The Hospitality Show, now in its second year, will take place at the Henry B. González Convention Center in San Antonio from Oct. 28-30, 2024. The Show will bring together 5,000 attendees and promises to drive profitability for owners, operators and hospitality innovators through dedicated content, extensive networking and 400+ operations and technology vendors.
In this installment of The Hospitality Show Speaker Q&A, we catch up with Frank Trampert, SVP, global managing director of community sales for Sabre.
What do you think is the biggest problem for the industry currently?
The hospitality industry is currently grappling with several challenges, particularly in the realm of technology and service integration. A significant issue is the fragmentation of technology and services, where hotels often use disparate systems for essential functions like reservations, guest management, and payments. This lack of seamless integration hinders the ability to offer a unified and personalized guest experience, which is increasingly demanded by today’s travelers.
In addition to these integration complexities, many hotels are not fully capitalizing on their potential to generate additional revenue through effective retailing of their services. Ancillary services such as spa treatments, dining options, and local experiences often remain underutilized, missing the opportunity to significantly enhance guest satisfaction and profitability. This is compounded by the industry's slow adoption of modern retailing techniques like attribute-based selling, dynamic packaging, and subscription models. Without leveraging data to tailor offerings and maximize value from each guest, hotels are leaving considerable revenue on the table.
To overcome these multifaceted challenges, the industry must transition towards a more integrated and tech-savvy approach that prioritizes both guest personalization and operational efficiency. By addressing the fragmentation of systems and fully embracing modern retailing strategies, hotels can unlock new revenue streams, enhance guest experiences, and stay competitive in a rapidly evolving market.
What new trends do you see affecting the hospitality industry the most in 2024?
Retailing within hospitality is evolving, and integration of personalized retail offers with hotels becoming experiential hubs where guests can purchase unique products and services. This not only enhances guest satisfaction but also creates new revenue streams. However, many hotels are unsure where to start or how to effectively integrate these retail opportunities into their operations.
Sustainability is also a key trend, with hotels adopting eco-conscious practices like reducing plastic use and sourcing locally-produced goods to meet the growing demand for responsible travel options.
Advanced technologies, particularly generative AI, are transforming guest interactions by enabling highly personalized experiences. Yet, many hotels struggle with the complexity of implementing these innovations. Sabre Hospitality is helping hotels take the lead as a trendsetter by providing the necessary guidance and technology solutions to integrate retailing, sustainability, and AI into their operations effectively.
What do you see as the biggest opportunities for the industry this year?
The year is nearly over technically, but there are several promising opportunities for the hospitality industry, with retailing at the forefront. Hotels have the chance to transform
themselves into experiential hubs where guests can purchase unique products and services, from local crafts to exclusive dining experiences and wellness treatments. By integrating retail into their operations, hotels can create new revenue streams and enhance guest satisfaction, offering more than just a place to stay.
Another major opportunity lies in enhancing the guest experience through advanced technologies. With generative AI, hotels can deliver highly personalized services, such as customized booking processes and tailored room settings. These technologies enable hotels to provide efficient and memorable experiences, which are increasingly important to today’s guests. Earlier this year, SynXis Concierge.AI marked Sabre Hospitality’s first deployment of generative AI, a technology that creates new content from inputs such as text, images, and code. Leveraging Sabre’s extensive data resources, Concierge.AI provides immediate, detailed, and accurate responses to specific queries. This ensures that the effectiveness of support is no longer solely dependent on the knowledge and experience of support agents, improving overall service quality.
Additionally, data-driven decision-making offers significant potential for the hospitality industry. By leveraging analytics and business intelligence tools, hotels can gain deep insights into guest preferences and behaviors, enabling more strategic decisions and targeted marketing. This approach not only enhances guest satisfaction but also drives revenue growth.
Finally, sustainability initiatives present a valuable opportunity to meet the growing demand for eco-friendly accommodations. By utilizing technology to make operations more sustainable, hotels can manage resources efficiently and reduce their environmental impact, appealing to the environmentally conscious traveler and differentiating themselves in a crowded market.
What can owners and operators expect to take away from your session at this year’s The Hospitality Show?
Attendees can expect to gain valuable insights into retailing and generative AI.
We’ll explore how integrating retailing into hospitality environments can create new revenue streams and enhance the guest experience. This includes understanding the power of experiential retailing, where hotels become not just a place to stay but a destination for unique shopping and personalized services. We’ll discuss strategies for seamlessly incorporating on-demand retail services, allowing guests to purchase everything from local products to exclusive experiences directly from their rooms, all with the ease of modern technology.
In addition, we’ll dive into the world of generative AI and its transformative potential. I’ll cover how AI-powered tools, like SynXis Concierge.AI, have the potential to revolutionize guest interactions by offering highly personalized recommendations, handling bookings, and even automating tasks allowing skilled workers a chance to more efficiently and personally take care of guests. We’ll examine the practical applications of these technologies and how they can be used to enhance operational efficiency while delivering a tailored and memorable experience for guests.
By the end of the session, owners and operators will have a clear understanding of how to leverage these trends to stay competitive and meet the evolving demands of today’s travelers.