Hotel owners and operators are increasingly rethinking the boundaries of guest value—and it’s no longer just about the room.
In the latest Hotel Business Hot Topics session “Driving Hotel Revenue Beyond the Room,” in partnership with Phunware, moderated by Glenn Haussman, founder/host, No Vacancy Live podcast, hospitality leaders Chris Trick, chief marketing and performance officer, Sonesta International Hotels Corporation; Angela Berkey, senior director, reservation sales & CRM, CoralTree Hospitality; Jennifer Barnwell, president, Curator Hotel & Resort Collection; Rob Smith, CEO/president, Stonebridge Companies; and Donny Neufuss, senior director, business development, Phunware, came together to explore how data, mobile platforms and behavior-based personalization are transforming how hotels engage guests and generate incremental revenue.
“When we talk about revenue, the conversation usually starts and ends with RevPAR,” said Haussman. “But if you only focus on what you’re charging for the room, you’re missing the broader opportunity.”
That opportunity, according to the panel, lies in anticipating guest preferences and meeting them where they are—primarily on their phones.
“Your mobile phone is the remote control of your life,” said Trick. “It’s how people engage the online world with the offline world. It’s certainly how our guests engage with us. You know, for our guests, it’s really about convenience and control. It enables that connection with the brands throughout the stages of their journey, and it helps formulate that personal relationship with the guest.”
For Sonesta, that means harnessing data to deliver customized experiences that can drive guest satisfaction and increase spend. “If we know a guest likes a specific spa treatment or prefers red wine, that’s not just trivia, that’s revenue,” he explained.
Berkey emphasized empowering employees with data, not replacing them. “We really want to use data to make our agents more successful in their conversations,” she said. “It’s not about automation for the sake of efficiency, it’s about helping the team connect with guests more meaningfully.”
That approach includes using behavioral history to recommend upsells like extended-stays, larger rooms or in-room experiences. “We really want to use data to make our agents more successful in their conversations,” she said. “It’s not about automation for the sake of efficiency, it’s about helping the team connect with guests more meaningfully.”
Mobile tools are becoming central to this new approach, but the adoption curve still has room to grow, according to Smith, who noted, “We have a very small percentage of people checking in with mobile, but it’s growing. The friction point is ease of use—if it’s not easy to use, people won’t adopt it.”
Stonebridge is investing in features like mobile key and frictionless check-in to appeal to the next generation of travelers. “The Gen Z crowd and younger millennials—they want everything on their phones,” he said. “But even older generations are starting to expect that level of convenience.”
Curator’s Barnwell pointed out that digital communication is now table stakes. “There are no more gatekeepers. Guests book and research independently, and they expect answers on their own time.”
For hotels, that means being proactive. “It’s about pushing relevant content to the guest rather than waiting for them to ask,” Barnwell added.
Neufuss shared how their experience in sports and media translates to hospitality. “We started in verticals like the NFL and CBS Sports, where personalized fan engagement is everything,” he said. “The same rules apply in hospitality.”
He said that with his company’s technology, hotels can use location-based services, guest journey data and app usage to push contextually relevant messages—like a drink offer as a guest enters the lobby bar or a yoga class promotion after someone opens the spa page.
“It’s not just about blasting promotions,” he said. “It’s about predictive personalization—understanding what the guest wants before they ask.”
That shift is critical as third-party cookies phase out and privacy regulations tighten. “With cookies going away, your app becomes the new cookie,” he added. “Guests opt in to share information, and you use that to deliver value—not just sell something.”
Despite the move toward digital, panelists emphasized that technology supports rather than replaces human connection. “People still want human interaction—especially in a luxury environment,” said Berkey. “Technology should support that, not replace it.”
Trick agreed, “We’re not creating a single track for the guest experience. We’re offering choices. Some people want to talk to a front desk agent, others want a digital key and no interaction. Both paths should be seamless.”
A key theme among the panelists was redefining how hotels view revenue and guest value. “It’s no longer just about heads in beds,” said Barnwell. “It’s about how much each guest is worth over the course of the stay—and what they might be willing to spend if we understand them better.”
Metrics are expanding beyond RevPAR to include guest lifetime value, total spend per stay and mobile engagement. “You’re not just a room to a guest,” said Phunware’s Neufuss. “And they’re not just a reservation to you. If you treat the relationship that way, it becomes transactional. But if you personalize it, it becomes emotional—and emotional loyalty is sticky.”
While the tools may be evolving, the goal remains unchanged: deliver value to guests in ways that feel personal, intuitive and seamless. Whether it’s a curated spa package, frictionless check-in or a surprise drink offer pushed to their phone, the opportunity lies in connecting with guests before, during and after their stay.
As Trick summed up, “Our job is to help guests feel like the hotel was designed just for them. If we do that, the revenue will follow.”
Look for more coverage of this Hot Topics session in the August issue of Hotel Business.
Download the audio version from the No Vacancy podcast channel where you get your shows.
