Unconstrained Conversations – An IDeaS Podcast

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Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week, IDeaS’ Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Sherri Kimes, the emeritus professor of operations management at the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University. Sherri specializes in revenue management and has been named the school's graduate teacher of the year three times, and was awarded the Menschel Distinguished Teaching Fellowship by Cornell University in 2014. In this episode the duo discuss:

How the world of revenue management has changed due to the COVID-19 crisis
The unprecedented innovation and resilience of the hospitality industry
Why now is such a great time to begin a career in hospitality, more specifically, revenue management

Here is the Impact of Covid on the Hotel Industry study that Sherri references in the episode.

Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful. Please consider leaving us a review wherever you listen to this podcast.

If you are an expert in hospitality, revenue management, pricing or commercial leadership and want to join Klaus Kohlmayr for an unconstrained conversation on this podcast, please reach out to him on LinkedIn.

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Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week, IDeaS’ Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Liz Willatts, director of IDeaS’ global client relationship management (CRM) team. With many markets reopening, the CRM team has been busy helping our 15,000+ clients adapt to the ongoing rollercoaster of changes. In this episode, Liz shares:

Which industry changes are temporary vs. which are here to stay
How IDeaS has supported clients through these challenging times
Advice for future revenue leaders

Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful. Please consider leaving us a review wherever you listen to this podcast.

If you are an expert in hospitality, revenue management, pricing or commercial leadership and want to join Klaus Kohlmayr for an unconstrained conversation on this podcast, please reach out to him on LinkedIn.

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Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week, IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Anand Jindal, group director, revenue management & distribution at Wharf Hotels. The duo discuss:

The emerging role of the revenue leader
The concept of “Intellectual Humility”
Preparing for the guest of the future
Advice for tomorrow’s revenue leaders

Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful. Please consider leaving us a review wherever you listen to this podcast.

If you are an expert in hospitality, revenue management, pricing or commercial leadership and want to join Klaus Kohlmayr for an unconstrained conversation on this podcast, please reach out to him on LinkedIn.

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Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! In anticipation of our second Hospitality Tech Hub live event focused on the Asia-Pacific region next week, IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Jack Widagdo, general manager of Six Senses Qing Cheng Mountain located in Chengdu, China. Jack and his team are achieving record performance by focusing on their domestic drive to market, maintaining the exceptional service Six Senses is known for while optimizing ADR from the surge in demand.

Other topics discussed include:

How global companies are planning for the coming travel rebound
Why hospitality is still the best industry to be employed in
Necessary skills for future revenue leaders to possess

Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful. Please consider leaving us a review wherever you listen to this podcast.

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Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week, IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Mike Chuma, IDeaS’ vice president of marketing, engagement & enablement. In this episode, Mike and Klaus expand on last week’s podcast: Lessons Hospitality Can Learn from Retail with Marco Nijhof. Other topics discussed include:

The value of data
Headless commerce
The increasing importance of merchandising in the hotel industry
Advice to aspiring commercial leaders

Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful. Please consider leaving us a review wherever you listen to this podcast.

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Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week, IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Marco Nijhof, group director of hospitality & guest experience at Value Retail. After having “done it all” in the hospitality industry, Marco applied his vast knowledge and experience in the retail sector. He is passionate about creating the right balance between digital and human interactions to enhance guest loyalty and value. In this episode, Marco shares what hospitality can learn from retail. Topics discussed include:

The value of engaging guests in experiences vs. transactions
Focusing on building relationships with the experience
Reinventing the experience to stay relevant
Balancing the drive toward efficiency with guest acquisition
Advice for future revenue leaders

Check out Marco’s article “What I learned from the Retail industry and would apply back into hotels” discussed in the episode.

Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week, IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Jan Arnold, vice president of sales at Rocco Forte Hotels. With over 17 years of working with luxury hotel brands, Jan has a wealth of experience to share. Klaus and Jan discuss a variety of topics including:

The importance of being able to adjust quickly
New trend of consumers wanting to interact with/talk directly to a hotel
How the guests of the future will be different
Advice for hotel sales leaders and those just starting out in the hospitality industry

Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! On this very special episode the tables are turned and the interviewer, IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr, becomes the interviewee. Ulrich Pillau, CEO & co-founder of Apaleo interviews Klaus on The Pulse by Apaleo: The Voice Of Hospitality Tech Leaders Podcast. We are sharing their insight-packed discussion with you here. Topics addressed include:

The future of revenue management coming out of the pandemic
The value of revenue management during periods of low demand and how having the right price is now more important than ever
How IDeaS was able to recalibrate its revenue management systems to respond to the unprecedented, rapidly changing demand in 2020
IDeaS’ product updates to accommodate the future of revenue management
How hospitality companies are using the crisis as an opportunity
Now is the right time to re-evaluate your business and operations to ensure recovery readiness

Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! On March 8, we gathered over 30 hospitality technology thought leaders for two live sessions hosted on IDeaS’ Hospitality Technology Hub. Hundreds of participants listened to established technology providers, start-ups, consultants, and hoteliers discuss the accelerating pace of innovation in the industry and the lessons learned from the last 12 months. Both sessions, Achieving Commercial Success and Convergence of Data are now available on demand.

On this week’s episode, IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr recaps the Hospitality Technology Hub’s live sessions with Lea Jordan, head of marketing and co-founder of Techtalk.travel, and Enzo Aita, global head of business development at HyperGuest. Both Lea and Enzo helped moderate the majority of the panels and share their key takeaways and perspectives in this episode. Lea also shares her key takeaways from ITB Now.

Thanks for listening! Check out the Hospitality Technology Hub and enjoy the live session recordings: Achieving Commercial Success and Convergence of Data

Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week, IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Heidi Albignac, vice president of client operations at IDeaS. In her 20+ years in service and support roles, Heidi has experienced her fair share of black swan events—9/11, the financial crisis, natural disasters, and political unrest. Drawing from those experiences, Heidi helped coordinate IDeaS’ COVID-19 response operation to best support IDeaS’ clients during this difficult time.

In this episode, Heidi and Klaus discuss:

Key learnings from navigating the last year
The importance of diversity and inclusion within the industry
Career advice to budding professionals in the wake of COVID

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week, IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Ben Thomas, chief commercial officer at Penta Hotels. Ben has a wealth of knowledge to share with hotel companies in the process of contemplating a move toward a commercial success framework. Topics discussed in this episode include:

Observations of hopeful recovery numbers
Long-term implications of seemingly small decisions
The value of taking a holistic approach to driving business value
The post-pandemic evolution of group business
Advice for future revenue leaders

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week, IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Jordan Hollander, co-founder & CEO of Hotel Tech Report—the “Tripadvisor” of hospitality technology. If there is one person who knows what’s happening in the hospitality tech ecosystem, its Jordan. The duo discuss:

How the hospitality industry will use technology going forward
How hotels with the right digital infrastructure can pivot quickly in the face of volatility
The importance of clearly evaluating what’s needed from a guest-experience perspective
How hotels that come out on top will be the ones with efficient back-end processes
The importance of having the right tech infrastructure to pick up on current trends in real time and act fast
The tech stack for futureproofing your hotel
The evolution of group business in a post-pandemic, work-from-home world

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week, IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Rajiv Trivedi, managing partner at TST Capital. Klaus and Rajiv discuss opportunities for innovation and increased efficiency in the hotel industry. Rajiv believes now is the time to reeducate both guests and the industry in order to finally make technology the value driver it should be.

Topics discussed include:

Rethinking the industry and retraining guest expectations for greater efficiency and effectiveness without compromising guest expectations and experience
Technological advancement is now progressing at a much faster pace than ever experienced
Future of the industry and recovery predictions
Why this is the best time to be starting out in the hospitality industry

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Steve Green, principal sales specialist for IDeaS’ emerging innovations. Klaus and Steve talk about the opportunities and challenges associated with the expansion of the revenue management discipline and how revenue mangers need to ask the right questions to tell the right story.

