TORONTO — The need for innovation was top of mind for experts in both hotel industry marketing and technology during the first full day of both the 2023 HITEC conference and HSMAI's Marketing Strategy Conference.
Across the board, hoteliers and industry experts suggested that the status quo will no longer be good enough and industry players that can invest in the next generation of hospitality, from big brands to smaller vendors, can and must do so for everyone to thrive.
Photo of the Day
Quotes of the Day
“What we need to do is become chess players instead [of checkers players]. ... Every player is a piece that has a different role, not everyone all jumbled together trying to do their own little thing and trying to get to the end to become king. Everyone has a unique part to play, and the only way that we win is if they are aligned in their strategy and working together towards one [goal].”
— Monika Morrobel, senior corporate director of commercial strategy for Kessler Collection, on the collaboration between sales, marketing and revenue management.
"Unless we clean out the basement, clean it out altogether and start anew, we're not going to get there."
— Michael Levie, founding partner of CitizenM and advisor with NEOM Hospitality Development and Tourism, on the need to detangle from legacy systems to unlock the value of new technology.
Editors’ Takeaways
Steven Van Belleghem, a thought leader on the transformation of customer relationships and the future of marketing, kicked off HSMAI’s offerings with some tips on being truly customer-centric. Van Belleghem’s advice boiled down to three takeaways: Be open to dealing with opposing interests, always have a “fix-it” mentality and empower your front-line staff to make decisions.
But perhaps the most moving advice from his presentation was what separates us humans from the surge of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence: heart.
“In the future, as humans towards our customers, if we want to make a difference, it will be because we will be working with the heart because that is something a machine cannot do. AI cannot work from the heart,” he said.
While the idea of streamlining productivity through technology such as AI is enticing at face level, it’s also a bewildering unknown. Its full impact is just starting to scratch the surface, but the good news is the hospitality industry — and in this particular instance, customer relationships — will always be rooted in human experiences. This must not be forgotten with the use of new tech products.
— Trevor Simpson, associate editor
@HNN_Trevor
Hoteliers are no longer satisfied playing catch-up when it comes to technology. That was a message that was repeated through the first day of the HITEC conference in Toronto. It's long been a commonly held belief that the hotel industry lags behind other businesses in terms of tech adoptions.
But several people Tuesday, both in direct conversation and on panel stages, said that has to change — and not incrementally. Bharat Patel, a hotel owner and operator and AAHOA chairman, said it's past time that hotels aspire to being on the same level other industries such as retail and airlines, but the next phase of growth for the industry will require being more technologically advanced than their peers.
"I'm hoping hotel chains that are investing tens of millions of dollars, some hundreds of millions of dollars, have got to go and take a quantum leap into this century but at the next level and be sure that they do what's best for the guest and consumer but also what's best for the hotel owner," he said.
— Sean McCracken, news editor
@HNN_Sean