Hotelier Perspectives

Most technology is designed to captivate and keep our attention. The prime example is social media, whose addictive platforms and algorithms keep its users scrolling endlessly. But what if the goal of technology wasn’t engagement at all?

When engaging with guests throughout your hotel, you want to put your best foot forward (and not in your mouth). Like with all communication, it’s not so much what you say, but how you say it.

Most marketers start by thinking—throwing around ideas, holding brainstorming sessions, and filling up whiteboards. It’s fun, it is what creatives are known for. But truly effective strategies begin with looking: studying analytics, speaking to customers, and seeing the actual situation on the ground. And because strategy is a greek military word, let’s think of an Ancient Greek general planning a battle: you wouldn’t want him to send soldiers on a hunch only to discover “oops” that was the best defended flank. We’d expect them to gather intel and look first.

Hospitality is an industry that thrives on human connection, but it has often been held back by outdated technology. In a recent interview on Hotel Tech Insider, Matt Welle, CEO of Mews, shared his journey from being a hotelier to leading a revolutionary property management system (PMS) company. His insights provide a roadmap for how technology can empower hoteliers to deliver better guest experiences and drive operational efficiency.

As you’re reading through the onslaught of 2025 hotel industry predictions and trends pieces, you’re likely noticing “Automation” near the top or at the top of every list. So much so that "Automation” might become a buzzword that you start to skip over.

Every guest comment, gesture, and review tells a story about their stay, and these small moments of feedback add up to a clear picture of what guests value and what they wish worked better. Many hospitality teams collect extensive feedback yet miss subtle signals that point to deeper service opportunities. Professional hospitality teams recognize feedback analysis as a core skill that strengthens guest relationships and builds service quality. Using practiced techniques and systematic approaches, hospitality professionals can spot meaningful patterns and develop targeted service improvements that matter to visitors.

What good is a gift card if it’s a chore to purchase or use? Keeping this top of mind should be key to hoteliers when considering program options, and it’s particularly important as travelers begin to cash-in gift cards bestowed on them during the recent holiday season. Gift cards and other forms of alternative payment are becoming increasingly popular with consumers, with a recent Capital One study finding that the U.S. gift card market is expected to generate $324.5 billion in revenue in 2024 and grow 17.7 percent annually. Clearly, travelers still have more to give, and hoteliers must make the process as easy as possible to tap into this lucrative revenue stream.

What is Faculty Development? The knowledge and skills transfer from faculty to students forms the core of what education is all about. One of the most rewarding and important roles in a school is played by the department that strives to support those on the front line of education delivery: the teachers. Welcome to the role of faculty development!

Into 2025, this is going to be the ‘year of data’ wherein hotels now have the tools to develop real-time data flows and structured data warehouses to conduct proper AI-driven analyses. Lucrative and alluring in theory; the reality here still far grittier and built on the blood, sweat and tears of IT soldiers who connect the APIs one by one, navigate territorial data ownership policies and rigorously test the modeling for errors, false positives, false negatives and annoying edge cases.

In a world where technology and medical advancements have raised the bar for healthcare quality, today’s medical sector is however facing a significant challenge regarding patient satisfaction. Whether internally or externally, both patients and professionals are looking for a service that goes beyond excellence in clinical care. Could lessons from the hospitality industry provide the missing link? The role of Chief Experience Officer, inspired by hospitality competencies, might hold the key to redefining patient satisfaction in healthcare.