Topics discussed include:

Velocity—frequently updated forecasts for decision-makers seeking more information, more often
Rolling forecasts becoming more important while rolling budgets are less relevant
Emerging innovations outside of revenue management systems
The importance of becoming a data storyteller
Advice for future revenue leaders

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week IDeaS’ Chief Evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Karishma Singh, Area Director – Finance and Revenue Management (North Area) at The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL). In this episode, Karishma shares IHCL’s RESET initiative which has not only helped the company weather the current storm but also resulted in creative ways of driving the business forward. Topics discussed include:

The state of the hospitality industry in India
The importance of looking beyond room revenue
The benefits of operating like a startup
Advice for future revenue managers

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Patrick Wimble, founder of Lightbulb Consulting. The pandemic’s impact on travel and hospitality has left many unemployed with seemingly bleak options. In this episode Patrick shares some of the practical advice he gives out-of-work revenue managers and commercial specialists on turning adversity into opportunity. Topics discussed include:

How to you set yourself apart from the competition
Thinking outside the box in terms of what jobs you are willing to accept
Understanding how your skills may transfer to other industries
Advice for getting your resume to the top of the pile—and read by a human

Employment resources referenced in this episode:

Growthworks
Pricing Platform
RMAPI

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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On this very special episode the tables are turned and the interviewer, IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr, becomes the interviewee. Kristi White, vice president of product management at Knowland interviews Klaus on her Bring it On webcast series, and we are sharing their insight-packed discussion with you here. Questions addressed include:

What to do now that demand has possibly changed forever?
How can hotels take advantage of dramatically changed booking windows to impact pricing?
What should hotels be doing now in terms of strategy, marketing and pricing to prepare for pent-up demand?
How should hotels be rethinking their demand for 2021 and beyond?
Is 2019 the benchmark? If not, which year will it be?

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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Happy New Year and welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Charles Wang, IDeaS’ assistant vice president responsible for our regional offices in Beijing and Shanghai. It’s been a full calendar year since the COVID-19 outbreak began in Wuhan, China, delivering a crushing blow to the regional—and soon worldwide—hospitality industry. With the country’s ability to keep the pandemic under control, Charles shares how China’s hotel industry has recovered, what changes occurred and the implications this may have for the rest of the world.

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! We will return with brand new episodes in January after a brief holiday break. In the meantime, here are the Top 5 most popular recent episodes to help you prepare your hotel revenue and commercial strategies for 2021.

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

Episode 18: Rise of the Commercial Strategist

Hyatts’ former head of revenue & distribution strategy Sharad Kapur has helped hotels and resorts develop and grow their revenue management and distribution capabilities around the world. In this episode Sharad shares his views on how the COVID-19 crisis is leading to a fundamental shift in how the industry will generate and optimize revenues, which in turn will lead to the rise of the commercial strategist, an analytically minded leader whose responsibility is to integrate and optimize all revenue streams and maximize total revenue and profitability.

Episode 23: The Future of Corporate Travel & Customer Relationships

Lennert De Jong, chief commercial officer at citizenM, talks the launch of citizenM’s new subscription models as well as the changing purpose of corporate travel, the value of moving away from transactional relationships to customer relationships, and revenue management needing to shift focus to customer lifetime value for long-term impact.

Episode 22: Becoming an Insights & Profit Hunter

David Warman, former SVP experience & enablement marketing at Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts shares significant insights on the changing roles of revenue leaders. He believes revenue managers have a unique set of skills necessary to optimize the performance of their business in these uncertain times.

Episode 25: Getting Dirty with Data – A Chat with Isaac Collazo—a True Data Guy

Isaac Collazo, former VP of competitive intelligence at IHG, unpacks what makes a great data story and how to get dirty with data.

Episode 31: Proactive Tactics & Survival Strategies for 2021

Stephen Hambleton, senior manager of product management at IDeaS and a critical member of IDeaS’ COVID response team, shares some of the key guidance we’ve provided our hotel clients worldwide. Klaus and Stephen also discuss short-term tactics and long-term strategies hotel revenue managers should undertake now to be ready for a potential upswing in demand next year.

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Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast. This week IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr answers listener-submitted questions for a special “Ask Me Anything” episode of the podcast. Klaus also provides his year-end 2021 hospitality industry outlook.

