In this week’s episode of the Hotel Moment podcast, we’re unveiling the trends that some of the industry’s sharpest minds believe will transform hospitality in 2025.
At the beginning of every new year, hoteliers are swarmed with industry predictions and left to decipher which trends to give credence to and which trends to ignore completely. And on top of that, you’re trying to work out where your hotel technology can support those trends to drive more direct business.
Karen Stephens, podcast host and Revinate CMO, along with five industry experts, are eliminating the guesswork when it comes to nailing down the most important trends so that you can target your most profitable guests in 2025. From a newfound appreciation for hyper-personalization to “loyalty-fatigue,” you’ll discover what will shape hospitality and your guests’ expectations.
Tune in and find out how to get a headstart on this year’s most lucrative trends so that you can attract guests who love your brand and are willing to book direct.
Special thanks to Marc Winchell, Corporate, CRM at PHG Hospitality; Aaron Miller, VP of CRM and Digital at Highgate; Emily Goldfischer, Editor-in-Chief at hertelier; Shawn Jereb, Senior Vice President of Revenue Management and Distribution at Montage International; and Carlo Del Mistro, Chief Digital Officer at Ennismore, for lending their advice and expertise to our listeners.
Meet your host
As Chief Marketing Officer at Revinate, Karen Stephens is focused on driving long-term growth by building Revinate’s brand equity, product marketing, and customer acquisition strategies. Her deep connections with hospitality industry leaders play a key role in crafting strategic partnerships.
Karen is also the host of The Hotel Moment Podcast, where she interviews top players in the hospitality industry. Karen has been with Revinate for over 11 years, leading Revinate’s global GTM teams. Her most recent transition was from Chief Revenue Officer, where she led the team in their highest booking quarter to date in Q4 2023.
Karen has more than 25 years of expertise in global hospitality technology and online distribution — including managing global accounts in travel and hospitality organizations such as Travelocity and lastminute.com
Transcript
Intro – 00:00:04: Welcome to the Hotel Moment podcast presented by Revinate, the podcast where we discuss how hotel technology shapes every moment of the hotelier’s experience. Tune in as we explore the cutting-edge technology transforming the hospitality industry and hear from experts and visionaries shaping the future of guest experiences. Whether you’re a hotelier or a tech enthusiast, you’re in the right place. Let’s dive in and discover how we can elevate the art of hospitality together.
Karen Stephens – 00:00:36: Hello, and welcome to the Hotel Moment Podcast. I am your host, Karen Stephens, the Chief Marketing Officer of Revinate. And today on the show, we’re playing a little crystal ball fortune telling as we come into 2025. Okay, not really. But how many times have you encountered these headlines already? What’s trending for hospitality in 2025? Top hospitality trends. Trends to pay attention to in 2025.
All of those predictions end up building up in your inbox or bombarding your social feeds — creating a lot of noise. It’s hard to tell which of those trends, if any, will impact hospitality. Well, in this episode, I’m really hoping to change that. Their hands-on experience and boots-on-the-ground perspective provide a bit more weight and context than maybe what you’ve been reading online. But before we get to those guests, I’ll go ahead and say we predicted some of the trends that blossomed in 2024, with Patrick Norton, the Chief Marketing Officer at Brittain Hotels and Resorts — emphasizing data-driven decision-making as a must for this year. Jason Pirock, Corporate Director of Marketing at Springboard Hospitality, also anticipated the growing need for hoteliers to adopt Customer Data Platforms (CDPs), with Revinate later launching its own CDP. And Shawn Jereb, Senior Vice President of Revenue Management and Distribution at Montage International, who you’ll hear again from today, talked about upping your personalization game to cater to location-specific experiences that your hotel can provide. So with that, we’ll let you draw your own conclusions from the trends our guests shared with us for 2025. First, let’s hear from Aaron Miller, who’s the Vice President of CRM and Digital at Highgate. Aaron first appeared on the podcast live from our NAVIGATE conference in Miami, where he talked about how he’s using first-party data to improve guest communications across Highgate’s independent portfolio. So as we look ahead, can you give us an idea of what trends you’re seeing for hospitality in 2025? So what are you seeing in the industry overall? And then if you can share what’s specific to Highgate?
