Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week, IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Max Starkov, an industry consultant with over 20 years of experience in hospitality technology and digital marketing. Max shares some strong opinions on the current state of the industry and what it will take for hotels to thrive in the future.

Topics discussed include:

• Why hospitality is currently providing a “subpar home away from home”
• How COVID has accelerated digital transformation by 10 years
• The best way to invest in your property on a limited budget
• The importance of long-term thinking
• How the biggest winners from the pandemic are the OTAs 
• Advice for future revenue leaders

Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful. Please consider leaving us a review wherever you listen to this podcast.

Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week, IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Nele Neirynck, vice president of revenue management strategy, pricing and systems at Accor Hotels. Nele shares her perspectives on the changing role of revenue management and how the pandemic has transformed it for the better.

Other topics discussed include:

• How global companies are planning for the coming travel rebound
• Why hospitality is still the best industry to be employed in
• Necessary skills for future revenue leaders to possess

Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful. Please consider leaving us a review wherever you listen to this podcast.

Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week, IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Mike Chuma, IDeaS’ vice president of marketing, engagement & enablement. In this episode, Mike and Klaus expand on last week’s podcast: Lessons Hospitality Can Learn from Retail with Marco Nijhof. Other topics discussed include:

• The value of data
• Headless commerce
• The increasing importance of merchandising in the hotel industry
• Advice to aspiring commercial leaders

Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful. Please consider leaving us a review wherever you listen to this podcast.

Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week, IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Marco Nijhof, group director of hospitality & guest experience at Value Retail. After having “done it all” in the hospitality industry, Marco applied his vast knowledge and experience in the retail sector. He is passionate about creating the right balance between digital and human interactions to enhance guest loyalty and value. In this episode, Marco shares what hospitality can learn from retail. Topics discussed include:

• The value of engaging guests in experiences vs. transactions
• Focusing on building relationships with the experience
• Reinventing the experience to stay relevant
• Balancing the drive toward efficiency with guest acquisition
• Advice for future revenue leaders

Check out Marco’s article “What I learned from the Retail industry and would apply back into hotels” discussed in the episode.

Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week, IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Jan Arnold, vice president of sales at Rocco Forte Hotels. With over 17 years of working with luxury hotel brands, Jan has a wealth of experience to share. Klaus and Jan discuss a variety of topics including:

• The importance of being able to adjust quickly
• New trend of consumers wanting to interact with/talk directly to a hotel
• How the guests of the future will be different
• Advice for hotel sales leaders and those just starting out in the hospitality industry

Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! On this very special episode the tables are turned and the interviewer, IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr, becomes the interviewee. Ulrich Pillau, CEO & co-founder of Apaleo interviews Klaus on The Pulse by Apaleo: The Voice Of Hospitality Tech Leaders Podcast. We are sharing their insight-packed discussion with you here. Topics addressed include:

• The future of revenue management coming out of the pandemic
• The value of revenue management during periods of low demand and how having the right price is now more important than ever
• How IDeaS was able to recalibrate its revenue management systems to respond to the unprecedented, rapidly changing demand in 2020
• IDeaS’ product updates to accommodate the future of revenue management
• How hospitality companies are using the crisis as an opportunity
• Now is the right time to re-evaluate your business and operations to ensure recovery readiness

Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! On March 8, we gathered over 30 hospitality technology thought leaders for two live sessions hosted on IDeaS’ Hospitality Technology Hub. Hundreds of participants listened to established technology providers, start-ups, consultants, and hoteliers discuss the accelerating pace of innovation in the industry and the lessons learned from the last 12 months. Both sessions, Achieving Commercial Success and Convergence of Data are now available on demand.

On this week’s episode, IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr recaps the Hospitality Technology Hub’s live sessions with Lea Jordan, head of marketing and co-founder of Techtalk.travel, and Enzo Aita, global head of business development at HyperGuest. Both Lea and Enzo helped moderate the majority of the panels and share their key takeaways and perspectives in this episode. Lea also shares her key takeaways from ITB Now.

Thanks for listening! Check out the Hospitality Technology Hub and enjoy the live session recordings:  Achieving Commercial Success and Convergence of Data 

Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week, IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Heidi Albignac, vice president of client operations at IDeaS. In her 20+ years in service and support roles, Heidi has experienced her fair share of black swan events—9/11, the financial crisis, natural disasters, and political unrest. Drawing from those experiences, Heidi helped coordinate IDeaS’ COVID-19 response operation to best support IDeaS’ clients during this difficult time.

In this episode, Heidi and Klaus discuss:

• Key learnings from navigating the last year 
• The importance of diversity and inclusion within the industry 
• Career advice to budding professionals in the wake of COVID

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week, IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Ben Thomas, chief commercial officer at Penta Hotels. Ben has a wealth of knowledge to share with hotel companies in the process of contemplating a move toward a commercial success framework. Topics discussed in this episode include: 

• Observations of hopeful recovery numbers 
• Long-term implications of seemingly small decisions 
• The value of taking a holistic approach to driving business value 
• The post-pandemic evolution of group business 
• Advice for future revenue leaders 

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful. 

Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week, IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Jordan Hollander, co-founder & CEO of Hotel Tech Report—the “Tripadvisor” of hospitality technology. If there is one person who knows what’s happening in the hospitality tech ecosystem, its Jordan. The duo discuss:

• How the hospitality industry will use technology going forward
• How hotels with the right digital infrastructure can pivot quickly in the face of volatility
• The importance of clearly evaluating what’s needed from a guest-experience perspective
• How hotels that come out on top will be the ones with efficient back-end processes
• The importance of having the right tech infrastructure to pick up on current trends in real time and act fast
• The tech stack for futureproofing your hotel
• The evolution of group business in a post-pandemic, work-from-home world

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week, IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Rajiv Trivedi, managing partner at TST Capital. Klaus and Rajiv discuss opportunities for innovation and increased efficiency in the hotel industry. Rajiv believes now is the time to reeducate both guests and the industry in order to finally make technology the value driver it should be.

Topics discussed include:

• Rethinking the industry and retraining guest expectations for greater efficiency and effectiveness without compromising guest expectations and experience
• Technological advancement is now progressing at a much faster pace than ever experienced
• Future of the industry and recovery predictions
• Why this is the best time to be starting out in the hospitality industry

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Steve Green, principal sales specialist for IDeaS’ emerging innovations. Klaus and Steve talk about the opportunities and challenges associated with the expansion of the revenue management discipline and how revenue mangers need to ask the right questions to tell the right story.  

Topics discussed include: 

• Velocity—frequently updated forecasts for decision-makers seeking more information, more often 
• Rolling forecasts becoming more important while rolling budgets are less relevant 
• Emerging innovations outside of revenue management systems 
• The importance of becoming a data storyteller 
• Advice for future revenue leaders 

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful. 

Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week IDeaS’ Chief Evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Karishma Singh, Area Director – Finance and Revenue Management (North Area) at The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL). In this episode, Karishma shares IHCL’s RESET initiative which has not only helped the company weather the current storm but also resulted in creative ways of driving the business forward. Topics discussed include:

• The state of the hospitality industry in India
• The importance of looking beyond room revenue
• The benefits of operating like a startup
• Advice for future revenue managers

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful. 

Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Patrick Wimble, founder of Lightbulb Consulting. The pandemic’s impact on travel and hospitality has left many unemployed with seemingly bleak options. In this episode Patrick shares some of the practical advice he gives out-of-work revenue managers and commercial specialists on turning adversity into opportunity. Topics discussed include:

• How to you set yourself apart from the competition 
• Thinking outside the box in terms of what jobs you are willing to accept 
• Understanding how your skills may transfer to other industries
• Advice for getting your resume to the top of the pile—and read by a human 

Employment resources referenced in this episode:

• Growthworks
• Pricing Platform
• RMAPI 

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

On this very special episode the tables are turned and the interviewer, IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr, becomes the interviewee. Kristi White, vice president of product management at Knowland interviews Klaus on her Bring it On webcast series, and we are sharing their insight-packed discussion with you here. Questions addressed include:

• What to do now that demand has possibly changed forever?
• How can hotels take advantage of dramatically changed booking windows to impact pricing?
• What should hotels be doing now in terms of strategy, marketing and pricing to prepare for pent-up demand?
• How should hotels be rethinking their demand for 2021 and beyond?
•  Is 2019 the benchmark? If not, which year will it be?

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

Happy New Year and welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! This week IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Charles Wang, IDeaS’ assistant vice president responsible for our regional offices in Beijing and Shanghai. It’s been a full calendar year since the COVID-19 outbreak began in Wuhan, China, delivering a crushing blow to the regional—and soon worldwide—hospitality industry. With the country’s ability to keep the pandemic under control, Charles shares how China’s hotel industry has recovered, what changes occurred and the implications this may have for the rest of the world.

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast! We will return with brand new episodes in January after a brief holiday break. In the meantime, here are the Top 5 most popular recent episodes to help you prepare your hotel revenue and commercial strategies for 2021.

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

Episode 18: Rise of the Commercial Strategist

Hyatts’ former head of revenue & distribution strategy Sharad Kapur has helped hotels and resorts develop and grow their revenue management and distribution capabilities around the world. In this episode Sharad shares his views on how the COVID-19 crisis is leading to a fundamental shift in how the industry will generate and optimize revenues, which in turn will lead to the rise of the commercial strategist, an analytically minded leader whose responsibility is to integrate and optimize all revenue streams and maximize total revenue and profitability.

Episode 23: The Future of Corporate Travel & Customer Relationships

Lennert De Jong, chief commercial officer at citizenM, talks the launch of citizenM’s new subscription models as well as the changing purpose of corporate travel, the value of moving away from transactional relationships to customer relationships, and revenue management needing to shift focus to customer lifetime value for long-term impact.

Episode 22: Becoming an Insights & Profit Hunter

David Warman, former SVP experience & enablement marketing at Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts shares significant insights on the changing roles of revenue leaders. He believes revenue managers have a unique set of skills necessary to optimize the performance of their business in these uncertain times.

Episode 25: Getting Dirty with Data – A Chat with Isaac Collazo—a True Data Guy

Isaac Collazo, former VP of competitive intelligence at IHG, unpacks what makes a great data story and how to get dirty with data.

Episode 31: Proactive Tactics & Survival Strategies for 2021

Stephen Hambleton, senior manager of product management at IDeaS and a critical member of IDeaS’ COVID response team, shares some of the key guidance we’ve provided our hotel clients worldwide. Klaus and Stephen also discuss short-term tactics and long-term strategies hotel revenue managers should undertake now to be ready for a potential upswing in demand next year.

Welcome back to the Unconstrained Conversations podcast. This week IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr answers listener-submitted questions for a special “Ask Me Anything” episode of the podcast. Klaus also provides his year-end 2021 hospitality industry outlook.

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

This week IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Cindy Estis Green, founder of Kalibri Labs. Cindy has spent most of her professional lifetime uncovering and surfacing data, demystifying the cost of distribution and getting the hotel industry to think differently. In this episode Cindy shares her insights into the state of the industry, how hotels can make sense of the rapidly shifting economic landscape and her view on direct versus indirect distribution opportunities. Topics discussed include:

• The importance of being mindful of the cost of acquisition and continuing to be selective about the types of business your hotel should accept
• Kalibri Labs’ launch of predictive forecasting to help hotel organizations with the changes in the budgeting process and changing comp sets
• The importance of understanding how your organization’s whole business has changed and realigning resources accordingly

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

This week IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Stephen Hambleton, senior manager of product management at IDeaS. As a critical member of our COVID response team, Stephen shares some of the key guidance we’ve provided our hotel clients worldwide. Klaus and Stephen also discuss short-term tactics and long-term strategies hotel revenue managers should undertake now to be ready for a potential upswing in demand next year.

Reminder, send your hospitality and revenue management related questions for Klaus to answer in an upcoming podcast episode to [email protected] by December 10th.

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

This week IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Claudia Infante, VP of revenue strategy at Margaritaville. Claudia shares how her resort-and-leisure focused organization is coping with travel-related uncertainty and the new opportunities that have presented themselves.

Claudia also introduces Women in Travel Thrive, a new initiative she co-launched with industry colleagues to help reduce the impact of COVID-19 on women’s career progressions. Claudia invites anyone interested in participating to check out the website and reach out to her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudiainfante/.

Other topics discussed in this episode include:

• Tactics for boosting customer ratings and the importance of increasing net promoter score
• Changing consumer priorities, market segments and seasonality
• The importance of taking risks in order to find new opportunities
• Advice for revenue managers starting out in their careers or those needing to pivot

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

This week IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Philip Wolf, founder of Phocuswright. As the founder of a travel industry research company and serial board member for start-ups around the world, Philip has a truly unique perspective on what types of businesses will succeed in the future. Listen to this episode to learn about:

• The current state of travel
• The high value of having a “millennial strategy”
• Why being customer focused is not enough—you need to be customer obsessed 
• The importance of quality, rapid decision-making

Here is the link to the referenced article: https://www.takemobi.com/article-collected-but-neglected

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

This week IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Calvin Anderson, chief commercial officer at Domio. Demand is constantly shifting, consumers are behaving differently, and historical reference points are no longer valid. How does a commercial leader operate within this heightened level of uncertainty? Calvin outlines how his focus on agility—combined with good-old data crunching and a Wall Street trading approach to marketing—is resulting in his properties running at 60 to 90% occupancy throughout the pandemic. 

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

This week IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr hosts a panel discussion with several members of Australia’s hotel investment community. Together they offer a view into Australia’s current hotel market as well as various strategies and outlooks. The hospitality leaders sharing their expertise in this episode are:

• Lucia Grambalova, General Manager of Hotel Investments for Mulpha Australia
• Nigel Greenaway, National Director Hotels at Colliers International Australia (previous head of two of Australia’s leading wholesale hotel investment funds)
• Glen Boultwood, CEO and Co-Founder at Serene Capital, a funds management company with a focus on core property classes (including hotels) and commercial real estate debt
• Howard Kemball, Owner of Kcom Hotel Asset Management

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.

This week IDeaS’ chief evangelist Klaus Kohlmayr speaks with Digna Kolar and Blake Madril. As members of IDeaS’ Advisory Services team, Digna and Blake spend their days helping hotel companies around the world overcome their revenue optimization challenges. In this episode they share their insider knowledge on the current state of the industry as well as advice they give to their hospitality clients about planning for 2021.

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast network and share with colleagues in the travel and hospitality space who may find this episode useful.