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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This week IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Cindy Estis Green, founder of Kalibri Labs. Cindy has spent most of her professional lifetime uncovering and surfacing data, demystifying the cost of distribution and getting the hotel industry to think differently. In this episode Cindy shares her insights into the state of the industry, how hotels can make sense of the rapidly shifting economic landscape and her view on direct versus indirect distribution opportunities. Topics discussed include:

The importance of being mindful of the cost of acquisition and continuing to be selective about the types of business your hotel should accept
Kalibri Labs’ launch of predictive forecasting to help hotel organizations with the changes in the budgeting process and changing comp sets
The importance of understanding how your organization’s whole business has changed and realigning resources accordingly

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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This week IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Stephen Hambleton, senior manager of product management at IDeaS. As a critical member of our COVID response team, Stephen shares some of the key guidance we’ve provided our hotel clients worldwide. Klaus and Stephen also discuss short-term tactics and long-term strategies hotel revenue managers should undertake now to be ready for a potential upswing in demand next year.

Reminder, send your hospitality and revenue management related questions for Klaus to answer in an upcoming podcast episode to unconstrained@ideas.com by December 10th.

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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This week IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Claudia Infante, VP of revenue strategy at Margaritaville. Claudia shares how her resort-and-leisure focused organization is coping with travel-related uncertainty and the new opportunities that have presented themselves.

Claudia also introduces Women in Travel Thrive, a new initiative she co-launched with industry colleagues to help reduce the impact of COVID-19 on women’s career progressions. Claudia invites anyone interested in participating to check out the website and reach out to her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudiainfante/.

Other topics discussed in this episode include:

Tactics for boosting customer ratings and the importance of increasing net promoter score
Changing consumer priorities, market segments and seasonality
The importance of taking risks in order to find new opportunities
Advice for revenue managers starting out in their careers or those needing to pivot

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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This week IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Philip Wolf, founder of Phocuswright. As the founder of a travel industry research company and serial board member for start-ups around the world, Philip has a truly unique perspective on what types of businesses will succeed in the future. Listen to this episode to learn about:

The current state of travel
The high value of having a “millennial strategy”
Why being customer focused is not enough—you need to be customer obsessed
The importance of quality, rapid decision-making

Here is the link to the referenced article: https://www.takemobi.com/article-collected-but-neglected

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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This week IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Calvin Anderson, chief commercial officer at Domio. Demand is constantly shifting, consumers are behaving differently, and historical reference points are no longer valid. How does a commercial leader operate within this heightened level of uncertainty? Calvin outlines how his focus on agility—combined with good-old data crunching and a Wall Street trading approach to marketing—is resulting in his properties running at 60 to 90% occupancy throughout the pandemic.

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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This week IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr hosts a panel discussion with several members of Australia’s hotel investment community. Together they offer a view into Australia’s current hotel market as well as various strategies and outlooks. The hospitality leaders sharing their expertise in this episode are:

Lucia Grambalova, General Manager of Hotel Investments for Mulpha Australia
Nigel Greenaway, National Director Hotels at Colliers International Australia (previous head of two of Australia’s leading wholesale hotel investment funds)
Glen Boultwood, CEO and Co-Founder at Serene Capital, a funds management company with a focus on core property classes (including hotels) and commercial real estate debt
Howard Kemball, Owner of Kcom Hotel Asset Management

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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This week IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Digna Kolar and Blake Madril. As members of IDeaS’ Advisory Services team, Digna and Blake spend their days helping hotel companies around the world overcome their revenue optimization challenges. In this episode they share their insider knowledge on the current state of the industry as well as advice they give to their hospitality clients about planning for 2021.

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Isaac Collazo, former VP of competitive intelligence at IHG. Throughout his career, Isaac has helped key stakeholders analyze competitive performance and interpret the macro-economic environment. While the value of data to form insights and strategy has greatly appreciated, many people struggle with telling a story utilizing the data. In this episode, Isaac unpacks what makes a great data story and how to get dirty with data.

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Andy Grinsfelder, VP of revenue, sales, and marketing at Delaware North. Klaus and Andy originally spoke in Episode 10: On the Road Again – Leisure Travel Recovery with Delaware North about how this leisure-focused company is dealing with the changed hospitality landscape. In this episode Andy shares updates on how business materialized, his learnings from the summer months and how he and his team are preparing for 2021.

