TORONTO — On the second day of the 2023 HITEC conference and HSMAI's Commercial Strategy Week, commercial strategy experts stressed the importance of revenue management, marketing and sales teams working together under an amiable leader to produce the best results.
How these commercial teams operate in a relatively new landscape is ever-changing, experts said, as technologies are evolving and best practices are learned through trial and error. Flexibility to change and relationship building are two traits that are highly coveted for a commercial manager role to bring the disciplines together.
Quote of the Day
"We don't teach them to trust [automated revenue management systems]. We don't bring the information to show whether the machine is working well or not."
—Janelle Cornett, market director of revenue management of Sonesta International Hotels Corp., on why hoteliers across the industry struggle with place trust in automated revenue management.
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Editors' Takeaways
Everyone in the hotel industry is ready to put the pandemic behind them as performance normalizes and travel segments trend upward, but the lessons learned need to be retained. Amir Eylon, president and CEO of Longwoods International, said during his presentation on leisure travel that about 30% of U.S. travelers are still changing their travel plans due to COVID-19.
While this is actually positive for business for U.S. hotels — the desire to travel is still high, it’s just leading to more domestic travel — it’s important to note that a large portion of the American population still has concerns with the virus.
I know we’d all like to forget about the struggles during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but hotels need to continue to prioritize the health of guests and the cleanliness of rooms and common spaces — especially as guests on the whole are growing less satisfied with hotel service.
— Trevor Simpson, associate editor
@HNN_Trevor
It should surprise absolutely no one that the two letters I've heard repeated the most on the second day of the conference are "A" and "I" — usually in that order. The longtime potential of generative artificial intelligence is obviously something that excites businesspeople broadly and hoteliers specifically, but there seems to also be a sizable portion who are still trying to wrap their minds around exactly what the hotel industry implications of the technology will be.
The most effusive praise came from Tata Crocombe, executive chairman of Aitutaki Lagoon Private Island Resort, The Rarotongan Beach Resort and Sanctuary Rarotonga, who was speaking on a HITEC panel on the topic. He said he constantly uses ChatGPT for ideation and has greatly increased productivity both for himself and his staff. Crocombe added he's given presentations to all of his employees and while he doesn't require them to use the technology, he has observed a significant increase in productivity among those who have.
Still, skepticism remains about the short-term applications of the tech and the inaccuracies given when using it. There have also been some complaints that so many tech vendors are slapping "AI" on their branding and hoping that will be enough for a boost in business without providing meaningful innovation.
— Sean McCracken, news editor
@HNN_Sean