hotelindustry

Todd Johnstone, CEO of Allbridge, offers advice for hoteliers on two paramount issues in today’s hospitality industry: data protection and cyber security. This informative conversation covers the differences between data that is collected, data that needs to be stored and data processing—and highlights why it is essential to conduct regular security audits to uncover potential areas of vulnerability, even if your property has never experienced a data security breach. Johnstone also stresses the importance of establishing protocols for detecting and responding to data breaches, and ensuring that policies are in compliance with the relevant data protection and privacy regulations.

Performance across the hotel industry has been steady-to-brisk in the post-pandemic, high-interest-rate, inflationary world. But it differs state to state, city to city and block to block. In this episode of The Innovative Hotelier, Annie Fitzgerald, GM of The Westgate Hotel in San Diego, discusses recovery and renaissance in this SoCal market, with highlights including the return of group business and how to cash in on the plentiful amount of and convention business opportunities.

Trey Matheu and Christopher Baran of The Nemacolin resort in Pennsylvania discuss the business case and advantages of changing staffing models for luxury properties with host Robin Trimingham.

This broad-based conversation highlights the advantages, for example, of replacing the traditional front-desk team with a pre-arrival team that focuses on guest interaction and creating personalized itineraries designed to help maximize the resort experience.

Abby Shehan, senior design director at Premier, talks with Robin Trimingham, host of The Innovative Hotelier, about AI technology and how it’s being used by architects and designers to support and streamline the creative process.

Stressing that AI tools enhance, but don’t replace human creativity, Shehan explains the various ways that it’s being applied to reimagine the way that humans interact with their surroundings and space, especially in a hospitality-driven environment. She also discusses the advantages of using AI to choose everything from colors and textures, to art and lighting installations, in order to attract and delight target customer groups.   

Ryan Haynes, lead consultant at hospitality consultancy Haynes MarComs Limited, talks with the host of The Innovative Hotelier, Robin Trimingham, about strategies for evaluating existing supplier relationships and how to go about sourcing new vendors to improve operational efficiency, which can increase the quality of the guest experience.

Highlighting the importance of considering not just what a vendor supplies a property, but also whether these products and services are meeting the needs of the employees and guests in the best way possible, Haynes makes recommendations for evaluating the types and levels of support that a vendor offers. He also points out that it is equally important to understand how a vendor intends to keep pace with the rapid rate of change currently taking place within the global hospitality and tourism industry.

Kevin Gallagher is a hotelier, jazz musician, and a truly gifted conversationalist. Take a listen as Kevin talks about his love for music, his accidental transition into the hotel world, and how good conversations aren't that different from great music.

Music Kevin Mentioned ~

http://bit.ly/Pat-MethenyGroup-Still-Life-Talking

https://bit.ly/Jason-Isbell-Southeastern

Keep Up with Average Brad ~

http://www.averagebrad.com

We spoke with Chip Rogers, president and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), to understand the state of the hospitality industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Rogers, the $2 trillion stimulus package recently signed into law by President Trump, is less about stimulus and more about preservation. But he does see some light at the end of the tunnel, and even applauds hoteliers who are allowing their hotels to be used as medical facilities or for quarantine locations during these difficult times.
 
 This episode is brought to you by Global Allies. For more information, go to globalallies.com.

Thank you for listening! For more of our great interviews, find us at hospitalitydesign.com.

Juan Carlos Abello saw the need for a hospitality-focused solution such as Nuvola after working in the hotel industry for more than a decade. His first-hand experience sparked the notion that there has to be a better and easier way for staff to communicate with each other and with their guests. Abello began his career in the hotel industry shortly after moving back to the U.S. at the age of 17. He has worked in nearly every aspect of hotel operations, but always found himself focused on one thing - elevating the guest service experience. It’s his passion for the guest experience that led him to managerial and director of operations roles with leading hotel brands such as Morgans Hotel Group and DoubleTree. It’s also what made him take an interesting career move into technology that later resulted in the development of Nuvola. Following his tenure in the hotel industry, Abello was director of operations at a bourgeoning technology company in Italy called ZeitGroup. Discovering the ways in which technology can be used to successfully manage business operations, he was encouraged to take his passion for the hotel industry and his insight into technology to create a new career for himself. Abello foresaw the ways in which a cloud-based software would be able to connect hoteliers and their guests. His unique blend of experience bred the concept for Nuvola and feeds Abello’s passion for its mission to bridge the gap between the hospitality industry and those it serves. Abello graduated Magna Cum Laude from Florida International University with a Bachelor’s Degree in International Business. He also earned a Masters of Business Administration in General Management from Emory University.

“you need to make sure that you have a culture that is well-defined. Even if it changes overall the core values of it you have to make sure that they are there and you don’t change them. And make sure that the first five co-workers that you hire are committed with you for the long run and that they have the flexibility, they can adapt to what could potentially, and it always always happens, to vast changes that are going to happen in your business. So, don’t be quick to hire, follow your intuition but make sure that you get that by in”…[Listen for More]

Click Here for Show Notes

To Listen or to Get the Show Notes go to https://wp.me/p6Tf4b-7ox