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Lennert De Jong, chief commercial officer at citizenM, about the launch of their new global subscription model. With creativity, innovation and disruption being an integral part of citizenM’s DNA, the organization has launched another first-of-its-kind hotel product born of the changing purpose of corporate travel. In this episode, Klaus and Lennert discuss citizenM’s new subscription modes as well as:

The changing purpose of corporate travel
The value of moving away from transactional relationships to customer relationships
Revenue management needing to shift focus to customer lifetime value for long-term impact

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with David Warman, former SVP experience & enablement marketing at Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts. With over 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry, David shares significant insights on the changing roles of revenue leaders. He believes revenue managers have a unique set of skills necessary to optimize the performance of their business in these uncertain times. Check out this episode to learn how:

The revenue management role is a key contributor to unlocking growth
Taking calculated risks is important, especially considering current economic circumstances
Revenue managers can work with sales, marketing, and distribution opportunities to unlock additional potential
Data-driven storytelling is essential

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Dave Roberts. After 23 years of developing and leading the global revenue management and pricing function at Marriott, Dave now teaches the next generation of revenue leaders at the Cornell School of Business. In this episode, Dave and Klaus discuss:

The current state of the industry and projections for the near future
The high cost of pricing mistakes during a downturn and how taking the emotion out of your forecast is critical
The importance of finding balance between relying on technology and revenue leaders to drive the best outcomes
Advice for revenue managers dealing with the current industry downturn
Advice for future revenue leaders nervous about their industry debut during a downturn

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

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IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Sloan Dean, CEO of Remington Hotels. The duo originally spoke in Episode 3: Today is Day Zero where Sloan talked about the importance of approaching recovery from the perspective of building a new business versus focusing on how business can get back to pre-COVID levels. In this episode, Klaus checks in with Sloan to see how Remington Hotels is building their “new business.” Sloan shares his perspectives on maintaining endurance during the recovery marathon as well as the importance of clear and honest communication.

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IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Iain Ganner, head of sales at Accor New Zealand, Fiji and French Polynesia. The duo originally spoke in Episode 5: For the Greater Good – Accor New Zealand where Iain shared how Accor became a key partner to the New Zealand government in their successful fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. With New Zealand borders still shut, Klaus and Iain discuss how the hotel industry is coping with a lack of international travelers and how business has recovered in the last few months.

*At the time of the episode recording, New Zealand was free of community related COVID cases

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IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Hyatts’ former head of revenue & distribution strategy Sharad Kapur who has helped hotels and resorts develop and grow their revenue management and distribution capabilities around the world. In this episode Sharad shares his views on how the COVID-19 crisis is leading to a fundamental shift in how the industry generates and optimizes revenue, which in turn will lead to the rise of the commercial strategist, an analytically minded leader whose responsibility is to integrate and optimize all revenue streams and maximize total revenue and profitability.

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IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Derek Brewster, director of revenue management at the Lotte New York Palace. The duo originally spoke in Episode 2: In a Holding Pattern – Is it a time for Spring Cleaning? With the Lotte New York Palace finally reopening its doors to guests this week, Derek shares his latest learnings and strategies.

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IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Chinmai Sharma, president of the Americas for RateGain. The two hospitality thought leaders originally spoke in Episode 4: Aftermath – How Revenue Management Must Adapt. Since plenty has changed in the industry, and RateGain processes a plethora of global booking data, Klaus thought it would be a great time to check back in on the state of global hospitality now that lockdowns and some travel restrictions are easing up around the world.

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IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Joerg Boeckeler, chief operating officer of Dorint Hotels and Resorts. Joerg and Klaus discuss the opportunities for change ushered in by the pandemic, Joerg’s outlook for the hospitality industry for the next few months and beyond, and the most important leadership traits during this time.

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Join IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr for a very special episode of the Unconstrained Conversations podcast. Klaus talks with a few key speakers from Opportunity 2020, an annual revenue management conference held earlier this year. At the time of the conference, the industry was buzzing about the prosperous outlook for 2020 and beyond. Six months later, we find ourselves in a world and an industry which has gone through the worst crisis in recent history. Klaus and guests discuss the opportunities they see for the industry going forward. Guests include:

· Dr. Ravi Mehrotra, president, founder and chief scientist, IDeaS

· Ally Northfield, founder and managing director, Revenue by Design

· Kym Kapadia, chief commercial officer, Aprirose Real Estate Investment

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IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Melinda Yeoh, head of revenue management at The Ascott Limited. Headquartered in Singapore, Ascott is one of the leading international lodging owner operators focusing on the extended-stay market and operating in over 180 cities across over 30 countries. Melinda shares unique insights about how Ascott has dealt with the pandemic in Asia Pacific and beyond and how it has leveraged the early learnings from its operation in China across the rest of the portfolio.

