Book A Demo

THREATSPIKE CASE STUDY

How Regency Hotel Management Consolidated Security In Over 100 Properties

Introducing Regency Hotel Management

Regency Hotel Management is a US-based hospitality management company operating over 100 properties across multiple franchise brands — IHG, Best Western, Marriott — as well as a portfolio of independent hotels.

With guests to serve around the clock and tight margins across every site, operational reliability isn’t optional.

The Challenge

  • Two people managing security across 1,600 devices and 100+ properties
  • No direct access to tools — just reports and invoices from their MSSP
  • A network breach in December 2024 that existing tools couldn't stop

The Solution

  • Consolidated EDR, firewall, email filtering, and pen testing under one platform
  • Direct portal access and real-time alerts replaced blind reliance on a third party
  • ThreatSpike's SOC handling threats, quarantine releases, and suspicious emails 24/7

The Result

  • $183,000+ in estimated annual savings across security tools and pen testing
  • A two-person IT team now scales across 100+ properties with enterprise-grade security coverage
  • Full PCI compliance maintained across every managed property, without a third-party compliance service

Meet Jim Stark

As CTO at Regency Hotel Management, Jim Stark is responsible for IT and security across a portfolio of over 100 hospitality properties. Alongside his Director of IT, Jeff Drummond, he manages 1,600 devices, supports staff across dozens of locations, and keeps every managed property PCI compliant.

For years, Regency relied on an MSSP for EDR, firewall management, and email filtering. But direct access to tools, alerts, or real-time visibility wasn’t part of the arrangement. Jim and Jeff received reports and invoices. What was actually happening across the network was another matter.

$183K

Estimated annual savings

3

hours taken to contain a network breach, even before Regency were a customer.

1600

Devices managed across 100+ properties — by a two-person IT team

"It's like having a third person in the office."

Every property operates independently taking care of their own P&L. When security costs hit a property’s budget, it gets scrutinised by the owners. When something breaks and staff can’t work, Jim and Jeff hear about it immediately and must deal with the fall out.

No Visibility Into What Was Happening

With 1,600 devices across multiple properties and franchise brands, Jim and Jeff had no way to see what was actually happening. No news felt like good news, but that’s not how security works. It’s what you don’t know that you should be worried about.

Regency was paying for EDR, firewall management, and email filtering through their MSSP. They didn’t have direct access to any of it though. No alerts. Just reports and invoices. The MSSP recommended ThreatSpike to Jim for increased visibility. They were talking through what implementation would look like when in December 2024, Regency had a network breach. The MSSP’s security team and current tools couldn’t stop it.

In need of help, Jim reached out to Adam, CEO at ThreatSpike. Within three hours, the breach was contained. They weren’t even paying customers yet.

Soon after Jim moved to ThreatSpike. The difference was immediate. Direct portal access. Real actionable alerts. Visibility into everything happening across the network. Jim and Jeff could see anything, anytime.

Consolidating the Stack

Regency moved from SentinelOne to ThreatSpike Blue. Switched MSSP firewall management to ThreatSpike and replaced AppRiver for email filtering.

Implementation went smoother than expected. ThreatSpike’s agents removed old agents, cleaned up, installed new ones. Now ThreatSpike handles EDR, antivirus, firewall management, email filtering, web filtering, and Red Team pen testing.

Before ThreatSpike, a single pen test would cost Regency around $15,000 with a tight scope. If they found something outside that scope, they’d mention it but wouldn’t test it, leaving it for a future test. Now Jim’s completed three pen tests and plans a minimum of four annually.

What Changed In Day to Day Operations

Jim sees alerts almost daily. Medium level, low level, monthly network activity reports. With 1,600 devices, someone somewhere, whether intentional or not, is always doing something they shouldn’t. That’s expected. Now the ThreatSpike wire and SOC teams will intervene. Threats are detected and Jim and Jeff know the threat will be investigated and remedied and measures will be taken that prevent the incident from re-occurring. 

Employees now forward suspicious looking emails to Jim, Jeff, and the SOC, respond almost immediately, the ThreatSpike SOC notifies if the email is safe or not. “It’s like having a third person in the office.” Jim says.

When Jim needs something time-critical released from quarantine, he emails the SOC. Within minutes, it’s in his inbox. Previous vendor? Could take hours or days. Sales teams waiting on contracts in quarantine meant lost revenue. Not anymore. The SOC operates 24/7. In the hospitality sector issues can arise at 3am or on weekends. 

PCI Across Multiple Properties

Many hospitality companies think their brand flag protects them from network breaches and make sure they are PCI compliant. But it doesn’t. Some properties were previously paying $800-$1,000 monthly to a compliance company. Years of payments, and yet no current PCI certificates. ThreatSpike now handles it all and Regency managed properties are compliant, and protected. 

What It Actually Costs

Every dollar Jim spends gets tagged to a property cost centre. Properties manage tight budgets, the margins in hospitality are tight. If properties aren’t getting their money’s worth, Jim hears about it. Now property owners are able to see exactly what they are being protected from and their costs are significantly lower.

Estimated annual savings with ThreatSpike: $183,000+

Pen testing alone represents around $40,000 in annual savings – with unlimited pen tests being scheduled 4 times a year. Email filtering, EDR, and firewall management all previously required separate vendors and separate contracts. All now included under one license. 

Result: No complaints from properties. The math is easy. Service that actually works for less money.

 

The Results

Monthly reports show what ThreatSpike stops. Jim sends these to the board with full confidence. Threats are being caught and responded to. Vulnerabilities get patched. The networks stay protected.

Response times changed dramatically. The December breach was contained in three hours – before ThreatSpike was even a paying customer. Email quarantine releases that used to take hours or days now happen within minutes. SOC responses to forwarded suspicious emails come back in less than an hour instead of never getting answered at all.

ThreatSpike operates like they’re in the office next door. Same accountability Jim and Jeff have.  Threat Spike is a true partner, not just a vendor.

For hospitality companies managing multiple properties with limited IT resources, enterprise security without enterprise complexity matters.