Marketing

🏨 Marriott International, Inc. opens City Express by Marriott Duluth, Georgia in March 2025—first of its kind in the U.S. Offers guestrooms, internet, breakfast, 24-hour markets, pet-friendly policies, and fitness facilities. Over 45 agreements signed, 12+ properties opening in 2025 including New Orleans, Chicago, Orlando, and Port Hope. City Express brand acquired by Marriott in 2023, expanding in the affordable midscale segment with three brands across various regions. Planned expansion in CALA with eight new properties in the next three years and upcoming launches in Argentina, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Peru, and Brazil. Properties to join Marriott Bonvoy.

🏨 Tourism Professions Week in France runs from 17 to 23 March, highlighting labour shortages in hospitality and catering. The industry, crucial to France's economy, represents over 2 million jobs and nearly 9% of the nation's GDP, yet faces a persistent employee deficit.

🧐 Car buyers typically have a 3-5 brand shortlist pre-purchase, with 70-80% buying from that list and 20-30% going for other brands. However, a non-shortlisted brand with a 5% market share only has a 1.5% chance of being chosen, as they compete for a share of the remaining 30% proportional to their market share. This emphasizes the importance for marketers to ensure brand awareness and mental availability prior to consumer's active shopping phase. - Julia Kinner, JK & Associates SA.

📣 Over 80% of travelers read reviews before booking hotels. Key review platforms include Google, TripAdvisor, Facebook, and Online Travel Agents like Booking.com, Expedia, and Agoda. Effective review management enhances guest experience and can incentivize future visits. STAAH ReviewMinder provides a centralized dashboard for managing reviews, offering AI-powered responses and sentiment analysis to improve hotel reputation and drive bookings. Regular strategy reviews and leveraging new technologies are recommended for continuous improvement.

🔔 Sara Masterson, President of Olympia Hospitality, discusses onboarding four new hotels set for April 1st, focusing on seamless transition for field teams. Olympia's brand, encompassing Marriott, Hilton, Choice, Hyatt, and independent hotels, prioritizes culture and owner expectations over promoting its own brand. Sara emphasizes the importance of staff experience and transparency to uphold hospitality standards 24/7, 365 days a year.

💾 Shoaib Ali, National Sales Head for India at STAAH, emphasizes the importance for hoteliers to master online distribution to remain competitive. Hotel industry's shift towards OTA and metasearch engines challenges hoteliers to optimize distribution strategies, aiming to maximize revenue and enhance guest loyalty. OTAs account for a large percentage of global bookings but charge high fees, prompting a balance with direct bookings, which incur no commission. Metasearch engines like Trivago and Kayak play a crucial role in hotel visibility, while data analytics empower hoteliers to refine distribution methods. A new eBook, "Hotel Online Distribution 2.0," guides hoteliers on leveraging various platforms for increased revenue and occupancy. Hotel distribution mastery has evolved from an option to a necessity in the industry.

🏨 Eva Klausner, Director of Guest Experience at Numa, discussed creating a guest-focused culture on March 12, 2025. Hosted by Danica Smith, founder of MorningStar GX, the episode offers insights for businesses to enhance their service. Numa's commitment to guest satisfaction is underscored by their strategic approach to employee engagement in guest experiences.

📌 Tiffany Leadbetter Donato, a Cornell School of Hotel Administration alumna, initially aimed for finance or consulting but was drawn to hospitality real estate and development post-graduation. Observing diversity progress in the industry, she notes a shift in senior leadership demographics compared to 10-20 years ago, predicting diverse future leaders. She highlights the improvement in women's representation in lodging leadership, especially in operations and marketing, and sees an upward trend despite the investment sector's challenging work-family balance.

🏩 Josiah Mackenzie became the #1 influencer in hospitality, sharing his learnings and providing resources on Hospitality Daily. Notable mentions include music produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound. The episode encourages sharing insights with teams to implement ideas for business and service improvement. No specific dates, locations, numbers, or statistical data are provided within the extracted content.