Hoteliers’ Voice

This is a story of data and business intelligence, and how and where hotels can gather data to underpin the revenue strategy. Paolo Dona, CIO of StayCity Group explains the importance of data and business intelligence within its tech stack to gain essential insights to establish the revenue strategy and identify the most valuable guests. Key points include: Adapting to changes in booking behaviour...

Ryan speaks to Zana Devine, a specialist in delivery high quality training in hospitality servicing, guest concierge and team management. In this episode we confront the challenges in hospitality servicing of guests amid gaping shortages of talent and workforce.  With over 25 years of expertise in the hospitality industry Zana has worked with leading brands including Hilton, Intercontinental Hotel...

In this episode Ryan Haynes and Flavio Amiel discuss the core metrics to review within SEO.  What and why a Competitor Audit - review how competitors are positioned and identify keywords and opportunities.  What is On-page optimisation and how to improve the website What is Off-site optimisation and how to improve the referrals and backlinks And how to build your SEO Strategy - considering the lon...

Manage damage control in a crisis. How to prepare for the worst and respond to situations. Sam and Ryan talk through how to respond to a consumer and a corporate crisis, from accidents to natural events, security threats, fraud and corporate buyouts. The tips to help you prepare and be in control. We cover topics including accidents, floods, terrorism, fraud, product failure, change in corporate c...

Keeping on top of accreditations; sustainability, accessibility, risk, safety and Covid-19. How hotels can keep on top of their obligations. We speak to David Atkins from Sanderson Phillips about preparing for audits, looking at what goes into a safety audit and how can a business achieve C-19 Accreditation.  We also explore accessibility and the core challenges experienced by the travel sector, S...

Our next guest was mesmerised by the hotel sector while working as a public affairs political consultant in Hawaii. He soon became immersed in the travel and hospitality sector – setting up his own specialist PR agency 20 years ago. In this episode, our memory maker speaks fondly of family road trips as a kid, his first international travel, and his love for the familiar.   Michael Frenkel has wor...

Ryan is joined by Andy Headington from Adido to delve into Customer Acquisition Cost.  They cover what to do about it and how you can implement changes to your business that will make justifying and getting more budget easier to do now and in the future They discuss this because the days of digital marketing being the cheap alternative have near-vanished; channels have been tried, tested and optim...

In our talkng heads Industry Rundown, Sam Marsh and Ryan Haynes look at how you can engage with seasonality when struggling to market your business, giving you the tips of when to prepare your campaigns to hit key dates and festive seasons. And, we also discuss budget season and how to prepare your marketing budgets. Listen in. Listen to more episodes of the hospitality industry podcast Travel Mar...

Our next guest was inspired as a kid by his relatives in Switzerland working in hospitality, where on becoming an adult chose to go to hotel school - and readily admits “hospitality is a really hard business” . This episode, our memory maker saw the maiden voyage and final flight of  Concord in NYC and London, as he hovered between two continents having been born in the US by European parents. Pet...

In this episode Ryan Haynes discusses with Flavio Amiel SEO Audits and what to look for when addressing your SEO and content strategy. As part of a mini-SEO series, the pair will look at search optimisation and visibility, in part one we look at Haynes MarComs 57-point checklist and the aspects of search, web and content that this looks at. We discuss why an SEO Audit is important and how to go ab...

A graduate of the Glion Institute of Switzerland, he holds the Glion spirit with pride. Our next memory maker started life, following a two-year stint with Accor, as a young entrepreneur forming Forte Holding before co-founding the Utopian Hotel Collection. He grew up in Beirut, studied in Switzerland and lives in London. Listen to Ronald Homsy’s hilarious experience of staying with an Airbnb land...

Membership programmes are getting an overhaul, and for our next guest he sees the opportunity in subscription loyalty-programmes for the hospitality. In this episode @Ryan Beachum talks about How timeshare changed The opportunity of hospitality membership clubs How will the commerce experience change And, the role of blockchain in payments Listen to more episodes of the hospitality industry podcas...

Before a career in hotels, our next memory maker started out in engineering on a North Sea oil rig, when the 1998 oil crisis took him on a trip to Australia before landing on the banks of Loch Tay working for a Scottish hotel resort. Having travelled the world for long periods at a time - the Covid pandemic challenged his work-life balance. Steve Dow takes us on a journey through his adult life, m...

