SPECIAL REPORT
Strebel : We intentionally RUN ABOUT 10 POINTS HIGHER IN FOOD COSTS than our competitive set because we want Omni to be known for better food & beverage . You ’ re going to see this emphasized even more because it is one area where Airbnb cannot provide … Millennials love food , right ? What ’ s the number one thing on Instagram ? Pictures of food , right ?
Bonke : We have an opportunity to marry the social consciousness of consumers with being transparent about what we serve and how it was sourced . It ’ s a beautiful intersection between what consumers are looking for and providing the venues , menus and transparency .
Conley : What ’ s growing , at least from Airbnb ’ s perspective , is the element of unique F & B experiences that are not traditional , EXPERIENCING A CITY IN NEW WAYS . I can ’ t say too much more about that because it ’ s something we ’ re working on , but I think there are opportunities for reformulating the idea of grazing and connecting , especially connecting with people who have absolutely similar interests .
HOTELS : IS ONE OF THE SIDE EFFECTS OF THE SHARED ECONOMY HOTELS HAVING TO RELY ON OTAS MORE DURING COMPRES- SION DATES ?
Mark Morrison : I don ’ t suspect that ’ s the case . The bigger story is that over the last five years , the leisure segment , in general , has been growing extremely fast and it has benefited everyone at this table … I think the driver for us is that more people are booking online , more people want to see choice and there ’ s more booking on mobile . There are different factors growing the OTA business . I ’ m not really sure that because Airbnb is becoming bigger it ’ s going
“
WHAT THE HOTEL INDUSTRY NEEDS TO WAKE UP TO IS THAT
20 YEARS FROM NOW
A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION HAS ABSOLUTELY ZERO INTEREST IN BUYING A HOME AND PLANS ON SPENDING MOST OF THEIR LIFE ON THE ROAD – PARTLY BECAUSE THERE ’ S GOING TO BE MORE AND MORE INDEPENDENT EMPLOYMENT AND IT MEANS PEOPLE , AS LONG AS THEY HAVE A MOBILE DEVICE , CAN WORK ANYWHERE .”
– CHIP CONLEY
”
to suddenly make Hilton say , ‘ Oh , I need to work closer with my OTAs .’
Holthouser : If the big brands start relying more on the Airbnb and OTAs , then we ’ re not doing our job . My job is to make sure that doesn ’ t happen , and we respond by creating new brands … We ’ ve made incredible changes to bring more flexibility and utility to our Honors program . We ’ re taking a lot of steps to make sure that doesn ’ t happen .
HOTELS : HOW MUCH FRUIT ARE HOTEL DI- RECT-BOOKING CAMPAIGNS BEARING , AND HAVE THEY BECOME A DIFFERENTIATOR ?
Holthouser : We ’ ve taken some really good steps to re-educate the customer that they don ’ t get the best rate by going through any other channel except ours . It ’ s not done . There ’ s still a lot of work to do . It will take years to COMPLETE THAT RE-ED- UCATION PROCESS , but we ’ re very happy with where we are 12 months in ( the Honors app is being downloaded 86,000 times a day , according to Holthouser ).
Linnartz : Member rates is just a piece of the puzzle to add value through our loyalty platform and to our brands … In terms of data , it is early days for Marriott , as well , in terms of seeing any type of major impact , but we are seeing incredible sign-ups for our loyalty program … We ’ re seeing certain segments booking direct with us more often and this is something we ’ re monitoring very closely because there is a cost to giving a discount . You have to make sure it works economically , as you can imagine everyone ’ s owners are on us to show that it ’ s working .
HOTELS : HOW HAVE MEMBER RATES AFFECTED YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OTAS ?
Holthouser : The industry often wants to create drama around the big brands and Expedia , which in my mind is just not there … What this has been about , though , is rebalancing to make sure that the big
EDITOR ’ S NOTE : HOTELS during the month of May will showcase video highlights from the roundtable at hotelsm . ag / disruptors17
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