Addressing the key challenges facing hoteliers, covering all aspects of hotel management, including:
Guests include leaders from hotel groups, suppliers and education.
Globally industry leaders rely on eHotelier for the latest trends around the world to build their careers, grow their teams and their businesses.
Subscribe today, learn from global leaders and never miss a trend again.
In this episode, we explore the development and launch of Appellation, a revolutionary new culinary-first hospitality-concept, with Ed Skapinok, Chief Commercial Officer.
The brainchild of celebrated Masterchef Charlie Palmer, CEO and former Four Seasons President of the Americas Christopher Hunsberger, COO, Appellation is defining a new form of culinary hospitality through its innovative experiential resorts.
Ed and I discuss the following:
Visit eHotelier.com
Learn more about Appellation.
The tourism and hospitality industry constantly evolves with new technologies, trends, and customer demands. Hotels have had to adapt to compete with online travel agencies to attract future guests to book direct.
As hotels experiment with retail-hospitality convergence, they are learning how to create unique customer experiences through new products and services that will grow revenues and keep guests returning.
In this episode, Frank Trampert, Senior Vice President and Global Managing Director of Community Sales at Sabre Hospitality Solutions, and I explore the latest trends in the hotel and retail convergence and discuss how it changes the guest experience and the whole proposition of accommodation-centric operations.
We discuss the opportunities for owners and managers who want to leverage retail convergence and the opportunities this emerging evolution provides.
We discuss:
The ongoing challenges and opportunities hoteliers are facing?
About Sabre Corporation
Sabre Corporation is a leading software and technology company that powers the global travel industry, serving various travel companies, including airlines, hoteliers, travel agencies and other suppliers. The Company provides retailing, distribution and fulfilment solutions that help its customers operate more efficiently, drive revenue and offer personalized traveller experiences. Through its leading travel marketplace, Sabre connects travel suppliers with buyers from around the globe. Sabre’s technology platform manages more than $260 Billion of global travel spending annually. Headquartered in Southlake, Texas, USA, Sabre serves customers in more than 160 countries worldwide. For more information visit www.sabre.com.
June is World Ocean Month and we’re talking with Theresa van Greunen, about the ways in which Aqua Aston Hospitality are integrating the expertise of local destinations while holding community and environmental stewardship as priority brand pillars.
We discuss:
About Aqua-Aston Hospitality:
Founded in 1948, Aqua-Aston Hospitality provides management, marketing, and communications services to an array of hotel, resort and condo-resort brands in Hawaii, continental United States and Central America.
Based in Honolulu Hawaii the company prides itself on understanding today’s traveller by integrating its expertise in local destinations where each of its properties reside while holding community and environmental stewardship as priority brand pillars.
Professor Kimes is considered to be one of the top thought-leaders and experts in Revenue Management in the world. Sherri has been working in Revenue Management since 1988 and has had the privilege of helping to educate some of the top leaders in Revenue Management.
We discuss:
Learn more about Sherri's work at https://sherrikimes.com.
At The Red Sea Development Company and AMA.ALA, John is leveraging his 38 years of international experience in delivering large scale multi-billion-dollar developments.
Since 2018, John has led The Red Sea Development Company's growth from the ground up and is creating a unique eco-luxury, sustainable, regenerative tourist destination that will contribute to transforming the global tourism industry and to the diversification of the Saudi Arabian economy.
We discuss:
What do the next 5-10 years look like? The Hospitality industry is in need of an upgrade to a new version. ‘Hospitality 2.0’ is a call to action for proactive change that will help hoteliers compete against the growing challenges presented by alternative accommodations, technological advancement, the COVID pandemic and labour constraints. It outlines a path forward for the digital transformation of our industry.
Author of “Hospitality Revenue Management Made Easy”, “Hospitality 2.0” is Ira’s second book, focused on defining what we can expect in the future, the trends, consumer and industry changes.
We discuss:
Get the book today to learn how to succeed in Hospitality 2.0.
We reflect on the impact of the pandemic, how it has led us to where we are today and the new crisis facing the hotel industry in the future.
We discuss:
About BWH Group:
BWH Hotel Group is a leading, global hospitality network comprising: Best Western Hotels & Resorts, WorldHotels Collection, and SureStay® Hotel Group.
Built on the foundation of Best Western Hotels & Resorts, BWH Hotel Group was formed following Best Western’s acquisition of WorldHotels Collection a collection of hotels and resorts in the upper-upscale and luxury segments. Together with SureStay Hotel Group in the economy segment BWH covers hotel options in every market segment – from economy to luxury, a global network of approximately 4,700 hotels, in nearly 100 countries and territories worldwide.