Aaron Miller – 00:02:34: Sure. I mean, it’s such a big question, right? I think maybe this is corny, but hotels are back, right? Like I think that there was probably a period of time where it may be that stem from COVID, and just technology in general, and everybody being remote all over the place. But, you know, being able to kind of like work from anywhere, be anywhere. There’s no such thing as like business travel or leisure. It’s all one thing for a lot of people. And we’re just finding a lot of travelers are interested in that type of hotel stay these days. You know, it wasn’t always the case, but we’re noticing that a lot more as the specific type of travelers kind of come back to say, We don’t want to necessarily be all on our own without the services and amenities.
You know those are tried and true, maybe there was some sort of like conversation about it in the last couple years, but we’re seeing more and more demand for the types of amenities and services that hotels offer, especially like the resort aspect of it, you know? The further services and the higher the luxury service that you want, it’s more common these days.
Karen Stephens – 00:03:27: That’s so cool. And how are you working through, are you looking at, you know, your website, digital channels to make sure people understand how all those amenities are coming in? Are you seeing more of a focus on that as you come into 2025, or?
Aaron Miller – 00:03:39: Yeah, for sure. I mean, there’s this great balance that we’re always trying to find, and every hotel is different, and their services, and their location, and their market, etc. But there’s always this fine line to kind of walk where you have all these tools in your toolkit, right? You know, for a website, let’s just say, and you want, you know, We want to make this front and center. We want to make that front center. We have this cool option here. We want to make sure that there’s experiential opportunities, but we want to make sure that the booking engine path is super easy and frictionless. But we also want to make sure that, you know, our catering is front and center because that’s super important for this property. And we also want to make sure that we have three restaurants, and they’re getting all the love and support that they need.
So it’s always finding this balance to say like, Well, all of this, all of these things are true, so how do you cater to this individually for the property so that the consumer who may not know you is greeted with all of this, but not overwhelmed and they just leave.
Right? Cause we’re monitoring these bounces and exits all over the place, and we can compare that to our booking engine entrances to say, We want to make sure that this is easy, elegant, but gives you all the information that you need to make your travel decision.
And that’s the fun and exciting part to say like, We have so much to talk about. We should talk about it all.
But you can’t, you know, I hate to say that nobody wants to read through a novel about this. They want the quick, you know, Instagramification
of, What is this hotel, and should I stay there?
Karen Stephens – 00:04:57: Yeah, I love that. Easy, elegant. I have to say, you know, I’m always as on the marketing team myself, I’m always going for language that is easy to digest. Visually short. How else to say, I mean that you look and you’re like, Hey, I get the biggest bang for the buck.
But I think you hit on something really important though. The website is one thing that’s a public entrance. Everybody’s coming in the front door from all walks of life. But I think with your email communications, and other communications that you can personalize, that’s where things can get interesting. Because then you know that I’m interested in spas and restaurants, and I don’t have kids. So I get maybe a different message than somebody who’s got children and likes beachfront properties.
Aaron Miller – 00:05:33: Yeah, there’s this abstract game you kind of have to play to say, you know, How do we present our, like, who are we to somebody that has never heard of us before?
Like this very top-of-funnel attraction is always a little tricky. And to your point of saying, you know, Well, we want to attract both types of customers that are not necessarily the same. We have something for both of them. How do we communicate that at the same time?
And that goes into this personalization conversation that we’re always having about, you know, Should we hold something back? Should we put something forward? Do we use the technology to kind of like give dedicated messaging to dedicated profiles?
And, it’s all of the above, you know what I mean? It’s making these decisions along the way to say this is the best fit for this brand.
Karen Stephens – 00:06:14: Right. Well, and that’s great. And I think, you know, I think we’re going to evolve even more and more. Certainly, we know how to personalize the database if we have the right information. And my personal feeling is that even for digital channels, people coming in from the web, we’re going to get better and better about personalizing the experience coming in randomly as well. Well, quote-unquote, randomly
, whatever we can learn about you as a look-alike kind of thing, right? As the data gets more advanced.
Aaron Miller – 00:06:39: That’s the key right there. It’s good data in, good data out, you know what I mean? So we’re always trying to offer that opportunity to guests to say, tell us who you are and what you want. We’re happy to serve that up to you. We have it all. We just want you to tell us what you’re most interested in, and we’ll abide by it.
