Digital transformation in hospitality: 5 key takeaways for industry leaders
The hospitality sector came together recently during the Digital Transformation Summit in Orlando, Florida, to explore—you guessed it—digital transformation in the hospitality industry.
Hot topics included improving guest engagement, channel management, operational efficiency, data analytics and AI. Leaders from large hospitality companies like Choice Hotels, Six Flags Entertainment and Universal Studios showed up to see how digital platforms play a role in loyalty programs, employee engagement and retention and grabbed a front-row seat to learn how this new tech and a transformation mindset could effectively support the unique needs and challenges of their frontline teams. Axonify was there to take it all in, lead a session with customer Compass Eurest and share the summit’s most urgent themes.
Session highlights:
The agenda was filled with insightful sessions that offered interesting perspectives on how different hospitality organizations are leveraging various digital strategies and emerging tech to drive consistent execution and operational excellence. Some standouts included:
- Mike Fiato & Alison Lambert from Compass Eurest (aka the Axonify session!): The focus here about just how critical frontline associates are to delivering guest experiences that take brands from so-so to stellar. Both Mike and Alison talked about how they leverage the Axonify platform’s ability to reach their entire frontline on the devices the team members use every day and have achieved impressive results: a 21% knowledge increase and a culture where people are heavily engaged and 3x more likely to stay with their company thanks to their learning and communications investments.
- Caitlin Wildenstein from AKA Hotels: At AKA Hotels, its approach to luxury member rewards includes a focus on making people feel like they’re at home while traveling. The importance of leveraging tech to enhance guest experiences, not replace the human connection, was also a dominant theme.
- Jim Denny from Six Flags: This engaging session looked at the art of relationship-building with an assist from tech and automations. This includes personalized communications that notify guests about their entertainment preferences, like when a favorite ride has no lineup or a beloved show is about to start.
- Austen Morrow from Choice Hotels: This session detailed tactics to align data with business goals and the importance of data governance and security.
Cut through the noise with tactics to empower teams and get results!
3 strategies to transform your frontline hospitality teams and unlock superior service
Key themes and takeaways:
Several key themes emerged, highlighting opportunities to connect digital-first strategies to current practices.
- 1. Elevating the guest experience: The importance of creating guest experiences that keep people coming back to your locations was top of mind.
- 2. Continuous engagement: Being able to communicate with frontline workers and guests was a common refrain as a way to improve guest experience and employee engagement.
- 3. Everything starts with your people. From training to communications, there was a renewed focus on the importance of ensuring frontline teams are equipped to handle not only day-to-day guest demands but also manage general operational expectations—and that hinges on prepared, supported and recognized associates.
- 4. Embrace technology: Leverage the right tech to streamline operations, improve communication and deliver engaging training experiences on the road to hospitality excellence.
- 5. Focus on fun, personalized learning: Tailor training programs to meet the unique needs of individual associates—instead of a one-size-fits-all approach—and leverage gamification to create friendly competition to get the best business results.
The DTH Summit was incredibly insightful, offering valuable inspiration for those committed to empowering frontline hospitality workers. It’s clear that the industry is recognizing the critical role that frontline employees play in delivering exceptional customer experiences. Axonify is proud to be at the forefront of this movement, working with incredible customers like Compass Eurest and Marriott International to lead the charge in digital-first frontline learning and enablement that produce top-tier execution and performance.