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| Hospitality Today | Feb / March 2017
Delegates Networking: Nicholas Walley( L), Manager & Patrick Burke( R), Proprietor; Atlantic Hotel Jersey.
After dinner speaker Dr. David Bryon entertained guests with anecdotes about his time as Managing Director of bmi baby, and his experience within the travel industry.
On day two, Foresight Factory’ s Director of Content Dominic Harrison shared insight into food cultures and how the“ rate of innovation and disruption in food cultures is huge and truly global”. He said the global middle class would rise from 2bn today to 4.9bn in 2030 – a huge new customer base for leisure and hospitality.
Harrison explained that consumer trends have momentum and reshape attitudes and behaviours towards food. Hotels that can offer a range of food experiences and choices are more likely to find a returning audience.“ Food is a key marker of an individual’ s personal brand for Generation Y, where one in four will share images of food and 71 % say that food is important to their identity.”
Professor Peter O’ Connor chaired a panel discussion on disruptors to the industry and how using data can help improve services. The panellists advised delegates that hoteliers are‘ bad at using data efficiently’ and urged them to utilise disruptors to create experience and personalisation. O’ Connor commented:“ In this room, Airbnb is a dirty word”.
TripAdvisor’ s Industry Outreach and Strategy Manager Gavin Greene explained:“ There needs to be a more savvy approach from hoteliers to retaining customers who book direct.” Jonathan Langston FIH, Co-Founder of HotStats followed on and said:
“ Once a guest comes through your door, never let them come through a third party again. Hoteliers are naturally discreet, they know everything about their guests but they’ re not going to use it to their advantage- let’ s take back the customer.”
Olga Polizzi CBE( below), Deputy Chairman and Director of Design at Rocco Forte Hotels, reminded delegates that today’ s traveller has changed little in terms of their desires. She said:“ technology is there to serve hospitality, and never to be its master”.
She added:“ only your staff can read a guest, there is no app that can do that”.