Intro- 00:00:04: Welcome to the Resort Second podcast introduced by Revinate. The podcast the place we talk about how resort expertise shapes each second of the hotelier’s expertise. This podcast is hosted by Karen Stevens, Chief Advertising and marketing Officer of Revinate, and he or she is joined by leaders within the hospitality trade. Tune in as we discover the cutting-edge expertise reworking the hospitality trade and listen to from consultants and visionaries shaping the way forward for visitor experiences. Whether or not you’re a hotelier or a tech fanatic, you’re in the correct place. Let’s dive in and uncover how we will elevate the artwork of hospitality collectively.
Karen Stephens – 00:00:46: Howdy, and welcome to the Resort Second podcast. I’m your host, Karen Stephens, the Chief Advertising and marketing Officer of Revinate. On in the present day’s episode, we’re thrilled to have Joe Pettigrew, a seasoned industrial chief within the hospitality trade, at the moment serving because the Chief Business Officer at EOS Hospitality. With over 15 years of expertise, Joe has held key roles at outstanding organizations, together with Starwood Capital, ShoreRock Group, and Principal Inns. His experience spans model administration, asset administration, and income maximization, the place he has pioneered methods to drive operational excellence and profitability throughout numerous resort portfolios. Joe is acknowledged for his revolutionary approaches to enhancing income streams, and he’s right here in the present day to share his helpful insights. Welcome to the present, Joe.
Joe Pettigrew- 00:01:30: Thanks very a lot, Karen. Thanks for having me.
Karen Stephens – 00:01:33: It’s a pleasure. So I wished to start out off. Let’s speak a bit bit about EOS Hospitality. I do know you simply came to visit to EOS from Starwood Capital Group, however are you able to give us sort of the ten,000 foot view of what’s EOS? What does the portfolio appear to be?
Joe Pettigrew- 00:01:47:EOS is definitely most likely one of many quickest rising, if not the quickest rising resort funding firm within the US in the present day, within the final 4 or 5 years for certain. And since it has a completely built-in administration platform referred to as EOS Hospitality, And so it’s on a very nice trajectory for supercharged development. Many of the accommodations that we handle in the present day are distinctive and particular person accommodations with nice character and superb places. So all of them are typically impartial properties, the overwhelming majority of them, which is basically sort of what attracted me to hitch the corporate as I’m truly very, very new right here myself.
Karen Stephens – 00:02:39: That’s glorious. So that you stated one thing there. I imply, I feel all people is aware of what a administration firm is, clearly, however you stated an built-in expertise administration platform. Are you able to speak a bit bit about that? So are you saying that there’s a tech stack that sort of goes all through the accommodations or what did you imply by that one?
Joe Pettigrew- 00:02:55: I meant to say built-in administration platform, that means only a administration firm that manages each resort that EOS owns.
Karen Stephens – 00:03:04: Acquired it. So the asset firm and the administration firm are the identical entity.
Joe Pettigrew- 00:03:08: Technically two entities, however actually the identical firm. Yeah, led by the identical founder.
Karen Stephens – 00:03:13: Superior. Okay, that’s nice. Yeah, I’ll say EOS is certainly one of our prospects, and we’ve labored with you for some time and we completely love the portfolio. I feel what’s attention-grabbing is that when you might have that range and independence, it’s like you may have a typical administration framework, however all the manufacturers are a bit totally different. In order that’s thrilling, I’m certain.
Joe Pettigrew- 00:03:32: Positively. And actually essentially the most thrilling half about it’s, I imply, as you realize, the resort trade is so fragmented between possession, model, and administration. And quite a lot of the inefficiencies and difficulties that all of us affiliate with working within the hospitality trade, quite a lot of that form of go away as a result of there’s a full alignment between the possession, model, and administration, particularly whenever you run quite a lot of impartial accommodations — we don’t actually have manufacturers to take care of. So that’s the actual bonus when you might have that totally built-in construction.
