Interview with Deloitte's Adam Weissenberg:
Looking into 2014, the travel, hospitality and leisure (THL) sector outlook remains positive due to improving demand side drivers.
While there is potential for renewed growth both domestically and internationally, companies should consider ways to effectively leverage the power of technology to enhance customer experience.
Adam Weissenberg, vice chairman and U.S. Travel, Hospitality and Leisure leader, Deloitte LLP, shares his perspective on the THL industry and some thoughts around managing and growing amid the transformative landscape.
What are some of the biggest challenges facing your industry in the coming year?Travel, hospitality and leisure companies — seeking growth at home and abroad — look to respond to the challenges of an increasingly multi-channel environment, where options are many and customer loyalty is at a premium. As companies grow, managing a talent pool that ensures superior customer engagement and personalized experience remains a key focus area.
Attracting and retaining talent: Travel and tourism industry is expected to add more than 70M jobs over the next decade, with two-thirds of those jobs to be created in Asia.1 With this growing global demand and geographic expansion comes the ever-increasing demand for more talent.
CEOs will likely be challenged in finding, training, developing and retaining talent. Given the sophistication of international travelers, successful hospitality employees will need to understand how to cater to customers of different cultures. Training and retention of talent will likely require a significant investment from hospitality companies, but is important to success.
Building customer loyalty during the upturn: Hospitality companies should consider building enduring customer loyalty and delivering a differentiated brand experience during this phase of gradual economic recovery.
While many companies appreciate the importance of loyalty programs, only a few have managed to derive significant returns, indicating the need to reengineer loyalty programs.
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