Karen Stephens – 00:06:54: Yeah. And when you do that, we’ll give you what you want, right? When you tell us, we’ll provide it.
Aaron Miller – 00:07:00: It’s going to be easier to get through. You’re not going to have your novel. We’re going to hit you with the interesting content that you’re looking for.
Karen Stephens – 00:07:06: So there’s so much to unpack here from what Aaron has to say, but I’ll tell you one of the most important things. Okay, well, two of the most important things. Number one, hotels are back. And number two, you can give guests exactly what they want. Let them tell you, collect that data, and then let personalization take the lead. Guests may be looking for quick and easy content about your hotel, but if you have the data to make the emotional connection, then you don’t need to worry about Instagramification
. Next, we have Carlo Del Mistro, Chief Digital Officer at Ennismore. Carlo has been pioneering Ennismore’s disloyalty program and has seen a lot of success. In this clip, he talked about what is coming in 2025. So to trail on from Aaron Miller’s comments around personalization, hear from Carlo about where he thinks the industry is going to get even more targeted and hyper-personalized.
So what else are you excited about for Ennismore? We’re coming towards the end of the year, getting into 2025. So what’s coming up for Ennismore in 2025?
Carlo Del Mistro – 00:08:06: 2025 for us is going to be a very exciting year. We have, on the broader business, we are really working on the concept of luxury redefined. Clearly 2025 for us is where luxury is not your traditional vision of luxury, but it’s also luxury as a self-improvement. And we have a partnership with an amazing brand, which is our Habitas, and we are working with them. And I think there is going to be a lot of this alternative view of luxury coming up in 2025, and we are very well positioned for that. The other thing that we are seeing that is happening is hyperpersonalization. You know, 2023, AI exploded, but nobody was really using it. 2024, lots of companies started playing around with AI. But I think 2025, we have a number of different pilots to actually really using AI, big data, not only to look at historic data on our guests or our visitors, but also having contextual and real-time information so we can customize promotions, offers, pricing based on what the user is doing in that moment on our site. It is something we are very excited about. It’s still very early stages, but I think especially in the summer onwards, it’s something we’re going to be rolling out more across our site. And then obviously, I cannot stop talking about loyalty, and the change in loyalty. I think there is a bit of loyalty fatigue across the travel industry. There are massive programs out there with airlines, and with hotel groups, and very often these programs become more and more complex to navigate. There are more blackout dates and restrictions. And one of the things that we really do with Dis-loyalty
, from the day you join, you’re one of our members, and you get all the benefits straight away. No blackout dates. No limits.
Karen Stephens – 00:10:00: And I mentioned him earlier, but here again is Shawn Jereb from Montage International. And when Shawn was talking a lot about what he sees for 2025, also had a lot to do with what he’s seeing in terms of rates and packages being available. So let’s get his take on what he sees coming as we approach the new year. Okay, so a little crystal ball time for you, Shawn. What are you thinking about hospitality trends in 2025? So what are you seeing out there, both specifically for Montage International and then just generally, what are you seeing out in the industry?
Shawn Jereb – 00:10:30: So experiences is huge. So I think we hear that everywhere. We continue to see group as sort of one of the main demand drivers. We still see the return of groups. So the group is still really strong. And then looking into 25’, you know, our group pace is exceptional. So that continues to be a big theme. Transit continues to normalize, I guess, quote-unquote, normalize.
You know, we’re several years on now, but we still do see pressure, downward pressure on rates. Obviously, still some economic woes as it relates to inflation. And so we still see this push to sort of less of the high end, more of the entry-level, and again, the downward pressure on rates and more interest in packages and promotions.
Karen Stephens – 00:11:12: Okay, so Shawn is really hitting the nail on the head when we talk about location-specific experiences. So it’s not just about the hotel, and this is in my opinion. It’s not just about the hotel. It’s about the surrounding area. And how do you really get that communicated throughout all of your communications? The other thing that I loved about Shawn’s comments is really took the opportunity to talk about what they’re seeing out there in terms of mix and rate. So as Aaron said, Hotels are back,
and from Shawn’s perspective, you can really see group starting to also approach, and customers looking for that pricing and packaging. So it’ll be interesting to see as we come into 2025 how the channel mix is impacted. And now let’s hear from Emily Goldfischer, who is the Founder and Editor-in-chief of hertelier. Emily came on the show and really shook up the stereotypes when it comes to women in hospitality and tech. And when I asked her about 2025, her focus was really more on the job market and how to make that more attractive for women when hiring in your own companies. So here’s Emily. Okay, so Emily, as we think about hiring trends for 2025, what qualities or skills do you believe will be most in demand in the hospitality sector?
