In February, I travelled to New York for HSMAI’s Digital Marketing Conference and I sat in on a Roundtable with the heads of Digital for many US brands. HSMAI have issued a great summary of their thoughts on trends that ‘surprised’ them, what surprises them might also surprise you! Read on..
At HSMAI’s Chief 
Digital Officer Executive Roundtable in New York City on Feb. 22, facilitator Dr. Donna Quadri-Felitti opened the program by asking participants to share the one trend that has most surprised them — including challenges, opportunities, and pain points. Here are 10 observations they shared:
- We have to sell our general managers and owners on the value of digital marketing.
- The challenge is wrestling with the paradox of OTAs — they deliver business but increasingly are competing with us with no concern for the cost of acquisitions.
- We have to figure out the long-term goals and true value of “shiny new” technologies like AI, chatbots, etc. — especially the full implications of voice assistants for guest privacy.
- How can we take the friction out of payments and make them easier — not just in the planning/booking process but also on site at the property?
- Cybersecurity is a key concern, especially regarding data security and the EU’s new General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR), as well as not just giving away guest data via the use of “free” platforms.
- We’re finally waking up to the need to get rid of legacy systems and create a common platform that would truly be plug and play.
- Innovation is happening very quickly, especially outside our industry, and it’s hard to keep up.
- It can be challenging to manage the dynamics of the owner/brand relationship — in terms of what they won’t allow us to do or are pushing us to do that seems to conflict with the brand.
- We’re spending more time educating owners about the rising cost of acquisition.
- How do you operationalize personalized, individual content? How do you create and source it? How do you generate enough content to have a relevant conversation with consumers?
The session was sponsored by Adobe. Hotel companies represented at the Roundtable included AccorHotels; Choice Hotels International; Crescent Hotels & Resorts; Extended Stay America; IHG; Kimpton Hotel Group, LLC; Leading Hotels of the World; Loews Hotels; Marriott International; OTO Development LLC; Outrigger Hotel Group; Red Roof Inn; Second Wave Marketing / Aimbridge Hospitality; Two Roads Hospitality; Warwick; International Hotels; Windsor Capital Group; Wyndham. HSMAI brings together Chief Marketing Officers, Chief Digital Marketing Officers, Chief Sales Officers, Chief Revenue Officers, and Hotel Management Company Sales & Marketing Executives through the year.
Source: https://www.hsmai.org/knowledge/summary.cfm?ItemNumber=39967
