The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Americas recently held its first Commercial Strategy Conference, which took place from June 25-26, in Charlotte.
The sold-out event, an evolution of HSMAI’s Marketing Strategy Conference and HSMAI ROC, brought together a record 860 industry professionals from 152 unique hotel brands and management companies, and more than 40 partner companies, from across the hospitality sector to explore the latest trends, strategies and innovations shaping the future of commercial success in the industry.
The two-day conference, along with its associated pre- and post-conference workshops, trainings and executive roundtables, featured a lineup of keynote speakers, panel discussions and interactive workshops, all designed to provide attendees with actionable insights and strategies to navigate the complex interplay of sales, marketing, revenue management and distribution—the commercial disciplines—towards growth in profitability. The week also included the debut of the HSMAI Contact Center Summit, as well as recognition for the 2024 HSMAI marketing and revenue optimization award winners.
General sessions and breakouts covered the leading topics impacting the industry today, from artificial intelligence to how to attract, retain and develop top talent in a post-COVID world. Commercial leaders gained an informative look into the effective customer strategies in the age of AI in a general session led by Dave C. Edelman, executive advisor, independent board member and HBS lecturer.
“Personalization is changing the way you compete,” Edelman shared. “Personalization means delivering experiences at scale, based on a customer’s data, fine-tuned from each interaction, that empower customers to get what they want better, faster, cheaper or more easily. All of this means unlocking the potential for growth from AI.”
Attendees also heard from Dorothy Dowling, author of the HSMAI Foundation’s State of Talent Report, on how to embrace AI and use it to retain and develop talent, rather than eliminate jobs. She also spoke on how to effectively train less tenured sales employees in a post-pandemic industry, how to create a meaningful and supportive environment for employees and how to incorporate hybrid/remote policies into work culture and strategies.
“This year we’ve taken what used to be two one-day conferences, the Marketing Conference and ROC, and turned it into one two-day extravaganza for hotel commercial leaders,” said Robert A. Gilbert, president/CEO, HSMAI. “We are thrilled by this year’s turn out—we actually sold out. Attendees are talking about commercial strategy and looking to gain invaluable insights and strategies to get ahead of the industry’s leading trends.”
In a breakout session led by Calvin Tilokee, CEO, Revpar Media, attendees gained practical strategies, tools, metrics and more to help their teams work with influencers, maximize their social media collaborations and measure the success of those campaigns. Tilokee encouraged marketers to ask themselves ahead of working with a proposed influencer: Do they have high engagement and quality content, and are they aligned with the hotel’s brand?
The conference culminated in a final general session bringing together the three disciplines to focus on what is needed now more than ever before: strong communication and inspirational leadership. In the closing session, attendees heard from Denise Thomas, founder/owner, The Effective Communication Coach, on Mastering the Art of Communication: Transformative Strategies for Commercial Leaders.
“When you are communicating, do not underestimate the power of meeting people where they are at,” Thomas said. “I want to emphasize the power and importance of knowing the difference between impact and intent.”
The 2025 HSMAI Commercial Strategy Conference will take place June 17-18, in Indianapolis.