Emily Goldfischer – 00:12:20: We’ve mentioned it before, it’s flexibility. I mean, I think people that are eager and engaged, and willing to try different things. And equally for the employers to be flexible with employees, whether it’s the ability to work from home one day a week, if they’re not in a customer-facing job. I mean, I think these are the kinds of things both employers and employees are looking for. Flexibility would be number one.
Karen Stephens – 00:12:50: Emily there makes a great point about flexibility. The industry is always changing, and it’s up to hoteliers to adapt. Whether that’s how you adopt and use technologies or treat your employees, staying open-minded exposes your endless opportunities. And last but certainly not least, let’s hear from Marc Winchell, who is the Corporate CRM at Pacific Hospitality Group. Marc was just on the podcast a few weeks ago talking about the success PHG has had with their loyalty program, Stay Golden, and how they’re successfully encouraging guests to book direct. Let’s hear from Marc. Okay, Marc, I have a question for you. Inquiring minds want to know, we are recording this at the tail end of 2024. So what are your predictions for 2025 for hospitality? Could either be technology, innovation, or anything else you’re seeing out there?
Marc Winchell – 00:13:39: Well, I can’t speak for everybody, but I do know that when it comes to Pacific Hospitality Group and the Meritage Collection as a whole, we are slowly piecing together this Ferrari of a CRM. I do know that for sure.
Karen Stephens – 00:13:51: Nice!
Marc Winchell – 00:13:54: And so I think 2025 is going to be an amazing year when it comes to personalization, when it comes to the guest experience really coming full circle for our loyalty program. We are looking forward to these guests coming back. They experienced Stay Golden
at our first year of 2024. And we now are going to deliver an even better experience for them in 2025. That I do know. When it comes to hospitality as a whole, think 2025 is going to be an amazing year, right? I think we’re going to have guests looking for that even deeper personalization, and hopefully in a way where we’ve convinced them to continue to book direct because we know that we can deliver on a better guest experience for them if they do.
Karen Stephens – 00:14:37: So I just have to say, I love Marc’s car analogy. And he’s right. When you build a strong CRM, you have the potential to connect with guests on a whole new level and not just changing the game with loyalty but also how you attract guests to book direct with you instead of the OTAs. So there you have it. Trends that the industry experts think will transform the hospitality industry in 2025. Maybe you’ve seen some of these trends on the horizon, or maybe this is an incentive for you and your hotel to take a more data-driven approach to how you tackle next year. Because that’s the through line here with most of these trends. Good data means better guest communication and more opportunities to drive direct bookings. So let us know what you think about this year’s trends over at the Hotel Moment Podcast on LinkedIn. We would love to hear from you.
Outro – 00:15:27: Thank you for joining us on this episode of Hotel Moment by Revinate. Our community of hoteliers is growing every week, and each guest we speak to is tackling industry challenges with the innovation and flexibility that our industry demands. If you enjoyed today’s episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review. And if you’re listening on YouTube, please like the video and subscribe for more content. For more information, head to revinate.com/hotelmomentpodcast. Until next time, keep innovating.
About Revinate
Revinate is a direct booking platform that leads the hospitality industry in driving direct revenue and increased profitability.
Our products and our people combine to give hoteliers the superpowers they need to crush their goals. With Revinate, hoteliers shift share away from OTAs and drive tangible results across an individual property or a portfolio. Our industry-leading, AI-powered, customer data platform collects, unifies and, synthesizes data giving hoteliers a foundational advantage.
Hoteliers gain critical intelligence – guest lifetime spend, stay preferences, ancillary revenue, and more. With our Rich Guest Profiles database, hoteliers don’t need to guess who their most profitable guests are, or how to drive conversions across email, voice, messaging, and digital channels.
Revinate’s direct booking platform and omnichannel communication technology powers 900+ million Rich Guest Profiles across 12,500+ hotels to drive over $17 billion in direct revenue.
