Some of the most influential leaders in the hotel distribution space are looking to machines and artificial intelligence to help remove friction in the process and improve distribution best practices.

Much of the work is still done in spreadsheets, according to a panel of experts at HSMAI’s Revenue Optimization Conference in Houston this week, and new technologies have the potential to reduce costs and help personalize the booking experience.

Before hotels can begin to worry about pushing the right rates to the right channels, an important first step is getting the correct content to all the partners looking to sell your rooms, whether it be hotel descriptions, room-type categories, images or virtual tours.

“We need content parity across all our channels,” said Arvind Bala, Senior Director of Global Distribution and Channel Management at Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts. “Today we still write descriptions on spreadsheets. Unbelievable, right?”

“We still function on spreadsheets as well,” admitted Lew Harasymiw, Director of Distribution Strategy at IHG. “I feel like we have this content conversation every year, and here we are still using spreadsheets.

“I think there’s a lot more we can do and accomplish with the help of computers and machines.”

Blockchain and Hotels — Eventually

Harasymiw is a big proponent of blockchain’s ability to improve the distribution space — but only one step at a time.

“We’re trying to revolutionize everything and find the next big thing. We’re trying to bring [blockchain] on right now and solve all the problems immediately,” he said.

“A better way is to approach it little by little, and I do think the endgame is that distribution would significantly benefit from blockchain.”

Harasymiw looks to blockchain — a list of records that are linked and secured using cryptography — as a way for hotels to also improve loyalty and trip scheduling.

For example, a hotel could add its guest data into a blockchain and then other third-party vendors could add experience or attractions bookings, linking everything into a single, shared itinerary.

Harasymiw said there are three things that need to happen for blockchain to be widely adopted across hotels:

• We need a real-world use case of a product that’s available on the market
• We need mass adoption — there are many legacy systems that would need to integrate
• We need to understand the cost risks involved.

Expanding on the last point, Harasymiw said that while the whole premise of blockchain is to lower OTA costs, once the technology gains critical mass, blockchain supplier costs could rise dramatically, as well as integration costs.

However, with blockchain, hotels will have a much better understanding of where their inventory goes — including to wholesalers — because all of the blocks will be linked, he said.

Are Google, Amazon and Airbnb Coming to Hotel Distribution?

None of the panelists seemed to fear entrances into the travel distribution market from so-called disruptors like Amazon and Google, and in fact most panelists agreed hotels should open up their data and APIs to welcome new entrants.

Related Video: Will Google or Amazon level the hotel distribution playing field against OTAs?

Amazon wasn’t able to crack the space because hoteliers never made it easy for them to access the inventory and data, Bala said.

“I don’t think they’re disruptors, in fact they have very rich data,” he said. “I think it’s important for us to partner and draw influences from that data. Right now, we’re trying to get all that data straight from the customers.”

Harasymiw said that, in general, Google does personalization better than hoteliers. Therefore, instead of feeling threatened by the search giant, the opportunity is there to work with Google and get that information into your revenue management system.

“Now you can price different and give guests what they need,” he said.

Bala said hoteliers need to “personalize what’s being personalized.” Some guests will refuse to tell you information about themselves while others understand that giving hotels their data will improve their experience.

Michelle Felton, Corporate Director of Revenue Strategy for Omni Hotels & Resorts, said Omni recently hired a vice president from the retail industry because that vertical is much further ahead than hotels on e-commerce and personalization.

As far as Airbnb as a distribution channel, the panelists agreed that if a significant number of hotels list their rooms on the site, Airbnb will slowly just start to resemble another OTA. For clarification, Bala said Airbnb’s commission is already close to 15% with about 12% passed on to the guest.

To wrap-up the panel, moderator Sarah Fults, Vice President of Global Distribution for MGM Resorts International, asked each of the speakers to identify their favorite hotel brands for leisure travel (outside of their own).

Harasymiw said Mandarin Oriental, citing the fact that staff members see guests walk in the door and immediately make them feel at home.

Felton said outside of Omni she is “pretty much anti-brand” and will consult TripAdvisor and friends for recommendations on resorts and boutiques.

Bala said he also is brand-agnostic, making decisions on where to stay based on location, reviews and what serves his needs at the time.

Jason Q. Freed, Managing Editor at Duetto
Jason joined Duetto as Managing Editor in June 2015 after reporting, writing and editing hotel industry news for a decade at both print and online publications. He’s passionate about content marketing and hotel technology, which leads to unique perspectives on hotel distribution and revenue management best practices.

www.duettocloud.com