Marketing & Guest Loyalty

Following the pandemic, the meetings and events industry has seen a noticeable shift in destination preferences. Major cities—long the epicenters for conferences, meetings, and events—are facing increasing competition from secondary cities.

At BTO 2024, Simone Puorto surprised the audience with a groundbreaking presentation: his keynote was entirely delivered by a digital clone created with advanced AI technologies. This avatar, built from 25 years of personal and professional content, perfectly replicated not only his communication style but also his voice, gestures, and signature provocative and philosophical approach. A concrete demonstration of AI’s potential, the presentation pushed the hospitality industry to reflect on the future of human-artificial interaction. Below is an exclusive interview in which Simone shares how his digital clone project came to life and the implications this innovation could have for the future.

Modern travelers want more than comfortable beds and room service — they want all-encompassing experiences that support their physical, mental, and emotional well-being during their time away from home. Hoteliers that create immersive wellness experiences give guests a compelling reason to choose their accommodations over competitors.

When was the last time your hotel staff had data security training? The speed at which cyber criminals adapt their tactics can be frightening, and the only way to keep your business – and your guests – safe is to regularly retrain your team in the latest best practices for security.

It’s the holiday season, and whatever holiday you choose to celebrate – or choose not to celebrate – gifting is the norm. So, I have a gift for you: the five easiest customer service tactics that anyone and everyone can do – and they won’t cost a thing!

Let’s cut through the noise for a moment. AI is not just hype anymore—it’s the biggest shift in tech since the internet made floppy disks obsolete.

In today’s hyper-competitive hospitality landscape, hotels can no longer rely on a “build it and they will come” mindset. The hunger for travel is insatiable, but the demand for a hyper-personalized experience that starts long before a potential traveler clicks ‘book now’ has hit an all-time high. In this market, loyalty must be earned – not given, and digital marketing is not a luxury, it’s a necessity.

EHL’s Dr. Sébastien Fernandez (Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior) teaches courses on Human Behavior and Performance, Emotional Intelligence and People Analytics. Sébastien is interested in helping the hospitality industry harness psychological forces that drive high performance in organizational settings and to make decisions (in areas such as hiring talent) with the help of innovative, evidence-based approaches.

As 2025 approaches, boutique and design hotel groups—especially those balancing bustling city center hotels with countryside or beach properties—face a pivotal moment. Are you prioritizing profitability, guest relationships, and autonomy? Or are you still overly reliant on OTAs like Booking.com, whose high costs and unpredictable policies might be eating into your bottom line? It’s time to rethink your approach and chart a smarter path toward sustainable success.

The 2024 edition of the Caribbean Hotel Investment Conference & Operations Summit (CHICOS) brought over 300 attendees to the Wyndham Grand Barbados Sam Lord’s Castle All Inclusive Resort for several days of networking and industry insights from key stakeholders in the region. While last year’s CHICOS conference focused on the exponential growth in visitor arrivals and average rates in the region, this year’s CHICOS theme, “Riding the Wave,” highlighted the record-breaking RevPAR and new development appetite in the region. A few key takeaways from this year’s conference are presented below.