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. 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 Advisory Board member Q&A, we catch up with Kristie Goshow, chief commercial officer at KSL Resorts.
What do you think is the biggest problem for the industry currently?
Unequivocally, controlling and managing costs across all aspects of hospitality. Softening topline performance in key regions such as the U.S. has been well-documented in 2024. In a bid to capture or retain demand, we have seen a downward pressure on ADRs. At the same time, we are witnessing inflation across almost every aspect of property operations.
Our new imperative is to understand and embrace the true extent of technology enablement. Through “timely” technological investment, we can deliver productivity and efficiency gains that will provide financial relief, respond to heightened guest expectations and unlock new revenue opportunities. If your CTO/CIO is not the CEO’s right hand today, I strongly recommend a boardroom shuffle.
What new trends do you see affecting the hospitality industry the most in 2024?
This is challenging to answer at an industry level because hospitality is not homogeneous. As new codes of luxury emerge, we will need to more effectively connect with the emotional and psychological states of affluent consumers. The Future Laboratory refers to the concept of “elastic luxury” and not in the context of pricing and revenue strategy. Put simply, luxury brands will need to take center stage as “cultural powerhouses,” where a “duty of care” evolves to a fanaticism around total wellbeing. As more and more luxury brands cross pollinate to embed their crafts into multiple aspects of a consumer’s life, I have to wonder if we might find ourselves walking into a Hilton Health Clinic or a Bonvoy Body Shop anytime soon.
On a more general level, I expect we will see attribute-based pricing taking center stage in the commercial strategy. As generative AI permeates all aspects of our commercial tech stack, the concept of standard rates and pricing will become redundant. We will start to see a deconstruction of pricing and the application of highly intelligent “suggested attributes” based on “profound personalization,” ultimately yielding growth in TRevPAR.
What do you see as the biggest opportunities for the industry this year?
Aside from new pricing models (imagine the lovechild of a timeshare, country club membership and private members’ club subscription) and more creative collaborations with other industries, it has to be talent. I believe we have an opportunity to reimagine the boardroom capabilities and build leadership teams that “look like their guests.” Most importantly, we are perfectly positioned as an industry to address the loneliness epidemic. Hospitality is a place to belong. We celebrate differences, and we are a pretty special industry where humanity and caring is our lifeblood.
What do you think the industry's biggest accomplishment has been in the past year?
There have been many, but a few themes stand out.
- We have seen momentum for increased diversity at a leadership level. A glance across the leadership teams at multiple brands will reveal a prominence of women as CFOs, general counsel, chief strategy officers, corporate affairs and chief customer officers. Unfortunately, women continue to be unrepresented in “the big chair” as CEO.
- Winning back talent. We have found our stride since COVID-19. For the most part, property leadership teams have stabilized, and hospitality companies are committing to training and development initiatives.
- A renaissance around the value and power of brand narratives driven in part by the insatiable consumer appetite for connection, provenance and immersion, and the reintroduction of “brand leadership” roles, independent of the commercial function.
What are you most looking forward to at The Hospitality Show?
Looking forward to hearing about technology investments that will improve the hospitality experience—either on the backend for operators or on the front end for guests; the opportunity to support the inaugural HSMAI Commercial Futures meeting in October; visiting with solution providers in a single location; and expanding my professional network. Many of us are time-poor, so it’s valuable to meet start-ups looking to change the game and proven partners who are raising their game.