Tag: digital

Briefing: How hospitality companies are evolving into digital businesses

Posted on by Guy Lean

According to CSC’s Leading Edge Forum, less than 4 out of 10 companies are ready to take advantage of the new business opportunities arising from developments in digital technology.

In the hospitality industry there have been some digital successes, and some companies struggling to keep up. A good digital culture needs good leadership and the right partnerships.

In this briefing four hospitality experts discuss building digital into the business plan:

Depending on a business’s resources, ‘becoming digital’ will mean different things, large companies may invest money in new plans and new specialist staff, independents may look into what platforms and partnerships they can use to help themselves.

While digital is changing the way business works, it is also creating jobs and, according to Deloitte, is boosting the economy. A report from Deloitte on the impact of technology on jobs in the UK found that over the past 15 years technology-driven change has added £140 billion to the UK’s economy in new wages.

The report states that ‘In the future, business will need more skills, including: digital know-how, management capability, creativity, entrepreneurship, and complex problem solving.’ Business leaders will already be keenly feeling this need and it will only continue, which is why having a plan that incorporates digital and having people to push this agenda forward is essential.

Research from McKinsey&Company also highlights the need for digital leadership. They found that ‘90 percent of top digital performers have fully integrated digital initiatives into their strategic-planning process.’ They say that there has already been an increase in digital focused executive positions. They found that ‘CDO (Chief digital officer) roles doubled from 2013 to 2014 and is expected to double again this year.’

If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do see here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.tv for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: mobile – the big sell

Posted on by pmalone

Mobile technology is expanding at such a rate that it is really any wonder how people keep up with it. iPhone 5GS, Samsung Galaxy S4, Windows 8, Android, and BlackBerry are just a handful of terms that are in our modern-day vernacular without many of us really understanding what it means for us and for business.

Mobile smartphones are the most powerful selling technique which is set to dominate long into the future and we need to be utilising this medium across our business. Whether that’s checking emails, social networks, looking for reviews, playing games, watching films, purchasing hotel rooms and perhaps after all that making a phone call. It should certainly be embraced and our experts this week discuss this with comment from:

  • Cyril Ranque, SVP of Global Market Management for Expedia on the power that these devices bring to the consumer.
  • Douglas Rice, Executive VP & CEO of Hotel Technology Next Generation on expectations being raised with mobile
  • Leo Brand, CEO of Swisscom Hospitality Services on the need for hospitality to up its game
  • Peter O’Connor, Professor & Academic Director of ESSEC Business School on seizing the immense power of mobile in hotels

If you’ve been sent to this page but you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do so here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.hpgcms.wpengine.com for the Hospitality Channel, including interviews from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: the age of data

Posted on by pmalone

Hospitality is one of the most data rich industries on the planet. There is no doubt that most industries are truly envious of the depth of knowledge and understanding the industry has about every single person that walks through the doors. Data that can be so specific to an individual’s preferences when staying in a hotel.

How can the industry use this vital information in order to make a customer’s experience truly engaging?

The opportunity that the digital world now affords hospitality is prevalent on so many different levels and experts this week discuss where to exploit this data abundant industry. Including comment from::

  • Sean Worker, CEO of Bridgestreet on making data work for your business
  • Andrew Sangster, Editorial Director of hotelanalyst on utilising data within your organisation
  • Leo Brand, CEO of SwissCom Hospitality Services on making data personal to a customer
  • And Nigel Huddleston, Industry Head of Travel for Google on the early stage developments of permission based data
 


If you’ve been sent to this page but you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do so here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.hpgcms.wpengine.com for the Hospitality Channel, including interviews from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: creating positive online sentiment with engaged consumers

Posted on by pmalone

The explosion in the way that everyone uses technology has dominated much conversation over the last few years. Technology, and more specifically the Internet, has brought new opportunities and new headaches for some in the way they communicate with stakeholders.