Karen Stephens – 00:04:04: That could be very thrilling. So I wished to speak about industrial technique right here for a second as a result of I really feel like industrial technique has been round for some time. I simply had a visitor on the podcast, Jennifer Hill from Kalibri Labs, who stated it’s an “evolution, not a revolution.” So lots of people have been doing industrial technique for some time, but it surely appears to be getting increasingly more focus. We simply had HSMAI that occurred this week, the place the main focus is basically on industrial technique. However it’s one thing that you simply’ve been doing, I do know, for a very long time. Your method — I’ve seen quite a lot of talks. Are you able to simply give the very best stage view of what industrial technique is and the way it impacts hospitality?
Joe Pettigrew- 00:04:45: Yeah, and I feel the way in which it occurred, I’m certain all people has their very own definition and model of what they consider after they say industrial technique. For me, it was born out of only a pure necessity that I used to be working in a Starwood Capital Group as one of many largest resort possession teams on the earth, however not managing any of the accommodations ourselves. That, we had so as to add worth by way of by working with third-party administration corporations for many of the accommodations that we personal, that I wanted to give you what I might name a industrial technique to basically transfer the oldsters which might be managing our properties into one route. And that one route being crucial, form of the North Star, if you’ll, to actually transfer the needle on the resort there. And a easy one-liner explains that to ensure that this resort to actually outperform our present anticipated efficiency, the resort must do X. And that X is broad sufficient the place it touches operations, income administration, gross sales, and advertising. However then if everybody understands the objective is that this one sentence, clear goal, easy to grasp imaginative and prescient, then it forces everybody to realign what they’re doing and the way they’re enthusiastic about their very own pricing methods and even visitor service methods and out-of-order upkeep, every thing to be aligned with that North Star. And since it doesn’t have the posh of managing particular person industrial leaders on a day-to-day foundation, sitting on the asset administration facet, that I needed to form of develop the best strategy to ship. Right here is the chance. Our imaginative and prescient must be executing on this stuff. Now this turns into the imaginative and prescient. All people, we have to create our personal sub-strategies and techniques with a view to ship on that. And in order that grew to become the industrial technique solely as a result of it needed to be one thing that each division needed to take part in, not simply income.
Karen Stephens – 00:06:52: And I feel that that’s what I like about it a lot, as a result of I feel historically, as you talked about, your gross sales staff has sure objectives, your income supervisor has sure objectives, and f all people will get in line, whether or not it’s transferring the needle on internet working earnings or ensuring you get the correct channel combine whenever you’re speaking about the way you’re approaching visitor…And I’ve seen you do some talks on that as nicely. So that’s actually attention-grabbing. And I feel for our listeners — quite a lot of our listeners are entrepreneurs inside a resort, they’re income managers. I feel you convey such a novel perspective because the asset administration firm, because the possession firm. What you’re all in favour of is ensuring that the asset itself will increase in worth. And if folks can begin to perceive what strikes the needle there, it makes it quite a bit simpler to get issues executed on the resort. What I imply by that’s, if price range season’s coming round, if I can speak to an proprietor with that lens, I’m going to be extra profitable.
Joe Pettigrew- 00:07:48: 100%. And for many of us who’re working within the resort, so that’s principally anybody in addition to the oldsters who work on the model facet. However if you happen to’re working within the resort or as a part of the administration firm, otherwise you’re working as a part of the possession group, actually the one factor that ever issues in measuring the success of the resort that you simply’re working in is the NOI. Nothing else issues. Loyalty share doesn’t matter. Direct reserving share doesn’t matter. What number of followers you might have on Instagram doesn’t matter. What number of emails — open price, however none of that stuff truly issues. The one factor that issues is the NOI. Now, with a view to enhance that NOI, all of these KPIs that I simply sort of whittled on, all can have some affect in driving that NOI. However the magnitude of what every a kind of issues make the largest affect will likely be totally different for each resort in several places, relying on which model you might have and what sort of amenities you might have. And so you may’t method any certainly one of these with a quite simple mindset of like, I imply, “Direct reserving share, you’re solely like 20%, I’m 40%.” That comparability will not be truthful when the one factor that basically issues is we have to simply maximize on the NOI. I all the time joke that I could make all of the OTAs go away. Like I could make a 100% direct reserving share by simply turning off all my OTAs and every thing, however your NOI will go down. And in order that’s a simple factor for me to attain. So if you happen to focus a staff on direct reserving share, folks will do some unusual issues to ship on like KPI on the sacrifice of what the ultimate quantity appears to be like like.
