Marketing & Guest Loyalty

As technology has crept into the cycle of guest service, today’s guests have far fewer conversations with hotel staff. In the past, the hotel staff had a multitude of opportunities to wow guests with personalized, memorable, hospitality encounters. Let’s take a trip down memory lane.

That sound you heard this past weekend was 170 million people hitting the roof at not being able to access TikTok for roughly 12-16 hours.

When it comes to pandemic-induced disruption, not many sectors were hit harder than the hospitality industry. Dubbed the Great Resignation, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) reports that hospitality businesses experienced a workforce drop of more than 18 percent or 62 million jobs worldwide. In the US, Statista reports that hotels lost more than $46 billion, while 4.8 million hospitality and leisure jobs were lost.

Meetings and events are in the midst of a renaissance heading into 2025, with numerous contributing factors as to why. Top of the list for the corporate and group segments is the need to bring people together in a world that has embraced hybrid or fully remote working arrangements.

Most technology is designed to captivate and keep our attention. The prime example is social media, whose addictive platforms and algorithms keep its users scrolling endlessly. But what if the goal of technology wasn’t engagement at all?

When engaging with guests throughout your hotel, you want to put your best foot forward (and not in your mouth). Like with all communication, it’s not so much what you say, but how you say it.

Most marketers start by thinking—throwing around ideas, holding brainstorming sessions, and filling up whiteboards. It’s fun, it is what creatives are known for. But truly effective strategies begin with looking: studying analytics, speaking to customers, and seeing the actual situation on the ground. And because strategy is a greek military word, let’s think of an Ancient Greek general planning a battle: you wouldn’t want him to send soldiers on a hunch only to discover “oops” that was the best defended flank. We’d expect them to gather intel and look first.

Hospitality is an industry that thrives on human connection, but it has often been held back by outdated technology. In a recent interview on Hotel Tech Insider, Matt Welle, CEO of Mews, shared his journey from being a hotelier to leading a revolutionary property management system (PMS) company. His insights provide a roadmap for how technology can empower hoteliers to deliver better guest experiences and drive operational efficiency.

One of our Shepard Letter subscribers recently asked, “How come you didn’t do an article on customer service or experience New Year’s resolutions?” Great question, and here’s my answer: “Ask and ye shall receive!”

The Wellness & Sustainability Panel at the 2024 Cayuga Annual Conference explored the intersection of wellness and sustainability in the hospitality industry. Moderated by Susan Barry, the panel brought together experts Holleigh Alexander-Ramsey of Spalign Concepts, Candace Lynch of Zents, and Corey Clark of Honeycomb Strategies to share their experiences and actionable insights.