Digital evolution

[L-R] Anita Markiewicz; Artour Severinov; Toufic Tamim; and Elaine Nettleton

What were the highlights of the conference for your respective teams?

AM: The conference provided an insight as to how more business is done online and if you are not visible with the right information, forget it! The other message was that there is a greater need than ever before to invest in on-line and reduce printed material, invest in qualified people and to work together to complete the whole efficient and successful cycle.

AS: It was great to introduce the “E-Distribution Matrix” to the team, a comprehensive tool that enables them to find more information and learn about the interrelation between the departments.

Another interesting session was the “Seamless Connectivity”, which certainly sparked many debates.

EN: What a lot of PR professionals tend to forget is that online editors are focused on news stories and on the articles that generate traffic to their site and stimulate feedback from readers, and so the workshop on online PR highlighted for the team, the need to grab the editor’s attention through snappy headlines and unusual angles in order to get articles published.

TT: The highlight for the sales and marketing team was definitely the seamless connectivity session. Seamless connectivity is a term used in the industry to refer to emerging technologies, where the connection and flow of information between systems is never broken. Not only does it allow a direct link between hotels and travel agents for rates, availabilities and reservations, it also allows the rates and availabilities to be controlled by the hotel revenue team empowering them to yield more.

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What ideas did delegates raise and how you are going to pursue these?

AM: Some delegates highlighted the need for technical training; this will be covered in follow-up face to face and on-line sessions.

AS: I absolutely loved the e-ideas submitted by the hotels for our e-idea competition. The winning idea to feature local events, conferences and functions prominently on the brand website to provide useful local information and drive relevant reservations online was simple really but hugely effective.

Can you explain how the growth of digital solutions for hotels means you now integrate more with your fellow departments than before?

AM: We use e-learning tools for regular training sessions, remote support and conference calls. We also have hi-tech video conferencing facilities that allow us to connect with the other area offices around the world and we have an intranet system where common data can be uploaded and downloaded and be shared easily.

TT: It is important to remember that the digital strategy is not in the hands of just one person. It is a combined effort between revenue management, sales and marketing, e-distribution and communications. Between us, we are, if you like, a digital committee who meet on a regular basis to plan and implement digital strategies and this is how I see our hotels functioning more and more as we move deeper into the world of online.

Are there some departments in the hotel you find it hard to convince of the importance of going digital?

AM: We still have to keep the digital tech talk to a minimum and ensure we explain in simple language as, if you lose your audience due to lack of understanding, you are sure to then lose their interest too. This was step one for a wide audience — to keep them in the loop and know where we are heading. Specific, technical training is given to those who are ready now and we will continue to grow the knowledge base.

TT: Change is always difficult and so any new initiatives must be cascaded down through the hotel so that the whole operations team can grasp the concepts and embrace and understand the changes we are making. The same is true for digital marketing. I would say that the financial department is generally happy with online marketing because it cuts down on things like print costs, which are associated with more traditional types of marketing. However, the most important thing for any department is the fact that online campaigns reach a wider audience and are measurable, so we can see what works and what doesn’t.