Karen Stephens – 00:09:25: So if you happen to’re dumping your price, so that you flip off every thing, you dump your price to the ground as a way to get all of the enterprise straight, that may not be the most effective technique.
Joe Pettigrew- 00:09:33: 100%. And/or simply flip off all the OTAs. The one channel you may ever guide in your resort is your personal web site, then I’ve the most effective direct reserving share on the earth, however that’s no —- that is probably not the correct factor or the most effective factor for the resort’s general revenue.
Karen Stephens – 00:09:47: Proper. Effectively, let’s speak a bit bit about OTAs as a result of I noticed that you simply spent a while at Expedia. I spent a while at Travelocity. I’ll say for our listeners, each of these instances had been fairly restricted and early in our careers. However bear in mind, I used to be there, truly moved round quite a bit. However anyway, backside line, when you concentrate on OTAs and the place that they’ve inside a resort guide of enterprise, how do you concentrate on the OTA? When is it good? When is it dangerous? And the way do you shift the share? As a result of we undoubtedly wish to drive straight. We’re not saying that. However what do you concentrate on it?
Joe Pettigrew- 00:10:16: So I undoubtedly suppose that they’re a helpful accomplice in nearly each situation. And the largest purpose why I feel that they’re a great accomplice most often is as a result of if you happen to actually do a deep dive research of the overlap of shoppers between who books straight on their web site versus the purchasers which might be reserving on the OTAs. That overlap isn’t that sturdy. Like there’s not an amazing overlap there. And so the purchasers which might be reserving on the OTAs for you might be greater than possible not going to be diluting the bookings that you simply’re going to get straight in your web site or in your voice. And so it’s a must to deal with that as one other pool of a supply of demand that you realize exists that you understand how to make the most of greatest relying on what you’re wanted. And so, for instance, I’m generalizing right here, however one of many nice issues about working at Starwood in my final function was that I started working with so many alternative manufacturers and so many alternative administration corporations — numerous totally different asset lessons. However typically talking, the OTAs all the time had a really brief reserving window, nearly throughout the board. So if you realize that that’s true and you realize what your profitability margin is for a short-term reserving versus a long-term reserving, then you may actually leverage the OTAs to drive your NOI. And what I imply by that’s if I had been to promote a room at 100 {dollars} and I’ve a hundred-room resort, the very first visitor that I guide at 100 {dollars} has a adverse NOI as a result of I’ve a hard and fast price of the entrance desk employees and all of the admin basically and gross sales and advertising. I’ve all of the mounted price bases which might be in-built to service the primary visitor that books. The final visitor that books the a hundredth reserving that I get for 100 {dollars}, that one has nearly 60% circulation by way of as a result of all my mounted charges have already been paid for by the primary 50 bookings that I guide. And so if the OTAs is the one that’s delivering me that final reserving at $100, then truly the revenue margin on that’s a lot better than the direct reserving that I acquired for the very first reserving that I booked in. And so if you understand how you’re using the OTAs to return in at what reserving window and what lead time and so forth, you can also make it extremely worthwhile. And it doesn’t must be the costly channel that everyone is so anxious about on a regular basis. Controversial assertion, I acknowledge.
