Hoteliers’ Voice

In our new podcaster series we speak to podcasters that talk about travel. In the first we are joined by Chris Christensen who hosts The Amateur Traveler Travel podcast , which was launched over 15 years ago. We learn how he built an audience, how he develops content and ideas, and the purpose of his podcasts, as well as insights to recent travel podcast listening behaviour. Listen to more episode...

Sam and Ryan discuss developments in the industry, and discuss the value and costs of PR, giving the insights of what it takes to set up a PR Media campaign.  We cover the platforms you need to engage the media, the planning to develop a strong campaign, and how to look at measuring the impact. For more read our blog .  Listen to more episodes of the hospitality industry podcast Travel Market Life...

From sports journalist to corporate maverick, Gene Quinn reveals his extraordinary life through three photographs and a souvenir. Our first Memory Maker in the new Photographs & Memories series, Gene recalls his exploits on Patagonia’s Penguin Island, exploring glaciers and trekking trails to the tip of the Americas in multiple journeys spread over more than a decade. Best known as the co-foun...

Talking about professional development and building communities, we're joined by the CEO of Raizup -  Rita Varga. In this episode we discuss the value of self-learning and community engagement and the opportunities it offers to expand your network and business and professional opportunities. Rita also shares her experiences of building a community and the challenges both professionally and pe...

Travel agents have had a rough ride the last year,  and over the last 20 years they have had their business hit by online travel agents, direct sales and wider diversification of experiences in travel. Yet is that all about change as travellers seek reassurance in their travel bookings? Ryan speaks to Gaurav Bhatnagar, MD and co-founder of TBO Holidays about agents changing role, the wider accessi...

Samantha Marsh and Ryan Haynes take a look at two trending subjects in rundown #5; reopening experiences, the great push for travel extras in revenue upselling to drive commercial opportunities while improving the customer experience, and what Covid conditions mean for travel pricing - making it more challenging for the average traveller.  We share some of our ideas for the road to recovery reopen...

In this episode we talk about the challenges of putting a product launch on hold and what that has meant for a startup. Speaking to co-founder and CPO of Smart Nomad , Amlan Nanda, we find out how they managed to  continue developing their product while they wait for the travel market to reopen again. We look at the digital changes afoot for travellers particularly how their experience in planning...

Samantha Marsh and Ryan Haynes take a look at two trending subjects in rundown #4; why playing the guessing game is helping noone out, especially your customers - and what to do instead. And, what does it mean to stay-cate? Exploring staycations in the second year of a pandemic. We share some of our ideas for the road to recovery reopening plans and messages, and preparing travel and hospitality b...

We take to the railway tracks and take a closer look at what the  sector has to offer. Speaking to Udi Sharir, founder and CEO of SaveaTrain , he talks about the change in perception of train travel in recent years, and how the pandemic is helping change its fortunes.  We look at the investment that is being made worldwide and the opportunities of digital technology for accessing travel. What can...

Samantha Marsh and Ryan Haynes look at the reopening timeline announcement by the UK government on 22 February 2021. Now the dust has settled and we've got our heads around the dates we explore what these are and who can do what.  We share some of our ideas for reopening plans and messages, and preparing travel and hospitality businesses for driving revenue generation after a year without.  ...

We explore the key changes in working practice and how 2021 will require a new approach to the working week, workspaces and how we define people management. We will never return to pre-pandemic operations, so what should hospitality businesses be considering first? Speaking to Tom Finn, revenue management recruitment specialist of Edwards & Finn, who gives his insights to framing the new reali...

Ryan Haynes and Samantha Marsh explore the numbers of the great staycation booking surge and what this means for travel, and a look at the impacts of going dark on social. As the governments continue to warn travellers and travel companies over the need to be cautious in the approach to reopening, we look at what the booking numbers represent and how to be part of dialogue now for success when reo...

Ryan Haynes and Samantha Marsh look at current trends, the rise of hyper-localisation and what businesses can do to ensure they remain afloat. The start of 2021 has been an interesting time for the travel industry.  While some companies, such as big international tour operators, are reporting losses, down turns and a struggle to drive new bookings for 2021; UK hotels, self-catering companies and h...

