Do you think the future is tech-enabled hospitality?
Oh absolutely—it’s tech-enabled, because the amount of data and the amount of decisions that hotels need to make, combined with the shortage in labour and the squeeze on profit margins, leaves people no other choice than to invest in technology.
When you think on the revenue management side, people need to make five million pricing decisions every year. You can only do that through tech and that’s true in marketing, sales, and many other commercial and operational areas.
How can hoteliers maximize tech investments for revenue, efficiency, and guest experience?
All of that needs to be synchronized—and it literally is converging together.
You need to have access to the right data, a connected technology infrastructure, and integrations that ensure you have data you can trust, moving seamlessly between the different platforms you have.
You need to be able to turn that data into decisions and actionable outcomes, as quickly and as automated as possible whether that’s on the operational side, the revenue side, or across the broader commercial platform.
Amid ITB’s innovations, how can hoteliers stay agile and choose the right tech?
Think about the broader ecosystem when choosing what technology to implement. Don’t just think about the individual piece, but how it connects and fits into your broader technology stack.
There’s a lot of innovation out there. There are more and more tech providers—but not all of them have the same level of connectivity, integrations, or partnerships.
So when you pick a technology capability, make sure it fits within the broader perspective. Don’t think about it in isolation.
How can technology help hoteliers unlock new revenue beyond room sales?
Absolutely relevant. Every Chief Commercial Officer I talk to wants to merchandise. They want to sell anything that’s available in a hotel, or maybe even beyond.
Luckily, technology now allows you to do that.
You need a marketing stack that can identify which customers are most likely to convert for which products. You need the right booking engine. You need a revenue management system that provides dynamic decisions, not just on rooms but across all revenue streams.
And you need to think in terms of total revenue opportunities and total profitability as you optimise your business.
How can hotels use tech to deliver authentic, personalised experiences?
There’s a lot of talk about AI. The most critical part is to keep the human in the loop and that applies to experiences too.
Having the opportunity and capability to merchandise at a personal level, understanding customer needs and behaviours, and partnering with the right providers to offer those authentic experiences is going to be key.
In a tech-enabled world, we’re all craving more authentic experiences, creating better memories, and you can do that through technology if you have the right components in place.
Is the future of hospitality tech in specialized platforms or all-in-one solutions?
It’s a different answer. It’s about having the best-connected technology components.
It’s not about having an all-in-one solution or the best individual tools. It’s about how all these pieces connect, how they come together, and how you use them as a package to provide the best possible outcomes.
What are you most excited about for IDeaS in the next year?
I’m excited about pushing innovation even further.
We’ve had 35 years of uninterrupted innovation. Last year, we launched our cruise revenue management solution. We made investments into our revenue management platform—not just for rooms, but also for all revenue streams.
This year, we’ll broaden that—on the cruise side with new clients, and with more capabilities to help not just revenue managers but commercial leaders automate their decision-making.
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