Nordic Choice Hotels Chief Development Officer Lisa Farrar walks the tech tightrope at her digitalforward company .
PROFILE
Nordic Choice Hotels Chief Development Officer Lisa Farrar walks the tech tightrope at her digitalforward company .
Contributed by ALICIA HOISINGTON
ne day in the life of a chief digital
O officer never looks quite the same as the next .
“ I could either be deep-diving on a technical challenge , working to find a solution with engineers ,” says Lisa Farrar , chief digital officer and managing director of Oslo , Norway-based Nordic Choice Hotels . “ Or I might be with partners to discover what makes them appreciate working with us . Some days I might be talking to customers to figure out how to best build a loyalty program .”
Farrar , 39 , has been leading the tech charge at Nordic Choice for more than four years . Her current challenge : How can hoteliers combine technology with a guest ’ s physical experience , ensuring that guests have a seamless experience without sacrificing what hospitality is all about — its people .
“ Through apps , guests can do everything from the booking journey to choosing the specific room they want to stay in ,” she says . “ That really changes the way your staff interacts with guests .”
Technology is great for frequent guests , but it needs to add value . “ So we ’ re faced with how we can build tech that allows our staff to make those interactions ,” she says .
BALANCING
EVOLVING TECH For someone who loves speed — skiing , mountain biking , most winter sports , “ anything fast ” — finding the solutions is more of a marathon than a sprint .
36 hotelsmag . com April 2020
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