By Ishan Patel
As we move into the fourth quarter of 2024, two of the most pressing challenges confronting hotel industry remain: The continuously increasing cost of labor and the need to make loyalty programs as responsive as possible to guest wants and preferences.
We see this most acutely at the property level. Reining in costs is critical to a hotel’s profitability, benefiting owners, managers and, of course, brands. At the same time, the more fluid, intuitive and easy-to-use a hotel’s loyalty program is, the better the opportunities are for upgrading guests and promoting guest satisfaction and repeat visits.
In fact, loyal guests spend, on average, 22.4% more than sporadic guests and have 28% longer stays. Their loyalty translates into an increase of up to 25% in hotel profits.
Here are some thoughts on how property managers and owners can promote both cost reduction and loyalty—bringing together two aspects of property management that are not usually considered complementary to accelerate both profitability and revenue uptake.
A call for collaboration
A 2024 survey by the Women’s Hospitality Innovation Council of more than 200 hotel professionals at all levels—property managers, owners, executives and technologists—revealed that only 21% think legacy technology is doing a good job for hotels and guests, while 91% see better collaboration among providers as the key to meaningful improvement.
Among other factors, survey participants pinpointed a lack of collaboration among disparate technology systems as a major factor holding back hotel revenue growth and profitability.
It’s clear that better communication and collaboration among tech providers and hotels should be a major priority.
Jordan Langolis, SVP, franchise operations, Sonesta, agrees: “The variety of technologies available to today’s hotel managers is huge—but it’s a double-edged sword. On the one hand, franchisees are offered more opportunities to create efficiencies and revenue opportunities, but the opportunities can’t be unlocked without having systems work seamlessly with each other and also with the franchise. We need solutions that are fully integrated to do both—lower labor costs and improve guest loyalty. And to do so seamlessly.”
At the Sonesta ES Suites in Houston, we believe we have taken important steps toward a solution. Operating several systems across our property, we have taken steps to ensure we are working with providers that sync fully and bring an orientation toward collaboration, not single-source solutions. This enables us to take the best of what each technology offers and match it with our best-in-class guest service.
An example is the integration between our loyalty program, Sonesta Travel Pass, and its property management system, run by Visual Matrix.
With the complementary systems working together, the hotel is able to identify Travel Pass members at check-in. For members, the benefits start accruing immediately upon check-in. If they are not members, the system can offer them membership and enroll them without any duplication of entry or needing to access a separate system. This is a big plus, previously unavailable to hotel front desk staff. The front desk agent now knows and is empowered to convert a guest into a member with a few clicks in the Visual Matrix PMS.
Bringing brands, owners and tech providers together
Sonesta has been instrumental in making technology integrations such as this one possible, showing a commitment to realizing the benefits of a fully integrated property management system—saving on costs, realizing efficiencies and opening the door to a fully integrated tech stack that promotes profitability, as well as the potential for upside revenue growth. Most importantly—with no more run around and finger-pointing from support teams.
We are eager to see what comes next—and to realize the benefits of an even more expanded ecosystem, based on collaboration among tech providers.
As the booking experience and customer journey become ever more complex, with more players and more nodes of value available to consumers, it’s never been more important to enhance guest experience by making it easier for the hotel team to leverage and connect guest information with minimal effort.
Where in the past limitations have inhibited efficiencies in managing properties and their guest experience programs, a new generation of open, flexible tech solutions make such connections easier and even more beneficial.
HTNG, The Women’s Hospitality Innovation Council and other bodies have already called for a heightened level of collaboration, and we believe it’s time for all actors across the hotel value chain to do the same.
It will take not just a village—but a connected, collaborative village—among tech providers, property owners, and brands to fully realize the benefits of profitability and loyalty in the future.
Ishan Patel is the owner of the Sonesta ES Suites, Houston Galleria.
This is a contributed piece to Hotel Business, authored by an industry professional. The thoughts expressed are the perspective of the bylined individual.
