Lindsay Milne, Vice President of Marketing, Meet Boston, applies her experience in professional sports to marketing one of the US's primary urban destinations: the city of Boston!
21 House of Stories: Revolutionizing Hospitality by Embracing Emerging Trends and Future Challenges
The luxury industry is undergoing a change. As a result, its products are reaching more and more people. In order to avoid losing exclusivity and uniqueness, many brands are now relying on 'experiences'. These are enabling them to strengthen their relationships with their customers, offering them a unique experience without sacrificing status or reputation.
Economic, social, and technological shifts are pushing the travel industry toward seismic change. Learn more about these key changes, their implications on the future of travel, and how travel and tourism companies can adapt to meet evolving traveler expectations.
As my frequent readers know, I have been bemoaning the myths that are thrown out as facts at conferences, podcasts, and in books and blogs that, at best, mislead hospitality leaders and at worst, lead to discrimination based on birth year. Generationism is harmful, just like racism and sexism. Worse yet, many of those spewing these falsehoods are making a handsome profit by doing so.
Since 2022, hospitality has seen a 30% increase in CFO turnover and a significant demand for financial executives. This trend, driven by post-COVID-19 burnout, remote work popularity and high inflation, reflects broader economic phenomena. High CFO turnover disrupts strategic initiatives, even while introducing fresh outlooks and innovation. Companies must balance retaining experienced leadership with embracing new ideas and fostering an adaptable culture to ensure resilience and sustainability.
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a time when excellent service was the hallmark of a luxury experience - one that was desired by the people and delivered by the best of companies. Today, it is an aspect of the service sector that has come to be expected by customers.
The hospitality industry is constantly trying to keep up with ever changing consumer demands. Some of the key factors driving the change include generational shifts, technology developments, increased ESG compliance requirements, more demand for personalised experiences and finally the blurring of lines between business and leisure travel.
Luxury hospitality begins with a signature property, but a well-situated, beautifully designed hotel is only a start. Stellar service, driven by devoted hotel staff, is what makes a great property come alive. As one general manager (GM) of a luxury hotel told us in an interview, 'Our facility is our stage, and guests are paying for a performance.'
Criticism is never easy to take, but at some point in your professional life, you will receive it and may also have to give it. Although it might not feel like it at the time, receiving criticism can be a positive and enriching experience. It can help you identify gaps in your knowledge and enable you to see certain situations in a different way. Constructive criticism, by its nature, aims to support growth and improvement, making it an invaluable tool for personal and professional development.
A crisis can hit any business at any time. It could start as negative news that snowballs, terrible online reviews, or even an ill-advised foray into social media. This type of event can tarnish your brand, harm your relationship with your customers, and have a damaging effect on key business outcomes.
Pollution, overtourism, and local residents displaced by tourists. These are just some of the concerns that have plagued destinations such as Venice, Barcelona, and Hat Maya, the bay made famous by the film, The Beach, in Thailand. But it doesn't have to be this way.
In a world where corporate greed and profiteering have been cited as two of the primary drivers behind the ongoing cost-of-living crisis that’s increasing financial hardship across Europe, the idea that businesses could exist for any reason other than profit seems hard to fathom. However, there’s a school of thought, called the triple bottom line (TBL), which suggests that businesses should be just as committed to improving the lives of people and the planet as they are to boosting their profits.
Breaking down big work goals into smaller components can enhance long-term success significantly, Wharton research shows.
The hospitality industry is all about relationships. Relationships between co-workers, guests, those in positions of prominence, and those cementing their place are of paramount concern. Without the relationships that are the bedrock of our industry, we would be nothing more than those who work in a building where people sleep in rooms.
Imagine a luxury hotel where front desk staff greet you warmly, housekeepers meticulously prepare your room, and servers delight you with their attentive service. Now imagine the opposite: a hotel where staff seem unhappy in their roles and indifferent to your needs. The contrast is stark, and it underscores a fundamental truth about hospitality - employee engagement and customer experience are powerfully intertwined.
An interview with Gianluca Guarino, Revenue Manager at CampusX (CX). Founded in 2011, the company aims to revolutionize the student campus offer in Italy, following the most evolved Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon models and re-thinking them for the eco-sustainable, connected, smart world of today.
In the last several weeks, I've been chatting with many people about the hotel industry's continued decline in guest service. The consensus seems to be that the downturn is due to factors such as the need for passionate hospitality workers, insufficient training initiatives for frontline employees, and the fact that, in some instances, management is more focused on data than on developing a culture of excellent service.
I ask you, the corporate executives, General Managers, and department heads, when was the last time you discussed the concept of hospitality and guest service excellence with your frontline associates? How often have these recently been topics for staff meetings? How much formal training have you put your staff through on these subjects?
To thrive in the hospitality industry, businesses must continuously improve their offer to adapt to industry trends and guests' evolving preferences. Achieving this requires a highly adaptive organization with a culture of continuous improvement that fosters adaptability, innovation and an openness to transformation.
By strategically integrating joy and surprise into your customer interactions, you tap into the realm of consumer psychology. Understanding the triggers that evoke positive emotions allows you to craft memorable experiences, strengthening the bond between customers and your brand. Here are a few expert tips to elevate your approach and create lasting impressions.
A behind-the-scenes peek into the heartbeat of service success in the hotel industry and questioning if the 'new' is, in fact, ushering in a 'no' service
As a testament to its resilience, agility and innovative spirit, this article reflects today's increasingly dynamic hospitality industry in terms of its long, medium and short-term evolution. Discover the industry's adaptability and forward-thinking approach, shaping its trajectory in the face of challenges and opportunities, while staying attuned to the latest hospitality trends.
In a world where customer expectations are constantly rising, and social media can amplify experiences, service recovery has become an essential part of any company aiming to maintain customer loyalty.
AI training enhances strategic skills, especially in lower-skilled individuals. But research shows it isn't a perfect substitute for human training partners.