down. Because when you make life easier for your team, guests feel it too.
It’s a real honour. The Celtic regions share a deep connection in how we approach hospitality, community, and business – there’s a shared understanding of looking after people and building relationships. To be able to represent Ireland and showcase some of the innovation that’s coming out of here is something I’m very proud of.
I see it as an opportunity not only to share what we’re building at Alkimii, but also to learn from others and to build stronger connections across these regions. I’m incredibly proud of what our team has achieved so far. Being part of this forum is a chance to reflect on that, to celebrate the strengths and traditions that make us unique, and to look at how we can support each other to grow in the future.
Ronan will be one of six founders presenting at the Interceltic Business Forum on August 4th in Lorient, France. Come hear how Celtic startups like Alkimii are rethinking old industries and building a more collaborative, international future.
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