In this episode we speak with Nadine Boettcher, Senior Product Manager at OTA Insight as we discuss the data points for price decision making at a time when historical data points don't give the insight needed to optimise market position and competitiveness. We look at the data sources to be considering, and how to bring the team together to react to market changes, and what this means to the...

Learn how data is helping hotels identify opportunities and risks during these unprecedented times. Bounce-back from Covid-19 with the right level of insight and business intelligence to improve performance and commercial opportunities in the market   In this live Q&A understand how you can utilise existing data and ensure you are responding to growth signals in the market to improve bookings,...

In this episode we speak with Director of Sales & Marketing, Jayson Heron-Smith, at Cordis Hotels Auckland New Zealand part of Langham Hospitality which has had a big technology focus this year. Jayson talks us through the focus they’ve had on the tech stack and why they’ve made such grand investments for the future of the property.   Included in the list is Data Protection, upgrades and syste...

Joe Setchell the Group Marketing Manager at A Curious Group of Hotels talks about new tech being implemented at the four properties in the portfolio: Canal House (Amsterdam), L’Hotel (Paris), Portobello Hotel (London), Cowley Manor (Cotswolds). We discuss the use of a guest app and how they have used it to digitalise services whilst also integrating Benbria Loop within the app, which enables guest...

In this episode we speak with Michael Reynolds, a revenue and hotel tech consultant with Maximise Revenue who has worked with chains including Village hotels, easy hotels PLC as well as independent properties.   For Michael it’s about moving away from legacy systems to maximise revenue, optimise system performance and processes and enable hotels to be more savvy. As part of his Procurement researc...

In this episode we speak with Thibault Catala of Catala Consulting , a revenue manager by trade with a background at IHG and Four Seasons, he talks us through his approach to developing the revenue management strategy starting with the tech stack.    We talk about his choice of systems, and what he did at The Eccleston Square Hotel London , London. “Tech is one of the key elements in the hotel str...

In this episode we speak to the chief commercial officer for Turtle Bay Resort, Robert Marusi, previously of Hamilton Beach Resort a Fairmount Hotel Bermuda, 5star Pelican Hill Resort – he now looks after the 400 room Turtle Bay Resort on 1300 acres of land with a organic sustainable farm, spa, golf courses, and beaches.   Robert has taken Turtle Bay Report and like the previous resorts taking it...

Speaking to Managing Director Iain Jurgensen of Portavadie which received £35m investment to become an inclusive resort, it hosts 400 staying guests across its campsite, marina, hotel and serviced apartments.   We learn how tech is an incredibly important part of the resorts wider strategy, inspired by Disney as they roll out contactless payment and high quality internet throughout, paying close a...

In this episode we speak with Apo Demirtas, founder of Intelligent Hospitality to explore the world of business intelligence and how this is changing with more readily available data and the importance of accessing real-time information to respond to live market changes. With the markets going through stormy weather, hoteliers need a navigator to help them through - therefore business intelligence...

Travel PR and B&B owner Sam Marsh, with Ryan Haynes - travel marketing specialist review the trends news and stories from across the sector.  In the first episode of this magazine edition, we look at;  The impact on the car rental sector with news from Your Car and Hertz , What's happening in the student travel space with Trek America and STA New products launching in covid time with the...

The pandemic has highlighted major issues in the way in which travel companies handle consumer booking money, and how this is managed - where some companies have struggled to pay back customers when holidays have been cancelled because they have not protected these funds. We're joined by Jacqui Cleaver from Protected Trust Services as she explains the importance of ring-fencing consumer money...

In this episode we discuss the move to conversational marketing and how the industry can adapt to new consumer engagement trends by utilising messaging and social media apps as part of the booking journey. Rodrigo Texeira, CEO of AskSuite, gives us the insight of the role of an intelligent reservation agent chatbot to secure and process bookings and capture every interest. In this conversation we...