Consumers now engage with brands more directly in an online world which is completely segregated from the ‘real-world’ experiences they are having. Hoteliers need to react and engage with these online conversations to mitigate the risk of their brands being diluted. In this briefing we hear from:

  • María Zarraluqui, VP – Development of Melia Hotels International on the challenge of keeping up with these digitally engaged guests.
  • Gerald Lawless, CEO of Jumeirah Group on how to react to online negativity
  • Ewan Cameron, CEO of Lonrho Hotels on filtering through the information overload
  • And Robert Gaymer-Jones, CEO of Sofitel Luxury Hotels on creating that sought after online buzz.
 


If you’ve been sent to this page but you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do so here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.hpgcms.wpengine.com for the Hospitality Channel, including interviews from industry conferences such as the most recent IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: understanding new disruptive technology

Posted on by pmalone

Business today deals with disruption on a daily basis… whether it is emails, mobiles or online content, there has been a revolution in terms of how we as individuals and businesses consume media.

What is the impact of this on hospitality? As an industry, hospitality will evolve and be disrupted, but not at the pace we are seeing in other fields of business. The premise of hospitality has not changed for 2,000 years and will continue to develop whilst maintaining its guiding principles.

Some leading thinkers and entrepreneurs appear in this briefing talking about business and how technology fits into this new mix. Including comment from:

  • Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho, the UK Digital Champion on the opportunities and cost technology delivers
  • Julie Meyer, Founder & CEO of Ariadne Capital on disruptive technologies now being engrained in life
  • Bruce Dickinson, lead singer of Iron Maiden and Airline entrepreneur on what business is all about
  • And Graeme Codrington, futurist at TomorrowToday on how computers and technology will have replaced doctors, lawyers and accountants within 10 years.

If you’ve been sent to this page but you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do so here. It’s free.

Briefing: embracing new technology in hospitality

Posted on by pmalone

All industries have been digitally disrupted since the mainstream adoption of the Internet. There is no question that these new technologies have developed both communication and engagement facilitation like never before. Whether businesses want to target your consumer directly or make decisions via a mobile device on the go, the evolution of social & mobile technologies is truly global.

It has been suggested that hospitality has been behind many industries in its acceptance of technologies, yet it has some of the most defined and detailed data sets in the market. Communication between colleagues and customers has never been so easy but how should it be harnessed now that you have stakeholders worldwide?

Interviews in this briefing include:

  • Ed Fuller, former President & Managing Director of Marriott International on changes he has seen in a 40 year career.
  • Julie Meyer, Founder & CEO of Ariadne Capital on disruptive technologies now a part of everyday life.
  • Sir Nigel Knowles, joint CEO of DLA Piper on the multitude of new stakeholders businesses have.
  • And Graeme Codrington, Futurist at TomorrowToday on hospitality lagging when it comes to customer engagement

If you’ve been sent to this page but you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do so here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.hpgcms.wpengine.com for the Hospitality Channel, including interviews from industry conferences such as the most recent IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: Contemporary decision-making

Posted on by pmalone

Technology provides businesses with a plethora of opportunity. Most prevalent perhaps is the speed in which we can communicate, understand and react to new things at the click of a button. Without the invention of email, and other technologies, it would feel like we are all standing still.

Data being created every day now needs to be understood, and using software that is available to make sense of this is now essential. Modern day decision-making can be faster than ever before. This has both positives and negatives which are discussed in this briefing, including comment from:

  • Ed Fuller, former President & MD of Marriott International on how he managed the decisions he had to make.
  • David Scowsill, CEO of the WTTC, on the velocity of new mobile and social technologies
  • Sir Nigel Knowles, co-Global CEO of DLA Piper on the caution to be taken when making decisions quickly.
  • And Prof. Ian Goldin, of Oxford University on digesting the instantaneous online platforms.
 


If you’ve been sent to this page but you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do so here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by yBC.tv for the Hospitality Channel, including interviews from industry conferences such as the most recent IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

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