Under the Hospitality Hood
Thoughts & Musings
In recent memory, perhaps the most overused and ‘under’-understood term in the world of hospitality is “disruption.” It is nearly impossible to read about our industry today without some reference to the impact of “disruption” or “disruptors” on our lives. But as we read and talk about this buzzword for our industry, a bit of perspective is important.
Because there is such a natural fascination with “the hotel business,” an opportunity exists for us to do a better job of maximizing our relationship with our customers and our neighbors by playing off of this fascination. We have an opportunity, some would say an outright obligation, to do far more to give back to our communities.
It’s nearly impossible today to read about the hotel industry without reference being made to the relentless advance of technology and its impact on what we do. Many of these new apps, new amenities, new services are being made available to ourselves and to our customers in the specific hope of increasing loyalty, and thereby increasing business levels. While nearly all of this is good, it may be stretching things to assume that all technological improvements benefit the hospitality industry simply because they exist.
While this week’s news of Marriott’s purchase of Starwood caught many industry experts by surprise, focus has quickly shifted to the question of “what does it mean to me?” Owners are asking this question, of course, and more & more customers are doing the same. While of course we will all have to wait and see, here we will weigh some of the positives and negatives.
