EDITOR ’ S DIARY
PASSION FOR HOSPITALITY
EDITORIAL Jeff Weinstein , Editor In Chief 1.312.274.2226 E-mail : jweinstein @ hotelsmag . com Barbara Bohn , Managing Editor 1.312.274.2209 E-mail : bbohn @ hotelsmag . com Brittany Farb Gruber , Associate Editor 1.312.274.2229 E-mail : bfarb @ hotelsmag . com Bert Ganzon , Senior Art Director 1.312.274.2227 E-mail : bganzon @ mtgmediagroup . com Steve Vanden Heuvel , Senior Art Director 1.312.274.2218 E-mail : svandenheuvel @ mtgmediagroup . com Brittney Hackbart , Freelance Design 1.312.274.2216 E-mail : bhackbart @ mtgmediagroup . com Carolina Martinez , Freelance Design E-mail : cmartinez @ mtgmediagroup . com Bill McDowell , Vice President , Editorial Director 1.312.274.2201 bmcdowell @ mtgmediagroup . com
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Oriana Lerner , Erin Sund
PUBLISHING David Wood , Publisher 1.312.274.2225 dwood @ hotelsmag . com
INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD Nakul Anand Executive Director , ITC Ltd ., Gurgaon , India Stephen Bartolin President , Broadmoor Sea Island Co ., Colorado Springs , Colorado Geoffrey Gelardi Managing Director , The Lanesborough , London Kirk Kinsell President & CEO , Loews Hotels & Resorts , New York City Alex Kyriakidis President and Managing Director , Middle East and Africa , Marriott International , Dubai Christopher Nassetta President and CEO , Hilton Worldwide , McLean , Virginia Monika Nerger Chief Information Officer , Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group , Atlanta Paul Sistare President and CEO , Atlantica Hotels International , São Paulo Susan Terry Vice president of culinary and food and beverage operations , Marcus Hotels & Resorts , Milwaukee , Wisconsin
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PERSONALIZATION = LOYALTY
We now live in a very fickle consumer society where your guests are bombarded with information , opinion and imagery good and bad , and these days sometimes fake , all of which serve to generate greater skepticism as well as grander expectations . It leaves almost every hotelier wondering how to create more guest loyalty , especially in a market awash with an ever-growing array of choices inside every thinly layered niche . The answer appears to be personalization , the new holy grail of hotelkeeping .
Personalization requires asking questions to better understand guests ' wants and needs , which vary based on the occasion for travel . And you must be able to get answers without offending guests ’ sensibilities and privacy , choosing the exact right moment , using the proper platform or well-trained , guest-facing staff with the intuition to ask , learn and respond appropriately . No easy task .
The more technical approach is to learn how to better interpret the mounds of data being collected by machines . Everyone seems to have megabytes of information , but most don ’ t have the scientists in place to extrapolate what it all means and how to best execute against it . Many leaders suggest this is the next necessary step to compete and truly provide service that garners loyalty .
This month , HOTELS looks at the state of loyalty , its competitive pressures and how programs are evolving to satisfy these fickle consumers , many who don ’ t value traditional points the way they used to . Today , more programs are focusing on tangible perks , experiences and guest recognition . Take , for example , Hyatt ’ s revamped World of Hyatt program , which has a piece that rewards “ empathy ” to make stays more meaningful . Details remain scarce at the moment , but
Editor In Chief
Hyatt did tell us that it has “ some creative ways to point out empathetic gestures in the travel experience and reward that ." It says to me that the company is paying closer attention to what truly matters to travelers . It is more personal . HOTELS also talked to Two Roads Hospitality ’ s new vice president of digital marketing and e-commerce , Paolo Torchio , who says one-to-one direct communication in the mobile environment is another way forward to personalize the guest experience . The key is , again , finding the right moment to get the consumer to share their mobile number , or their Facebook , WeChat or Twitter handle , to start a direct conversation . One-to-one engagement is critical for those moments where little details matter , and attending to them properly can make all the difference when it comes to answering the big question about how to generate loyalty .
No doubt , consumers will become even more cynical as they absorb content in its varied forms , but it doesn ’ t have to mean loyalty becomes an all but forgotten notion . What it does mean is that you have to work smarter , invest in data scientists to help you use information and try to engage willing guests in more personal ways . Personalization = loyalty .
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