Past celebrating the unbelievable advertising and marketing minds behind among the UK’s greatest resort advertising and marketing campaigns and resort web sites, this week’s Lodge Advertising and marketing Affiliation Awards, held at The Savoy in London, introduced collectively a stellar panel of business leaders – Alex Polizzi, Suzie Thompson, Mike Baxter and Matthew Saunby. Expertly moderated by Ryan Haynes the panel delved into among the urgent points shaping resort advertising and marketing at the moment.
Whereas matters like advertising and marketing and AI have been on the desk, a transparent and resounding message emerged: the human ingredient stays irrevocably on the coronary heart of outstanding visitor experiences.
As Alex Polizzi of The Polizzi Assortment and The Lodge Inspector succinctly put it, “that is an business for drawback solvers,” a sentiment that basically underpins the dynamic, typically difficult, nature of hospitality.
A major theme echoed by each Polizzi and Suzie Thompson of The Purple Carnation Lodge Assortment was the paramount significance of a well-cared-for group. “We’ve an infinite wage invoice as a result of we merely can’t do issues with out folks,” famous Polizzi, including, “it’s important to actually take care of your folks.”
Thompson added “If folks love working in your resort, that interprets into the visitor expertise.” This give attention to worker well-being as a direct driver of visitor satisfaction was a core tenet, with Thompson fantastically defining luxurious as being intrinsically linked to “the happiness of the group.”
The dialogue additionally highlighted the preciousness of a visitor’s time. Mike Baxter of Home of Gods emphasised that as hoteliers, “we’re custodians of individuals’s valuable time,” whereas Polizzi added that with each minute of free time being so helpful, company typically have “wildly unrealistic expectations of their keep”. It actually underscores the necessity for hoteliers to be “laser-focused in your clients and what they need”, Polizzi concluded.
On the subject of expertise, significantly AI, the panel provided a nuanced perspective. Whereas Alex Polizzi, a self confessed AI detractor, famous that whereas she after all noticed the advantages, “AI needs to be used with warning”. Suzie Thompson embraced its potential, suggesting it’s “nothing to be feared, one thing to be embraced, because it frees up your time so as to add to the visitor expertise.”
This was significantly evident within the dialogue round pre-stay engagement. Thompson famous that “anticipation is such an underserved a part of the keep,” figuring out that for Purple Carnation Inns “an actual alternative has been diving into the pre-stay piece.” She shared how AI can be utilized to assist construct itineraries for a visitor’s upcoming keep, permitting groups to give attention to the deeper human interplay that Purple Carnation Inns are famed for. Baxter of Home of Gods mirrored this, advocating to “use expertise to unlock your groups time to really converse to your company” – important once they’re to be handled like rock stars!
An inventive strategy to social media advertising and marketing additionally surfaced, with Suzie Thompson highlighting that “all of our group are inventive, not simply the advertising and marketing group,” and detailing how Purple Carnation Inns empower group members to share social media content material by way of WhatsApp to assist assist the central advertising and marketing group. A technique mirrored by Alex Polizzi at The Polizzi Assortment.
In the end, the consensus, as expertly summarised by Ryan Haynes, was clear. Regardless of technological innovation, “persons are on the coronary heart of every part that hospitality has to ship”.
The overriding feeling was that whereas expertise gives highly effective instruments, the flexibility to achieve folks emotionally will probably be extra important than ever as AI’s position grows, reinforcing that genuine human connection stays the last word luxurious.
