According to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travelers, two thirds of them utilize travel videos to inspire, inform and plan their trips, up from less than half two years ago. The most popular source of travel video content is social media channels, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and Snapchat, with 36% accessing travel videos on those platforms, up from 17% of travelers in 2021. Additional insights for HSMAI from Longwoods President & CEO Amir Eylon:
New skills continue to be in demand as technological change and commercial strategy accelerate. Management upskilling now must also include human resource skills, team leadership ability, and soft skills development. The HSMAI Foundation identified staff development, reskilling, and upskilling as one of the top talent trends this year.
Generalists or Specialists?
Perhaps the biggest challenge of 2023 for teams will be that question. In 2019, as the outlook was strong, specialists were rewarded. The pandemic’s wholesale staffing reductions favored the generalists – those who could fill two or three positions or cover several properties, and who would take on operational duties if needed.
As collaborative teams become more common and RevPAR moves ahead of 2019, specialization has become desirable. Gallup estimates that only about one in 10 people naturally possess high levels of managerial talent associated with excellence in the role. Seniority and skill in a non-management position are the typical qualifications for promotion to management. Selection, training, and support of new managers requires skilled development specialists and dedicated coaching.
Making new teams more effective takes more than skills, it requires new behaviors.
Managers and leaders must encourage and support:
Cross-Training
Cross-Training gives teams flexibility to address complex challenges. This is especially crucial as commercial strategies drive technology choices and data availability. Internal mobility across commercial departments and across the organization can increase innovation and promote understanding.
Development opportunities are also a terrific way to retain valued employees and support potential gaps in staffing. Developing existing staff allows for growth in capacity in this tight labor market. Employee retention is enhanced when employees have internal mobility either through being promoted or moving to a new position at the same level, according to LinkedIn Talent Solutions research.
Without internal mobility, 35% of associates will still be employed within three years, with mobility, that 53% will remain.
Automate What You Can
Technology is developing to do more of the mundane work which frees up professionals to do more highly skilled analysis, research new markets, and locate emerging opportunities.
Calls to Action
To read more about the top talent trends, download The State of Hotel Sales, Marketing, and Revenue Optimization Talent 2022-23: HSMAI Foundation Special Report.
According to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travelers, 93% of them have trips planned in the next six months, the highest level in three years. A fifth of them have trips planned within a month, a quarter will travel in one to two months and almost a third have travel planned in three to five months. Insights for HSMAI from Longwoods President & CEO Amir Eylon:
According to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travelers, only 12% of them said that coronavirus would greatly impact their decision to travel in the next six months, the lowest level since the pandemic first appeared three years ago. Concerns about travelers’ personal financial situation greatly influencing their travel plans was cited by nearly twice as many respondents, at 23%, but that was down 7% from a month earlier. Hear more insights for HSMAI from Longwoods President & CEO Amir Eylon:
See full report: American Travel Sentiment Study – Wave 70 For Most Travelers, the Pandemic is Over
According to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travelers, the amount they expect to spend on their holiday travel is declining. “Rising prices and interest rates have created financial uncertainty for many consumers,” said Amir Eylon, President and CEO of Longwoods International, who provides exclusive insights on the findings for HSMAI:
In Longwoods International’s latest look at Holiday Season travel activities: Seven out of ten travelers with plans to travel this holiday season will be visiting friends and relatives! 60% indicate shopping trips… and the biggest areas of growth year over year are visiting museums at 27% (up 6 points from 2021), attend a festival/fair at 25% (up 7 points), and attend a live performance at 21% (up 5 points). Holiday travel is returning more to patterns seen pre-pandemic. Get more insights on the findings for HSMAI from Longwoods President & CEO Amir Eylon:
Daniel Levine, Executive Director, Avant Guide Institute, delivered a keynote address on Global Trends & Evolving Customers…and what they mean for hotel marketing, at the HSMAI Marketing Strategy Conference, part of Commercial Strategy Week 2022.
Mark your calendars for HSMAI Commercial Strategy Week 2023: June 26-29, Toronto, Canada!
Longwoods International’s most recent research looking at American Travel Sentiment towards the current relationship between one’s work and travel as compared to last year, showed several interesting things including:
This likely signals a shift in travelers really needing to disconnect more when they get away for leisure purposes, despite the growing trend of “bleisure” travel! These folks felt always “on” or connected to the office during the pandemic and now are seeking more of a break when it’s “leisure time!” Hear more about the findings from Longwoods President & CEO Amir Eylon, for HSMAI:
The 2021 HSMAI Adrian Awards celebrate the creative and innovative digital marketing, advertising, and public relations work completed during one of the most unique times hospitality and travel has ever seen. The theme for this year’s Adrian Awards is “Empowering Recovery” — a premise that has been top of mind for everyone in this profession. Marketing has been at the forefront of leading the recovery of travel, encouraging guests and visitors to get back on the road, and inspiring them to create the moments and experiences they’ll never forget. At our awards ceremony held in March in Boca Raton, Florida, we honored and recognized the great work done by hotels, destinations, and their agency partners to get travelers moving again, showcase safety and security, and welcome those traveling for the first time in over a year. In this special report, we spotlight the platinum and president’s award winners and showcase their best practices in the categories of digital marketing, public relations, advertising and diversity marketing.
By Peggy Berg, Founder, Castell, an AHLA Foundation Project and Sarah Cozewith, VP Career Development, AHLA Foundation – For the HSMAI Foundation
The importance of elevating women in hospitality to senior executive roles cannot be overstated. Promoting diverse leadership strengthens business profitability and creates a culture of belonging and inclusion.
The good news is gender parity in hospitality is on the rise. In 2021, the industry saw more women in senior executive roles, successfully advancing every aspect of their companies. There are more women on the podium, building their careers and inspiring others. In sales and marketing and revenue management roles, gender representation of women significantly outpaced the general industry’s increase last year.
Across all hospitality fields, women hold 29 percent of positions from VP to Chief levels. However, in sales and marketing, women hold 56 percent of those positions and 58 percent in revenue management.
At the director level, women hold 67 percent of sales and marketing roles, indicating the disparity will increase toward women at higher levels in these fields over time. The director level has been skewed toward women for several years in these fields, highly impacting sales and marketing roles which are held by more than twice the number of women than men.
Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily, however, the potential implications require awareness and caution.
It’s difficult to attract men to fields dominated by women, just as it has been difficult to build female representation in male-dominated fields. For instance, attracting women to technology and finance has been challenging, while K-12 education and nursing have seen an increase in men, but remain strongly skewed toward women.
On average, diverse teams perform better across business endeavors. Diverse teams access a wider array of talent, connect to a broader market, and possess differentiated ideas and skills. When a field is dominated by one group, it becomes less desirable or exclusionary to others, and the access that comes from diversity suffers. There is also a compensation risk. Historically, “women’s jobs” have paid less. Gender balance is part of keeping compensation in fields like revenue management and marketing competitive with male-dominated fields like finance.
Recognizing the growing imbalance, it is important to deliberately attract and develop men as well as women to revenue management and sales and marketing careers.
AHLA and AHLA Foundation are proud to support women in hospitality with leadership programs tailored specifically to their advancement, including ForWard and BUILD and ELEVATE. A full report on Women in Hospitality Leadership 2022 is available at https://www.ahla.com/sites/default/files/women_in_hospitality_industry_leadership_0.pdf.
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