Karen Stephens – 00:12:45: It’s. And I wish to ensure that we put it in context as a result of I feel each channel has its function and place. What you’re saying is, “Hey, if you’ll want to prime off your resort to fill these previous few rooms, okay. However the first few rooms, you wish to just be sure you’re not paying an enormous fee on that.” And naturally, we all know that there’s reserving home windows in every single place. However I feel the way in which that we give it some thought is Revinate is that if you happen to perceive who your greatest, most worthwhile visitors are and after they guide, and what they like, and the way you service them, then hopefully you may fill quite a lot of these rooms with repeat visitors as a result of you realize their traits or you may share knowledge throughout portfolios and remarket. So if Joe went and stayed on this resort and likes to golf and eat sushi, that I’m going to market a second resort within the portfolio that may goal Joe primarily based on that data. And that’s a direct reserving that’s clever. So I feel if I perceive what you’re saying, OTAs needs to be a praise. They need to be incremental visitors that you simply wouldn’t in any other case get. After which that is smart. Is {that a} truthful assertion? I need phrases in your mouth.
Joe Pettigrew- 00:13:48: That’s precisely proper. As a result of like I stated, the primary bookings that you simply get, the price of service — then is much more costly. And in order that’s the place you wish to give attention to ensuring you get these visitors on the most cost-effective price as attainable. After which the nearer you get to your resort getting full, that previous few rooms to prime up, these are your most cost-effective ones. And so you can be extra liberal about the place you might be getting that reserving from as a result of the revenue margin on that’s a lot larger.
Karen Stephens – 00:14:15: It’s a lot larger. So I feel it’s actually understanding, what are your segments? What are your reserving home windows? How are you advertising to these visitors to be sure to get the repeat visitors in? And do you might have methods at your resort whenever you do have OTA visitors that are available in to just be sure you get the e-mail or what are your methods or what are your recommendation for folks on property? To transform that OTA visitors, as soon as they get there.
Joe Pettigrew- 00:14:38: I’m certain you’ve heard of each tactic on the earth. You get a card at checkout or come again for 20-30% off or a few of these different issues. The one factor that I’ve discovered fairly efficient and certainly one of my favourite techniques on that’s truly discovering out who the repeat prospects are that guide on the OTAs and discover out who they’re. After which you may method these folks proactively, whether or not that’s on arrival, in-stay, or perhaps even pre-arrival, that you simply attempt to get a few of these as a result of they’re clearly loyal to your resort. They love the product. They love the service. They love your employees. However someway, OTA is their most popular reserving platform. And so I feel that’s the space the place I’ve seen quite a lot of success in simply making them really feel that additional particular and really making them perceive that, Hey, if you happen to like us, whenever you guide by way of a few of these OTAs, it does price us a bit extra money. It will truly assist us out if you happen to did guide straight. And in return, we get much more details about you. And we will service you even higher whenever you come stick with us at this different resort, which you haven’t stayed with us but. However whenever you go there, you’ll get the identical stage of service that you simply’re getting.” And I feel simply explaining these advantages and concentrating on those who’re already in love along with your resort by reserving on OTAs, have been very efficient.
Karen Stephens – 00:16:00: Yeah, we will’t assume that our visitors are within the resort trade and perceive the distinction between reserving direct and reserving on an OTA. So that’s critically vital. We clearly are linked into quite a lot of PMS techniques with our platform. And what we see is about 17% of a visitor database on common has visitor profiles with a number of OTA bookings. So we see that always. We’ve got a benchmark report, the place it appears to be like in any respect of these accommodations, and you’ll see that knowledge. And what we suggest is following up with what we name a “win-back marketing campaign.” So when that visitor checks out, it’s like, “Hey, subsequent time guide direct, we’ll offer you a free drink.” You may provide this. There’s quite a lot of issues you are able to do there. However that’s completely the place the sneakiness will get in of the place the OTA could also be. You don’t need them coming again on an OTA channel.
Joe Pettigrew- 00:16:47: Yeah. And very often they’re there to do some sort of enterprise. So having like a gross sales coordinator or any individual reaching out to them to make them really feel much more particular. And you discover out he’s like a window cleaner within the space or one thing, you realize, and then you definately may give them a negotiated break. Make them really feel much more particular. There’s simply numerous issues you can do.
