Why Now is the Time to Reshape the Future of Tourism

In your role as a vice president of global sales, what do you think are the elements for thriving in the competitive and challenging hospitality marketplace?

The experience at any Standard Hotel is ‘anything but’, we must reflect this within our sales culture to stand out against the competition. Technology, sales tools, etc., are readily available, however, the individuality and flare within our sales team are what makes the difference.

How would you describe the present status of the travel and hospitality industry?

The data and predictions certainly point towards a challenging year for the travel industry, although judging by the last few years I have confidence in our industry’s resilience and ability to adapt. In 2020 we saw all aspects of the travel industry find new ways to market themselves and run their operations. Despite corporate demand scaling back, there’s still a strong demand for leisure travel and digital nomads/leisure travelers which creates opportunities in most markets.

Together with quality customer service, communication, and networking, can you provide any further insights that help build an excellent client experience?

Rating customer service is so subjective; what one person wants could be completely different from what another wants. For example, at The Standard, we don’t have a traditional Loyalty Program which provides the same perks to each member based on your level of loyalty. Instead, we have a team of people running Guest Experience which together with CRM technology, interact with our guests daily and can deliver exceptional customer experiences completely tailored to each guest’s wants or needs during their particular stay. What I want when I check into The Standard, Bangkok on a business trip could be different from my wants at The Standard, Maldives for a vacation. We must adapt to that.

Can you elaborate on the importance of technology for building an immersive experience creation?

When I think of an ‘immersive experience’ as it relates to travel, I don’t think of technology. I think of sharing a meal with a new friend in an unknown city or sinking my feet into the sand of a remote beach. Although we may not think about it, building these experiences involves various forms of technology. Most of us go online (or virtually contact a travel advisor) to research and book our travel in addition to being supported by tech to execute them.

What according to you are the technologies that are transforming the travel and hospitality space today?

I think AI is the most interesting technology to watch at the moment. I was at a conference recently where we discussed ‘whether AI could take over parts of the guest experience in hotels and although the common consensus was that it won’t fully replace those functions that thrive off human connection (like Front Desk, Concierge, etc.) there is a big opportunity to utilize it in other areas like the booking process, our websites, marketing, etc.

Could you share some of your experiences that help you drive Standard International’s value in the larger travel and hospitality industry?

Being “creative and pragmatic” are some of our core values and ones that speak to me the most when communicating the company’s values. We challenge ourselves to create new experiences through design, food, art, music, and fashion that goes way beyond just a hotel stay, we stimulate various parts of our guests & clients’ lifestyles to make them feel at home and part of our Standard family.

On an ending note, what is your advice for other senior leaders and CXOs working in this sector?

Challenge yourself to continue to look for change and new ways to operate. There are a lot of traditions within our industry which I think can make it easy to fall into a routine but yet when delivering services, we need to ensure we look at each interaction differently. We need to ask for feedback from our external and internal stakeholders and adapt accordingly to stay relevant.