Prior to COVID, revenue management systems primarily relied on historical data together with movement in forecasts to aid revenue management decision making. However, with changing guest booking patterns as well as external influences such as border closures, historical data may not be the most reliable basis for revenue management in the future.
We discuss:
Download “The Ultimate Guide to Using Forward-Looking Demand Data to Maximize Revenue”
Now that restrictions are easing and travel is beginning to return we discuss the opportunities for hotels to rethink their marketing, revenue management and sales.
We discuss:
Download the whitepaper and learn more about Frederic and Gonzo marketing here.
We say we are in the hospitality industry. We say we care about service, but our conversations spin around investing, real estate and interior design.
We discuss:
Nicki Graham, Vice President of Marketing at Cendyn, and Robert Schimmel, Vice President of Product Management at Cendyn, detailed the impact of these privacy changes and how hotels can prepare for the challenges ahead so they can get back to the core of hospitality — creating meaningful relationships with their guests.
This is an audio recording of the webinar, in which we discuss:
• What’s next for email marketing following Apple’s Privacy update
• The Apple Privacy changes your hotel needs to know about right now
• How privacy protection is changing email marketing
As President, Sabre Hospitality Solutions, Scott Wilson has a global perspective of industry recovery, including how many hotels are thriving.
Scott shares his insight including lessons to be learned from his experience in the retail and airline industries, to assist hoteliers to maximise opportunities through recovery and beyond.
Learn more about Sabre.
The pandemic has changed the way we live, and the way consumers purchase, moving everything even further online, including hotel bookings.
So, it is more important than ever to ensure your web presence is working hard for you. Learn why copy is important and how to ensure your digital voice communicates your service.
We discuss:
Exploring the evolution of revenue management due to the impacts of the pandemic. Changes to the operations, the management and the systems.
We discuss:
Guest expectations in a contactless experience have accelerated technology developments and how you can ensure you can continue to exceed guests’ expectations in the contactless world.
We discuss:
With the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning into revenue management, how do we keep value creation in the centre of the revenue management function?
We discuss:
You can learn more about HGE International here, or connect with Heidi here.
COVID has taken a significant impact on hospitality people at all levels, and continues to challenge us in many ways, from the direct health complications to work and business pressures.
As the world and the industry starts to recover, we now thinking about things differently, particularly in our life priorities. Catherine and I discuss the changing corporate culture and how positive leadership embracing change can lead to business success through people.
We explore:
Connect with Catherine
Learn more about Bell Training Group
The pandemic’s widespread impact has supported the motivation of many people to lead healthier lifestyles for our physical and mental wellbeing.
Banyan Tree are “democratising wellbeing” through the “I am with you” service culture program for their associates. Banyan Tree believe the happiness of associates is inextricably linked to the satisfaction of Banyan Tree guests and the success of the business.
We explore:
As an industry we are potentially facing a challenge in the near future, with increasing demands, yet a lack of experienced staff available in the market. We explore the key to delivering exceptional customer service.
We discuss:
Learn more at www.penshee.com
Creating a hotel with purpose is the mission of leading designer Bill Bensley. Together with Rena Udomkunnatum, CEO of Elysian Development Co, the second project for this dynamic and inspiring partnership is the creation of the Intercontinental Khao Yai in central Thailand.
Rena and Bill discuss the purpose of their hotel projects, what inspires the creation of quintessential properties and the value they provide not only to guests as a destination, but to the environment, the economy and the local people and their culture.
Sensible Sustainable Solutions white-paper
16 suggestions for designing better hotels to help fight climate change and make the world a better place.
About InterContinental Khao Yai
Set to open in 2021, InterContinental Khao Yai Swan Lake Resort will be an integral part of the Swan Lake mixed use project which is being positioned as a ‘destination retreat’. The resort creates a genuine sense of connection to nature with stunning views over seven man-made lakes, mountain views, and over 50,000 trees in the 100-acre site.
About Bensley
BENSLEY is a small atelier of youthful, energetic architects, interior designers, artists and landscape architects that know no limits, based in Bangkok and Bali. We believe in design. If one has a client that can build as per plan, it can be exuberantly life confirming.
Bill Bensley is world renown for his outstanding, unique and inspiring award-wining hotel, landscape and interior designs and eye-catching architecture. What is not so widely known, but comes as no surprise to those that know him, is that he is a concerned conservationist and passionate philanthropist and an eco-warrior. In his own words Bill shares, “my main purpose in life, besides having as much fun as possible, is to help the needy, to education, help animals and help the planet via conservation”.