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IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Shyam Patil, senior equity analyst at Susquehanna International Group (SIG). Shyam covers the internet sector including online travel agencies and shares his “Wall Street” perspective on recovery.

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IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Darin Uselman, VP of franchise services for Kampgrounds of America, Inc. (KOA). Darin and Klaus talk about recovery in the drive-to leisure market this summer, data-based decision-making and the research confirming a changed consumer landscape.

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IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Andy Grinsfelder, VP of revenue, sales & marketing at Delaware North. What’s Delaware North you ask? If you’ve ever been to the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Kennedy Space Center, a major sports stadium or eaten in an airport, you’ve likely been served by one of their 55,000 employees. With the leisure and outdoor tourism markets predicted to recover first, Delaware North is well positioned for the first wave of recovery business. Andy and Klaus discuss the challenges associated with running a multifaceted leisure business in various markets.

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IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Michael Robinson, general manager of Caravelle Saigon in Vietnam. While borders are still closed, the hotel has reopened and Michael is looking toward the next few months for a slow but steady recovery. This episode is filled with creative ideas for adapting a hotel’s business to make the best of available demand.

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IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Rob Paterson, CEO of Best Western in Great Britain. They discuss how now is the time to plan for recovery and figure out what tactics will maximize your efforts. They also talk about the critical component of revenue management technology in taking full advantage of recovery opportunities.

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IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Sheena Birch, commercial director for LGH Hotel Management. Sheena and Klaus talk about the future of the commercial organization, the changes COVID-19 is bringing to the meetings & events space, and how she and her team are preparing for travel to reopen.

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IDeaS’ Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Michelle Russo, founder and CEO of hotelAVE, a global real estate investment, operations, asset management and advisory experience practice. This episode of Unconstrained Conversations dives into the strains COVID-19 has put on hotel finances and the difficulty of balancing profit and safety as the hospitality industry slowly reopens.

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IDeaS' Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Iain Ganner, regional director of sales and marketing for New Zealand, Fiji and French Polynesia at Accor. Iain shares the story of how Accor became a key partner to the New Zealand government in their successful fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. This episode is a fascinating story about teamwork, resilience and partnering with the government for the greater good.

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IDeaS’ Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Chinmai Sharma, president of the Americas for RateGain. With over 25 years of diverse experience in the hospitality industry, Chinmai shares his thoughts on the emergence of encouraging industry trends post COVID-19 and thoughts on how revenue management will have to adapt going forward.

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IDeaS’ Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Sloan Dean, CEO and president of Remington Hotels, about how hotels must apply a “Day Zero” mindset to their recovery strategy. “America loves a comeback story, but few are in love with the process and perseverance required for it to become reality,” says Dean. “What the world looked like yesterday does not matter. If your question is ‘When do we get back to February 2020?’ then you are not armed for success in these times. Day zero until that becomes day one. Today is day zero, so start moving forward!”

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With hotel operations temporarily suspended, Derek Brewster, director of revenue management at The Lotte New York Palace, talks about the importance of staying flexible, using the time to expand professional and personal skills, and how to stay positive during times of crisis.

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Bürgenstock Hotels & Resort Lake Lucerne, set in a breathtaking Swiss lake and mountain landscape, is forced to close by the COVID-19 crisis. Now what? IDeaS’ Klaus Kohlmayr discusses the decisions the destination hotel made and what to expect in the months and year ahead with Bürgenstock’s general manager, Robert Herr.

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IDeaS Chief Evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr introduces his new Unconstrained Conversations Podcast.

For hoteliers. By hoteliers. Unconstrained Conversations is the hospitality industry’s collaboration point for real-world stories and actionable advice in revenue management, total profit optimization and driving a connected commercial organization. We'll uncover experiences and hear real-life examples from some of the world’s most creative hotel industry thought leaders.

In Season 1, join us for the real conversations hoteliers need to have about reacting to and driving success during the COVID-19 global pandemic and ensuing financial crisis. You’ll hear unvarnished, first-hand stories from hoteliers and hotel technologists on how they’ve dealt with some of the toughest situations in today’s travel market.

Unconstrained Conversations – An IDeaS Podcast: Recent Episodes

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