Karen Stephens – 00:17:03: You simply acquired to get your arms across the knowledge, which is basically vital. And I’d like to shift gears a bit bit. Talking about knowledge, you’ve spoken quite a bit in regards to the significance of particular person pricing and hyper-personalization that affect whole RevPAR. In order that’s one other new enjoyable factor that we’re speaking about. Not solely the room spend, however the ancillary spend round that. So how do you concentrate on that for accommodations, and the way are you capturing that knowledge to be sure to perceive the true worth of the visitor? What’s the significance there?
Joe Pettigrew- 00:17:30: I’ve to confess that I haven’t actually cracked this but. And I ponder if there’s one thing that you simply guys provide or anyone else gives that I’m not conscious of but. Primarily, we’ve got nice expertise to attribute each single contact level the visitor has ever had earlier than that particular person makes a reserving, proper? And I feel the expertise that has developed a lot, and there’s numerous nice sources on the market that may assist you perceive what contact factors are driving what interplay and what’s nice for consciousness model and so forth and so forth. However that form of attribution sort of stops the second the visitor makes a reserving. After which it doesn’t truly comply with that visitor by way of till checkout after which for the complete life cycle of that visitor. So relying on what has been sort of proven to the visitor, how we marketed, how that visitor booked, then what occurs on the spa with the F&B, with the golf and simply form of every thing else that you can do at your resort. And that’s the one which I might love to determine in some unspecified time in the future, is how can we truly try this higher simply as an trade basically? However actually for our accommodations.
Karen Stephens – 00:18:41: So, Joe, in your profession spanning numerous management roles, you’ve navigated by way of financial downturns and market shifts. What classes have you ever realized about resilience in income administration? And might you discuss how these classes can information hoteliers? So we got here out of COVID, which was fairly loopy interval. Now we’re all feeling good once more. However what sort of classes had been the teachings realized in navigating by way of that? How do you assist hoteliers sort of shield themselves? Is there a method to consider it or do you simply keep on?
Joe Pettigrew- 00:19:09: Personally, for me, I feel the largest lesson was we have to do a much less of trying up to now to information our future somewhat than we have to begin simply taking a look at some extra indicators that can principally assist us look into the long run with out like trying into the previous. So in case you are a income supervisor or only a hotelier basically, what we do rather well is after we forecast out into the long run as we go. What did we do? What was our pickup within the final seven days? Or what did we decide up within the month for the month? What was our pickup like final yr right now? And we maintain trying in our again mirror to attempt to predict the long run. However what occurred within the COVID is that issues had been transferring so shortly that if you happen to had been trying within the again mirror to information your future, it was going to be completely flawed as a result of issues had been going like this, after which issues are going like this once more. And so for about two, three years, if you happen to’re trying within the back-mirror, you had been flawed the entire two or three years, otherwise you simply don’t know when issues are going up. You suppose issues are taking place. And when issues are beginning to come down once more, you suppose issues are going up since you’re taking a look at three, 4 months in the past when the traits are actually sort of curving over. So I feel that’s actually the largest factor. And I do additionally, every time I communicate with expertise distributors, I ask them on a regular basis, significantly with the income administration corporations or forecasting or finance-related corporations, that. “There should be some main indicators that we will have a look at to see how the demand is shaping out into the long run?” I imply, the retail or different industries do a significantly better job of taking a look at cellular knowledge, motion, flight, variety of searches occurring, occasions which might be occurring, folks, what the emptiness price is within the workplaces, to what number of vehicles are passing by poles. I don’t know, there’s simply so a lot of most of these knowledge on the market that we don’t actually have a tendency to have a look at as a lot. And I can see now some corporations are beginning to develop a few of these applied sciences, and the accommodations are beginning to use them extra. However I might say that that’s the largest lesson that I’ve realized, and that, curiously, in COVID-19, I truly noticed this in actual time the place when the nation began to close down, I noticed this in real-time transferring from east to west. It began from China, then like Singapore, every thing shut down. After which it got here out to Italy and Europe. The accommodations had been shutting down and just like the demand was falling aside. And as all of this stuff are occurring, I’m telling our accommodations within the U.S., “Look, that is coming. Like it’s slowly however absolutely transferring. And everybody over right here is in denial. However it hasn’t hit us but. So I don’t wish to do something about it till it truly hits us.” After which it did hit us — each single one. After which after some time, it went the opposite route. The U.S. began to open up every thing, and I may see the demand identical to beginning to come again from west to east. After which nobody in Europe wished to do something about it after seeing what’s occurring within the U.S. , all these large booms in home journey and beachy drive-to resort vacation spot holidays. I imply, they had been all actually booming, and nobody was making ready for that in Europe till you had been sort of hit with it. So simply having the ability to put together for trying on the main indicators and searching into the long run and really making ready forward of time as a way to higher reap the benefits of that when it does lastly arrive.
Karen Stephens – 00:22:40: Yeah, I feel that’s an amazing piece of recommendation. And whenever you had been speaking there, I used to be considering it’s true that up till COVID, hospitality had been, you realize, we’re all the time a bit slower than all people else. We’re very set in our methods. We’ve got our expertise stacks. We have a look at our numbers. We do every thing. , I have a look at my star reviews. I do all my issues. And that basically sort of disrupted every thing. And now as we’re transferring into this period, it’s like, “Yeah, go searching. What are different industries doing? What are the opposite methods that you could watch the traits?” And who would have thought that after the largest crash and every thing closed, then goes to the very best ADRs we’ve ever seen — occupancy ranges by way of the roof, relying on the place your resort was. So all bets are off. So I’ve another query so that you can shut out that’s sort of alongside these traces. In order you survey the hospitality panorama proper now, the place do you suppose accommodations are having their second or spark of innovation, particularly with regards to expertise? You talked about that you simply’re taking a look at totally different distributors, however are you seeing something sort of that’s coming on the market that’s actually cool and attention-grabbing at this level?
Joe Pettigrew- 00:23:43: I don’t suppose that is technology-related, though I feel it’s technology-enabled. I do see quite a lot of corporations now actually specializing in visitor expertise as advertising. The place pre-COVID, every time we discuss advertising, it’s about consciousness. It’s about consideration. There’s a complete typical traditional advertising funnel. And it’s about what we put in entrance of the visitors and the way we get transformed higher and speaking about all these totally different theories for bettering conversion and copywriting and all of these items. Whereas now, I feel quite a lot of corporations are actually taking a look at buyer expertise being the primary differentiator and really creating visitor advocacy somewhat than simply shopping for their loyalty from factors. I feel this stuff are the place quite a lot of focus is. And definitely, that’s the place our focus is at EOS proper now could be, actually simply specializing in buyer expertise — providing one thing distinctive and totally different stuffed with character and superb places that prompts advocacy from the visitors which have stayed with us. And I feel there’s nothing extra highly effective than phrase of mouth. And now that’s amplified by way of social media channels. And on the similar time, all of those conventional outbound advertising techniques are form of turning into much less and fewer efficient. And so they’re actually tougher to deploy as nicely, proper? With all of the modifications occurring and cookies and rules, attempting to reinforce privateness. So I feel that’s one piece of innovation that I see, which is basically enhancing buyer expertise to be completely distinctive, memorable, that can immediate folks to form of advocate in your behalf and unfold the phrase of mouth.
Karen Stephens – 00:25:29: Completely. A number of personalization, numerous give attention to the visitor expertise. I really like that. Effectively, thanks, Joe. We’ll depart it there. My visitor has been Joe Pettigrew from EOS Hospitality. Thanks a lot to your time in the present day.
Joe Pettigrew- 00:25:40: Thanks, Karen.
Outro – 00:25:46: Thanks for becoming a member of us on this episode of Resort Second by Revinate. Our neighborhood of hoteliers is rising each week, and every visitor we communicate to is tackling trade challenges with the innovation and adaptability that our trade calls for. When you loved in the present day’s episode, don’t neglect to subscribe, price, and depart a evaluation. And if you happen to’re listening on YouTube, please just like the video and subscribe for extra content material. For extra data, head to revinate.com/hotelmomentpodcast. Till subsequent time, maintain innovating.