Travel has been one of the hardest hit industries by the pandemic over the past 12 months. Now that vaccinations are rolling out and restrictions are lifting, we are seeing the first signs of recovery, as hotels emerge we explore the main trends for the future of the travel industry.
We consider the following with Scott Wilson, President Sabre Hospitality Solutions:
We discuss new financial models in hotels post-pandemic with Aaron Oh, a learning facilitator at The Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School at Torrens University.
Reviewing March 2021 by the numbers around the globe, with David Eisen from HotStats.
David is the Director of Hotel Intelligence and Customer Solutions at HotStats, the world’s largest monthly profit-and-loss database in the hotel industry. With uniquely intelligent benchmarking and performance software, HotStats looks far beyond REVPAR, offering an unparalleled opportunity to understand the industry like never before.
We discuss market performance by region, including impacts on:
Download the Hotstats March 2021 report.
Sustainability is the mere tip of the regenerative travel iceberg.
Hear Amanda Ho from Regenerative Travel discuss how a community of like-minded hoteliers are on a mission of continuous improvement from sustainability to regeneration.
We discuss the five regeneration principals for hospitality:
Download the white-paper here.
Andy Hermo from Sabre Hospitality joins me to provide insights into the challenges facing enterprise hotel groups in managing inventory in a period of uncertainty and providing personalisation at scale.
Sabre Hospitality is the leading technology provider for the hospitality industry, serving more than 40,000 hotels, resorts, and chains spanning 160 countries. From independent properties to large global chains, hotel organisations at all levels rely on Sabre Hospitality Solutions to optimizing revenue across all channels while improving the guest experience.
We discuss:
Leadership and management are terms that seem to be used interchangeably within the industry. We discuss the difference between leadership and management, and the important skills of hotel professionals in the future.
The pandemic has had a major impact on the sales function. Paige Duke from Strategic Solution Partners and I discuss how the sales function may change as demand returns for business and MICE travel.
Paige is a Visionary sales and marketing director with 20+ years of experience leading teams to build customer relationships and drive revenue results, including Starwood Hotels, HEI Hotels and Resorts and Fairmont.
We discuss:
The Park Hyatt New York is an iconic New York City hotel, having been awarded both the 2021 Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Award as well as the 2021 U.S. News & World Report, Best Hotels in NYC.
In this episode, Area Vice President and General Manager of the Hyatt New York, Peter Roth and I discuss the reopening of the hotel on 1 April 2021.
We discuss:
There are positive signs that demand is increasing in specific markets, particularly domestic leisure. Forward bookings through the summer in the northern hemisphere are perhaps indicating a pent-up demand which is supported by flexible hotel cancellation and insurance policies.
In this episode, we discuss which markets are likely to recover first and a range of new emerging markets.
We discuss:
Reviewing 2020 by the numbers around the globe, with David Eisen from HotStats.
David is the Director of Hotel Intelligence and Customer Solutions at HotStats, the world’s largest monthly profit-and-loss database in the hotel industry. With uniquely intelligent benchmarking and performance software, HotStats looks far beyond REVPAR, offering an unparalleled opportunity to understand the industry like never before.
We review the Profit Matters, Global Hotel Performance Review 2020 report published by HotStats.
You can download a copy of the report here.
We discuss:
A fascinating discussion with a professional hotelier, educator and experience professional on the challenges hoteliers face through reopening and rebuilding.
John Nielsen is the General Manager at Fivelements Retreat Bali as well as Senior Learning Facilitator with The Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School at Torrens University. John’s experience includes roles with Hyatt, Ritz Carlton and Mandarin Oriental Hotel Groups, as well as extensive senior management and entrepreneurial experience across Asia, Europe and Australia.
The Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School is the number one hotel management school in Asia Pacific and an eHotelier partner in providing executive development to current and aspiring leaders globally, including the 10 Leadership courses provided to over 4,500 leaders in Q1 2021.
We discuss:
We discuss the changing expectations of communication with hotels, and how hoteliers can scale personalised communication to build trust through AI.
Book me Bob is an AI chatbot for hotels, providing real-time answers to questions about the property and its services.
We discuss:
Today as forecasts are predicting increasing demand, we discuss how hoteliers can plan to outperform the market with fewer resources with Michael McCartan from Atomize.
Atomize helps hotels around the globe to maximize their revenue, by automatically setting the optimal price per room type. Used in more than 50 countries, across five continents, by properties in the wide range of 50 to 1250 rooms.
