SPECIAL REPORT
Also , going to work with outside companies like Facebook is good because most of us have devices connected to Facebook , so it has access to all our web activities … We used to work with credit card companies or banks that issue credit cards and we used to ask for the ability to target those customers that stay at competitive hotels , but that ’ s after the fact . Today , Facebook allows you to market to that person just in time . So not only do we have to build up good intelligence on our customers , but we have to partner with people that do have a lot of good information .
Bonke : To me the fascinating question is WHO WILL BE THE WECHAT of the world where there is a fully integrated , endto-end commerce platform of social trade , commerce , reviews . It almost becomes this walled garden you can ’ t escape , and that ’ s an incredibly exciting place to watch .
We spend a lot of time thinking about where you have this authenticity of relationship between where consumers trust other consumers more than they trust your brand . We ’ re making headway , but the other piece that isn ’ t open yet and we ’ re playing with some of it with our hosts is this idea of team members or associates to consumer . That ’ s been a wall in our industry . There are hundreds of employees in a hotel that a guest actually never creates a social relationship with . You ’ re lucky if you run into your housekeeper in the corridor . So how does technology open that up to be able to have real live chat-based conversations with the team members in our hotels for local authentic experiences ? When I think about our Loews Miami Beach , we ’ ve got probably 50 people of Cuban descent working there , and do they know where the best Cuban restaurant is ? You bet .
Strebel : User-generated content is the most valuable because it ’ s genuine and it ’ s real .
Holthouser : And it ’ s relevant to them .
Strebel : And it ’ s relevant to the hotel , and as hoteliers we have to still make sure the experience on property is second to none .
“
I ’ M NOT REALLY SURE THAT BECAUSE AIRBNB IS BECOMING BIGGER IT ’ S GOING TO SUDDENLY MAKE HILTON SAY ,
‘ OH , I NEED TO WORK CLOSER WITH MY OTAS .’
– MARK MORRISON
”
HOTELS : IN CLOSING , WHAT IS THE HOLY GRAIL TO LOYALTY ?
Roca : Our Holy Grail continues to be and always will be music . The way we attract people is people love our brand . We can afford to not do as good of a job as the rest of the folks in this room frankly because WE HAVE A FOLLOWING .
Conley : The idea of how we help make our guests feel a certain way has been core to my four years at Airbnb . How hospitality is at the core of the hospitality business is not a surprise . The question over time is , as Expedia has shown , how do we use technology to enhance that human connection ? It is both the high-tech and the high-touch in the future . I don ’ t think it ’ s one or the other .
Holthouser : At the end of the day , despite all the talk of technology and data and data scientists , fundamentally this is a people business . The Holy Grail will always be people serving people … You must have a lot of ways to MAKE OUR CUSTOMERS ’ LIVES EASIER , but fundamentally all that ladders up to hospitality .
Linnartz : It ’ s about deep connections with our customers and how we connect has so many different ways – in person , through technology , etc . Being able to provide value to people ’ s lives is how you best connect . It ’ s beyond their hotel stay experience . It ’ s BEFORE , DURING AND AFTER .
Bonke : One human-to-human transaction and one human-to-product transaction within your hotels is what builds stronger loyalty than anything else . For us , to speak in the language of our CEO Jon Tisch , it is staying humble and kind along the journey . That ’ s a wonderful business to be in .
Kong : The best way we ’ re going to protect ourselves is through better customer relationship management . We talked about reputation management on social media , the need to market the brand on social media , but ultimately it is at the hotel .
Morrison : People are going to have different needs . There ’ s a danger to look at a guest and say they ’ re just going to be that one type of guest . People are doing different things for different times .
Strebel : It ’ s making people feel COMFORTABLE AND SAFE , understanding what their needs are and appealing to those needs .
24 hotelsmag . com May 2017