Talking heads Sam and Ryan return for Industry rundown - patiently waiting for this episode which includes: Reopening of travel and the restrictions, Travel hesitancy, Staff shortages, Hospitality supply chain disrupted, Priming marketing campaigns, and Getting back out on the road again. Listen in - give us your feedback, and if you want to be a guest - let us know - we love to talk to people. Li...

Son of a hotel inspector, our next Memory Maker was dragged around presidential suites, chauffeured by limousine as a child before joining Cape Town Hotel School founded by his father. Born in Zambia, raised in South Africa and now living in the UK, Duncan Bramwell, is an independent hotel consultant. Find out the reason why he was carrying four baby rhino bottles, why Madagascar is on his bucket...

This week we look at the Hotel Tech Stack - Benjamin Verot of Hotel Minder talks through the core considerations when planning to new solutions and software. In this 24 minute podcast, listen as we discuss the three step approach: 1/ Defining vision, objectives and priorities  2/ A hotel is a living organism: why taking an holistic approach that is simple and staged helps 3/ Expect the unexpected:...

An outdoor enthusiast with a penchant for giving extreme sports a go, our next Memory Maker landed in travel and hospitality to lead the strategic brand development of Atomize following a career working in ecommerce and building SaaS companies. Alexandra Fjallman, Chief Marketing Officer at Atomize, loves a challenge, putting herself in a context which is totally new to her.  For images, see the b...

A guide to travel advisor's success - we speak to Geraldine Ree about the role of the independent travel agent and how they can create a sustainable and rewarding business, even from the pandemic. Geraldine’s knowledge covers all aspects of the travel industry, including over a decade as an experienced SVP with Expedia Cruises. With this experience and passion we find out what's changing...

A geek at heart with a penchant for technologies, our next Memory Maker entered the travel sector by fluke and has since made a career relocating around the world with his family for job opportunities. From India to Dubai, the UK, France and now Japan, Vishal Arora tells his tales of moving with his family. Vishal is currently head of technology at WeWork Japan, having had an illustrious career in...

Entering the travel sector through the trades entrance, our next Memory Maker was born in the Ukraine, grew up in Russia and moved to the UK to grow one of the largest and most formidable global consultancy groups.  Hear Dmitry Bagrov, the Managing Director of DataArt UK share his travel tales, as our memory maker reflects on his career in the technology, travel and hospitality sector and the memo...

Reviewing the changes in the distribution landscape for independent hotels, and the adaptations occurring in the market. Daniel Simmons, CCO of HotelRez provides his insights on the global booking challenges, and changing expectations of hoteliers.  We look at how the market can support one another and how the hospitality will need to adapt for a much longer than anticipated period.  www.hotelrez....

Having left Lebanon at a young age before the civil war broke out, our third Memory Maker grew up in Saudi Arabia before moving to Paris, France to earn her MA. With her masters in her pocket, all she knew was that she wanted a job that would open the door to the world. Listen to the travel tales from Mona Maamari, as our memory maker reflects on her career in the travel and hospitality sector and...

Jason Perno from Traveling Troubadour joins us to talk about life on the road as a traveling musician, he shares his experiences gigging across Europe and how he made his life work. We discuss the challenges of European travel, experiences of musicians of late and the tips he has from his book on how to gig Europe.  Jason also shares some stories of his guests Listen to more episodes of the hospit...

Joining us in this podcaster series is Chris from the Nomadic Foodist as he talks to us about the flavours of travels and the journeys through worldwide cuisines denoting the key theme to his podcast. Find out what gave him the podcast bug, and how he tackles travel as a subject.  Listen to more episodes of the hospitality industry podcast Travel Market Life and subscribe for the latest news at ht...

What do Burger King and the dot.com revolution have in common? Iconic hospitality figure David Chestler shares his journey from marketing one of the world’s fast-food giants to fusing publishing and technology in the dot.com boom of the late-1990s.  Prompted by three photographs and a souvenir of his lifetime of travel , our Memory Maker shares amusing anecdotes involving talcum powder, wrestling...