Digital Challenges in Hospitality: HSMAI Roundtable Reveals Top Strategies

In the ever-evolving digital marketing landscape, Hotel Management Companies (HMCs) are faced with a multitude of challenges. These range from driving innovation and standardizing processes to scalability, adapting to changing vendor products, and navigating the complexities of privacy and legal concerns. Recently, the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) hosted an Executive Roundtable featuring Chief Digital Officers from various HMCs. The insights gleaned from these industry frontrunners have led to the formulation of ten best practices that can guide organizations in effectively dealing with these issues.

As Universal Analytics approaches its end, it is crucial for teams to acquaint themselves with the new reporting structures presented by GA4. This can be achieved through training sessions and providing up-to-date resources to keep teams informed.

In this era of gym marketing and the pursuit of more gym members, it is essential to bolster your Employee Value Proposition (EVP). This can be done by understanding what motivates your current staff and offering competitive benefits, opportunities for growth, and fostering a positive work culture to retain your top talent.

As your brand portfolio expands, it may be beneficial to diversify your marketing and operational strategies to cater to different segments without compromising the core brand values.

With data privacy regulations constantly evolving, it is vital to keep teams updated on these changes. Implementing stringent protocols for data acquisition, storage, and processing is necessary to ensure compliance.

For products that rely heavily on data, it is crucial that IT, marketing, and sales departments work closely together. This collaboration ensures the smooth integration and utilization of data resources.

The use of Consent Management Platforms (CMPs) can efficiently manage user consents, ensuring the legal acquisition of marketing lists and other data-driven processes. This is particularly relevant in the context of advertising for gyms and gym lead generation.

To keep up with changing consumer expectations, engage users through feedback loops and actively involve them in innovation processes. This ensures that your branding efforts align with their evolving needs.

Utilize advanced analytics tools to anticipate shifts in consumer behavior, allowing for proactive adjustments in strategy. Regularly reviewing budgets is also essential to ensure that rising costs do not hinder innovation.

Fostering a culture of open dialogue across different organizational levels is key. Clearly communicating the ROI and potential impacts of new initiatives can help secure stakeholder buy-in.

By incorporating these best practices, companies can not only address current challenges but also position themselves for future success.

HSMAI extends its gratitude to the executives from 13 companies for their candid discussion. HSMAI hosts this unique, invitation-only forum annually for HMC CDOs. For those interested in receiving an invitation next year, please contact Bob Gilbert.

HSMAI is dedicated to promoting business growth for hotels and their partners. As the industry’s leading advocate for intelligent, sustainable hotel revenue growth, HSMAI provides hotel professionals and their partners with the tools, insights, and expertise needed to fuel sales, inspire marketing, and optimize revenue. Programs such as the Marketing Strategy Conference, Adrian Awards, Sales Leader Forum, and HSMAI ROC are part of their initiatives.

Founded in 1927, HSMAI is a membership organization with over 5,000 members globally and 40 chapters in the Americas Region. Connect with HSMAI at hsmai.org.