Alan Newton
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Articles by Alan Newton
Are hotels becoming software companies? Mews and Bob W. hotels seem to believe so according to a new article on Hospitality Net. They see the shift. They’re underestimating where it leads. The… | Pedro Colaco | 16 comments
Are hotels becoming software companies? Mews and Bob W. hotels seem to believe so according to a new article on Hospitality Net. They see the shift. They’re underestimating where it leads. The average full-service hotel now runs 20+ different systems. TV, Wifi, PMS, Key cards, Payments, Web, Booking engine, CRS, RMS, CRM, channel manager, upsell tools, guest messaging... Each one promises optimization. Each one captures a slice of revenue. None orchestrates the guest experience.
#hotels #virtualtours #sales #marketing
The hospitality sector faces an interesting paradox. 78% of hotel chains have adopted AI systems (Source: Oracle), but the properties who experience a sustained growth in loyalty don't necessarily have the most sophisticated automation. The best-in-class hotels have worked out how digital and human touch-points work together. For example, a virtual tour doesn't replace human interaction, instead it creates the conditions for better, richer, and deeper human interaction.
What Marriott Must Get Right : 4Hoteliers
History is full of examples where big companies have bought smaller, innovative ones, before accidentally stripping away the very things that made them special. In fact, this article follows on from a previous blog I wrote on the CitizenM acquisition, which sparked a huge amount of interest and feedback. There were concerns, hopes, and thoughtful insights from hoteliers, consultants, travellers, and those with a stake in the hospitality industry.
Monday, 5th May 2025 : 4Hoteliers
CitizenM, known for its compact luxury model and strong brand identity, has carved a niche among Millennials and Gen Z travellers who value authenticity, tech integration, and urban-centric living. The Acquisition Importantly, CitizenM has retained ownership of its real estate, with Marriott Hotels acquiring the brand and management platform. This structure allows Marriott to continue its commitment to an asset-light strategy whilst benefiting from CitizenM’s proven urban footprint.
What One Psychological Test Taught Me About Coaching With Empathy
Not long ago, I took a quirky little test online, the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test. It was created by psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen and it asks you to look at 36 close-up photos of eyes, then guess the emotion or mental state behind them. No voice, no body language, just theeyes. Sounds simple, right? The first time I took it, I scored 33 out of 36. Today, out of curiosity, I tried it again. This time I got 30. Pretty high both times, but the numbers weren’t really the point.
Exonerated Man Who Spent Years in Prison in NY Calls for Public Financing of Elections
Alan Newton (Courtesy photo) At the age of 24, I was wrongfully convicted of rape and sentenced to forty years in prison in New York. My journey through the system taught me patience, resilience and perseverance, for a start. It also taught me about the importance of a true democracy where government is accountable to the people. This year in Albany, I urge our leaders to make this aspiration a reality by passing public financing of elections and automatic voter registration.
Top 8 tips for creating engaging presentations
Leading a successful and engaging presentation uses a skill set that takes much time and practice in developing. It can be slightly nerve-racking to look out into a sea of people who look a little uninterested, as a crowd of interactive participants makes the public speaking much easier. Whatever stage you’re at in your career, learning good presentation skills is an important ability to develop in the world of work.
One year until Brexit: hospitality sector view
In an industry so reliant on reputation, loyalty and recommendation, there is concern that after Brexit businesses won’t have the staff to carry out basic functionality and keep guests happy and returning. Just a handful of businesses had been able to plan or prepare for Brexit in 2017, which is unsurprising given the ‘unknown’ to plan for. While it may seem impossible to prepare right now, businesses should start thinking about how they would manage a changed employment and supplier landscape.
Top 5 reasons why you should interact with your audience
There seem to be a lot of articles offering tips on how you can improve the way you interact with your audience at events but not many explaining why you should interact with them in the first place. So why should you interact with your audience? We have focused on the top five reasons why you should interact with your audience. Some of these reasons benefit you as the host/organiser, others benefit the audience and others benefit everyone involved.
What next for the agency model?
Following on from Marriott’s commission reduction last month ‘Why Marriott's New Agency Commission Has Been A Long Time Coming’, Hilton recently followed suit, reducing group sales commission rates from 10% to 7% for hotels in the US and Canada. It remains difficult to predict exactly how the future unfolds despite Marriott being joined by Hilton.
Meeting Martin: Getting drunk | Conference News
The other week, CN ran a blog about the events industry and its predilection for a cheeky tipple (read: some of us need to wind our necks in). You can read it here when you're finished on my blog. I love a pint: the whole pub experience is something that matters quite a lot to me. Give me a 17th Century pub decorated with crusty old barrels and horse brasses and I’ll swoon with nostalgic levity.
Why Marriott's new agency commission has been a long time coming | Conference News
As a business, you can’t blame Marriott for making a sweeping change to their commissions policy, reducing it from 10% to 7% for groups business in the US. There, I said it. “Sell Out!”, some will scream. “You wouldn’t have said that as an agent!” some may say. Only, I frequently did, and occasionally in a more public forum. However, let me be clear, I did not advocate for such a change, I merely felt it was an inevitable consequence of how the industry has been operating.
A View from Across the Pond
Only a week after the inauguration of the 45th President of the United States of America, and coinciding with the visit of the UK Prime Minister, we were Stateside for a sequence of meetings across 3 States and Metropolitan centres - Atlanta (Georgia), New York (New York), and Chicago (Illinois). It was certainly an interesting time to visit.
Combating Mental Health Issues
“Donations to Mind treble after news emerges of footballer’s mental health problems” was the headline on Third Sector, after Everton and England footballer Aaron Lennon was detained under the Mental Health Act in May this year. Indeed, the response from the footballing community was quite unexpected given the past stigma about mental health. Fans took to social media to show support.
ISES Rebrands - A New Name, A New Vision
After much industry debate and a number of tongue in cheek comments about what has now become an unfortunate name, ISES, the widely used acronym in respect of the the International Special Events Society, the US headquartered association have today announced a global rebrand, owing to the phonetic similarity with terrorist organisation Isis, also known as IS (Islamic State), Isil and Daesh / Da’ish.
Swiss Think-Tank Identifies Key Industry Trends
We recently attended “Window to the Future”, an exclusive think-tank summit with 100+ hospitality leaders who come together to discuss issues that will impact the entire industry. The think-tank is a Swiss knowledge initiative of Lausanne Hospitality Consulting (LHC) and the world’s foremost hospitality school – and Eventopedia educational partner – Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL).
More Twists & Turns in Marriott-Starwood Takeover
We commented last week – New Interested Party in Marriott & Starwood Merger – that we would be surprised if the Angbang approach to takeover Starwood would succeed, in part because the strategic fit with Marriott makes a lot of sense.
Essay: Call everyone to restore child-care subsidies
“Now, so there will be no misunderstanding, it is not my intention to do away with government. It is, rather, to make it work – work with us, not over us; to stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it.” Work or welfare?
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