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.
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.