We discuss:
Dave Kelly, CEO and Founder of AnalyticsIQ joins me to shed some light on the people who are considering dipping a toe back into travelling and what businesses can – or should – be doing now to reach them.
AnalyticsIQ is a predictive analytics firm that blends cognitive psychology with sophisticated data science to help marketers understand how and why individuals make decisions.
We discuss:
In this episode we explore how conversational AI can help the hotel industry reimagine what it means to deliver 5 star service, with Rob LoCascio, Founder and CEO of Liveperson.
The Liveperson AI platform makes it easy for consumers to receive support and make purchases in the messaging channels they use every day. It counts some of the world’s biggest brands as its customers including Delta and Hawaiian Airlines the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Virgin Atlantic.
We discuss:
SiteMinder’s unique global perspective on the travel market provides an insight into future booking trends in all accommodation sectors, particularly through SiteMinder’s World Hotel Index. The World Hotel Index is sourced from SiteMinder’s guest acquisition platform, used by 35,000 hotels and connected to more than 400 hotel booking channels globally.
In this episode, we explore the current trends across all regions and what these trends will mean for accommodation providers.
We consider:
How are customer buying behaviours changing as a result of COVID-19? How will they continue to change and how must hoteliers and revenue managers adapt to meet these changing behaviours and new expectations?
In this 15 minute podcast episode, we explore:
The global pandemic has created economic conditions in the market that we have never seen before. But is forecasting accurate or relevant today or are we starting with a blank sheet of paper? In this episode we explore the relevance a revenue forecasting through the pandemic.
In this 15 minute podcast episode, we explore:
Technology has historically been seen as a tool within the travel industry, supporting business processes, particularly in an industry so reliant on service. The impact of COVID-19 has seen a new pace of technology evolution, where technology is now seen as vital to business success.
In this episode, we explore:
In our report titled “Hospitality in the Post COVID-19 World”, author Professor Peter Jones MBA observed:
“This pandemic has caused a fundamental massive disruption and fracturing of the existing economic models on which all countries, institutions and governance models have come to rely. These models will no longer hold true and new and different economic models will emerge based on new realities and society values.“
In this 15 minute podcast episode, we explore the impact economics and politics as a result of COVID-19 on hospitality and tourism industries.
We consider:
In this episode we talk about Revenue Management with Klaus Kohlmayr from IDeaS Revenue Solutions, focussed on Revenue Management Systems.
Klaus is the Chief Evangelist at IDeaS, having worked in Revenue Management for almost 20 years. IDeaS support more than 14,000 clients in 140 countries.
In this 15 minute podcast episode, we discuss new trends and best practise for hoteliers on a mission to maximise revenue.
We discuss:
In this podcast we focus on the first two quarters of 2021 with my guests Larry and Adam Mogelonsky from Hotel Mogel Consulting and the world’s most published writers in hospitality.
We consider:
In this podcast we discuss Revenue Management with Damiano Zennaro from IDeaS Revenue Solutions, particularly focussed on the role of Revenue Managers as a result of COVID-19.
Damiano is the Director, Global Advisory Services at IDeaS Revenue Solutions, based in Milan, Italy. Damiano leads a global team of professionals who strategically support the travel and hospitality industries in embracing automation and finding the winning balance between people, processes and technology and previously spent over 16 years with IHG. Damiano is also a member of the Revenue Optimisation Board with HSMAI Europe.
Revenue managers are under immense pressure today to maximise revenue in a period of challenging economic conditions.
We consider:
In our report titled “Hospitality in the Post COVID-19 World”, author Professor Peter Jones MBA opened:
“The incredible revolution, disruption, discontinuity and change that the world is currently experiencing has never been seen before at this scale and speed. It has turned upside down our understanding of “normal”, it is changing our priorities and values, and will have a major impact on the way that we interact with each other for the foreseeable future.”
In this 15 minute podcast episode, we discuss the first two scenarios detailed in the report, Society and Consumers, exploring the continuing impact of COVID-19 on the hospitality and tourism industries.
We consider:
In this podcast we discuss Revenue Management with Mike Chuma from IDeaS Revenue Solutions, particularly focussed on the commercial impact of COVID-19 on hotels.
Mike is the Vice President, Global Marketing at IDeaS Revenue Solutions, based in Minneapolis, responsible for leading IDeaS Global Marketing, Engagement & Enablement teams, encompassing product marketing, demand generation, branding, communications and client, academic and industry education and learning development.
In this 15 minute podcast episode, we discuss the impact COVID-19 has had on hotel demand: