Asksuite Insights – The Reservation Experts Summit, the only hotel industry conference focused on reservations, was hosted by Asksuite on Oct 6 & 7, 2021. At the summit, speakers emphasized the best practices in reservations and strategies to increase direct bookings.
The event was 100% online and free. Hundreds of registrants were able to watch and participate in two panels, in addition to inspiring presentations from Keynote Speakers Christine Trippi, Adrienne Hanna, and Asksuite’s CEO, Rodrigo Teixeira.
The event’s agenda included:
- 5 Trends Changing the Direct Booking and Service Experience – Rodrigo Teixeira, Co-Founder, and CEO at Asksuite
- Showing up to L.O.V.E. your customers, your team, and yourself – Christine Trippi, Keynote Speaker, and CEO at The Wise Pineapple
- Panel 1: Centralized reservation center or direct service at hotels? – Speakers: Lorena Tosso – Reservations Manager at Nobu Hotel London Shoreditch, Manny Melendez – Director of Strategic Sales at Amadeus Hospitality, Vladimir Martinov – CEO at Beehive Hospitality, and Waldin Duran – Director of Sales at BTH Hotel Boutique Concept. Moderator: Paula Carreirão – Content Coordinator at Asksuite
- The Future Belongs to Those Who Hear It Coming – Adrienne Hanna, Keynote Speaker, and CEO at Right Revenue
- Panel 2: Best practices to manage the challenges of direct bookings and multichannels – Speakers: Long Voong – Business Development Manager UK & Ireland at Asksuite, Michael McCartan – Chief Growth Officer at Atomize, Thibault Catala – Managing Director & Founder at Catala Consulting, and Vineeth Purushothaman – Regional Director EMEA at Wyndham. Moderator: Paula Carreirão – Content Coordinator at Asksuite
Here are the highlights of each session at this hotel industry conference:
5 Trends Changing the Direct Booking and Service Experience – Rodrigo Teixeira, Co-Founder, and CEO at Asksuite
The summit started with an opening speech by Rodrigo Teixeira, Co-Founder, and CEO at Asksuite. His speech, 5 trends changing direct booking and service, explains the trends in consumers’ behavior that are impacting hotel reservations. The trends are:
- From mobile-first to Artificial Intelligence first: AI can help both businesses and customers. Customers are demanding quick answers when they seek assistance that only technology can provide. On the other hand, technologies, such as chatbots, increase businesses’ efficiency reducing their operational demands while allowing humans to focus on more complex tasks.
- From search to ask: Consumers don’t want to spend time searching for an answer. They prefer to ask and get the answer right away. They like shortcuts. Since we are so comfortable using Google to find our answers quickly, we expect that same experience from all businesses.
- Shifting from depending on others to self-service: Consumers expect innovative self-service options. Big companies, such as Mcdonald’s, are combining human service with self-service touch-screen technology. This concept also applies to digital experiences. Keep in mind that travelers want to ask and get a reply when and where they need it on their own terms.
- From phone and email to messaging: The use of traditional channels in customer service, such as email or telephone, has been decreasing over the past years. We are in the Era of Messaging. Travelers’ decision-making process is quicker than ever, and messaging apps are the preferred channel to get real-time assistance.
- From multichannel to omnichannel: Customers want the answer on the same service channel where they made the first contact.
Showing up to L.O.V.E. your customers, your team, and yourself – Christine Trippi, Keynote Speaker, and CEO at The Wise Pineapple
One of the keynote speakers at the first edition of Asksuite Insights, the hotel industry conference, was Christine Trippi, CEO at The Wise Pineapple. Her presentation “Showing up to L.O.V.E. your customers, your team, and yourself” was undoubtedly one of the high points of the summit.
Christine is no stranger to us since we’ve been following her work over the past years. This award-winning General Manager decided to help leaders and organizations through her Sweet Hospitality, Sweet Cultures, and Sweet Results training,
⇒ You can read more about Christine’s career here: [Award-Winning GM Christine Trippi Jumps at Chances (and Out of Planes)]
In her keynote speech, Christine Trippi inspires all hoteliers to deliver legendary service every time they interact with a guest or potential guests and gives insights into how the right mindset impacts can help you achieve sweet results.
Panel 1: Centralized reservation center or direct service at hotels?
In the first panel of the hotel industry conference, Asksuite Insights, the speakers were:
- Lorena Tosso: Reservations Manager at Nobu Hotel London Shoreditch
- Manny Melendez: Director of Strategic Sales Latin America at Amadeus Hospitality
- Vladimir Martinov: Principal and Co-Founder of Beehive Hospitality
- Waldin Duran: Director of Sales at BTH Hotel
Together with moderator Paula Carreirão (Content Coordinator at Asksuite), they discussed the best way to operate the Reservation Department: centralized central reservation, reservations on the property, outsource reservation?
The speakers explained how each of these types of operations works and shared their best tips to increase direct bookings, as well as the most common mistakes reservation agents make. They also highlighted the importance of training the reservation team and what kind of experience travelers are looking for now.
The Future Belongs to Those Who Hear It Coming – Adrienne Hanna, Keynote Speaker and CEO at Right Revenue
The Keynote Speaker on the second day of Asksuite Insights – The Reservation Experts Summit – was Adrienne Hanna, CEO at Right Revenue. Her presentation was a true masterclass in hotel revenue with practical tips on what a hotel should consider when it comes to revenue.
Adrienne has been working in travel and hospitality her whole life. She has spent the last 20+ years in the amazing world of revenue management. With a solid background in Revenue Management consultancy, Adrienne is well-known hospitality professional.
Her presentation “The Future Belongs to Those Who Hear It Coming” covered the following topics:
- The importance of Total Revenue and the impact of new revenue streams
- Practical advice on how to manage a shift in marketing segmentation
- How “useful data” will be the cornerstone of your success in 2022
Panel 2: Best practices to manage the challenges of direct bookings and multichannels
In the second panel of the hotel industry conference, Asksuite Insights, the speakers were:
- Long Voong: Asksuite’s Business Development Manager in the UK & Ireland
- Michael McCartan: Chief Growth Officer at Atomize
- Thibault Catala: Founder of Catala Consulting
- Vineeth Purushothaman: Regional Director, Commercial Planning & Distribution EMEA at Windham
Together with moderator Paula Carreirão (Content Coordinator at Asksuite), they debated about the main distribution channels in the hotel industry and how to plan a good distribution strategy. They also talked about how technologies can help hotel teams and the challenges a multichannel scenario represents for hotels.
Asksuite Insights: The hotel industry conference
The Reservations Department has been overlooked for too long. Even though reservations are the key to any hotel business to succeed, not many hotels invest in this department. Lack of proper training and outdated knowledge are two of the main challenges hotel managers must overcome if they want to prosper in the market.
As you can see, the virtual event was full of insights that will help you obtain more reservations, while increasing customer satisfaction. If you missed it, you only have to fill in the registration form (it only takes 1 minute) and you’ll get access to all sessions. I’m sure you don’t want to miss out on this opportunity:
