In this announcement episode of Hotel Moment, Brenna Turpin, Marketing Coordinator at Revinate, previews the upcoming 2026 Hospitality Benchmark Report — Revinate's 11th annual data analysis providing actionable insights for hotels worldwide. Drawing from over 12,500 customer properties and analyzing more than 2 billion emails, 28 million guest reviews, 4 million calls, and 22 million text messages, this report serves as a strategic training manual for the modern hospitality landscape.


What you'll learn: 
● Why having technology tools doesn't make you super—knowing, how to use them together does 
● The sobering revenue reality: hotels globally lost $488 in incremental revenue per room in 2025 (28% drop) despite 34% database growth 
● Regional performance disparities: APAC's 24% email revenue increase vs. North America's 14% decline 
● Why North America's top-tier data capture doesn't translate to revenue without execution strategy 
● Database health as the superhero foundation: declining rich guest profiles and rising OTA email masking (34% in EMEA, 22% globally) 
● The engagement crisis: only 16% of guests globally respond to messaging, meaning 84% of communications are invisible 
● The critical role of phone capture stuck at 56% globally 
● Four channels that unleash guest engagement: email (direct and powerful), voice (personal and revenue-driving), messaging (instant impact), and web capture (first-party AI enabler) 
● Region-specific insights for North America, APAC, EMEA, and global markets 
● Actionable benchmarks segmented by property size and hotel class 
● How AI and automation multiply impact when database health is strong 
● Why 2026 is the year strategy trumps volume as guests' attention spans shorten and wallet share fragments

Learn why execution quality matters more than tool possession and discover how top-performing hotels turn everyday technology into genuine competitive advantages through database strength, strategic activation, and precision personalization.

Sign up to receive the report at revinate.com/benchmark2026 

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Instructions on how to do this are here.


Connect with Brenna Turpin here:

• LinkedIn
• Revinate

Follow the podcast here:

• LinkedIn

Episode Highlights:
[01:05] Tools don't make superheroes - Brenna sets the stage: "Having the tools doesn't make you super. Knowing how to use them together — that's what turns you into a hotel superhero." With every gadget imaginable available, from PMS to AI assistants, the real challenge is strategic alignment rather than technology acquisition.

[03:03] Database health foundation - Critical metrics reveal declining fundamentals: "North America's rich guest profiles dropped from 12% to 11%, EMEA from 9% to 8%. OTA email masking is rising — 34% in EMEA, 22% globally." Without strong database health, even the best tools deliver limited impact.

[03:52] The revenue villain strikes - The sobering global reality: "Hotels lost $488 in incremental revenue per room in 2025 compared to 2024 — that's a 28% drop. Meanwhile, databases grew 34% worldwide." More data doesn't automatically mean more revenue—execution determines outcomes.


Chapters:00:00 - Intro00:45 - Why 2026 demands hotel superheroes01:20 - The revenue reality: global trends02:24 - Regional performance breakdown03:03 - Database health as your foundation03:45 - The engagement crisis: 84% invisibility04:26 - Four channels that matter most05:26 - Sign up for the 2026 report


If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here.

Hotel Moment Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so


Previous guests include: Shannon Knapp, CEO of Leading Hotels of the World (LHW), Patrick Norton of Brittain Resorts & Hotels, Shawn Jereb of Montage International, Carlo Del Mistro, Chief Digital Officer of Ennismore, Jason Pirock of Springboard Hospitality, and many more.


Are you a hospitality industry leader with insights to share? We're always looking for innovative voices to join our conversation about the future of hospitality technology.

If you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming episode of Hotel Moment, we'd love to hear from you! Our podcast reaches thousands of hospitality professionals worldwide, and we're particularly interested in perspectives on:

• Innovation in hospitality technology
• Guest experience transformation
• Revenue optimization strategies
• Emerging industry trends

Express your interest in being a guest →
Check out the three most downloaded episodes:

• Revinate’s new CEO — on a mission to empower hoteliers with data-driven technology | with Bryson Koehler 
• Guests define what luxury means today | with Shannon Knapp
• Your commercial strategy as an evolution and not a revolution | with Jennifer Hill
  
  

In this recast episode of Hotel Moment, Karen Stephens engages with Aradhana Khowala, CEO of Aptamind Partners and a visionary leader in regenerative tourism development. With extensive experience advising presidents, prime ministers, and global CEOs across 85 countries, Aradhana brings a provocative perspective to the hospitality industry's most pressing challenges.

Throughout the conversation, Aradhana challenges the industry's approach to sustainability, arguing that tourism has been fundamentally "extractive" and calling for a shift to regenerative models that give back more than they take. She delivers a controversial assessment of AI in travel, describing much of current innovation as "lipstick on legacy" systems rather than true technological advancement. Aradhana also addresses the devastating impact of geopolitical conflicts on global tourism and makes a compelling case for tourism as the world's best "agent of peace."


What You'll Learn:

• The critical difference between sustainable and regenerative tourism models and why the shift matters for long-term business success
• Why current AI implementations in travel are often superficial improvements on outdated systems rather than true innovation
• How geopolitical conflicts create ripple effects throughout the entire tourism ecosystem, from major hotel chains to local vendors
• The strategic importance of The Middle East's $800 billion investment in luxury hospitality infrastructure
• Practical leadership strategies for women breaking through barriers in hospitality and technology sectors
• Why tourism can serve as a catalyst for global peace and cultural understanding rather than just economic growth
• How to balance short-term financial pressures with long-term regenerative business practices
• The urgent need for coordinated global leadership in tourism during times of crisis
  
  

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Instructions on how to do this are here.

Connect with Aradhana Khowala here:

• LinkedIn
• Aptamind Partners

Connect with Karen here:

• LinkedIn
• Revinate

Follow the podcast here:

• LinkedIn

Episode Highlights:
[05:12] The sustainability failure of tourism - Aradhana doesn't mince words about the industry's sustainability efforts: "As travel and tourism industry, we have really fallen short when it comes to our sustainability efforts. It's failed on a structural level. It's failed at a leadership level, and what we need is systemic change." She emphasizes that the industry has been "tinkering at the edges" rather than implementing the fundamental changes needed for true regenerative growth.
[06:45] The innovation drought diagnosis - Aradhana delivers a provocative assessment of technology in travel: "As a travel industry, we are in a bit of an innovation drought. This is an industry that touches billions of lives in travel and hospitality, we have barely evolved in how we operate digitally." She argues that while interfaces look sleeker, the underlying booking and pricing mechanics are still rooted in early 2000s logic, calling much of today's AI "lipstick on legacy."

[17:17] Tourism as an agent of peace - During discussion of geopolitical challenges, Aradhana makes a powerful case for tourism's role in global understanding: "We are the best agent of peace out there. Tourism is not a casualty, it's a catalyst, and it's about time we acted as one. There is no better agent of peace because once you travel to a destination, you can never hate the place and the people." This highlights tourism's potential as a force for cultural understanding and conflict resolution.


Chapters:
00:00 - Intro 
03:03 - Career journey and inspiration 
05:14 - What is regenerative tourism? 
08:28 - AI and the innovation drought in travel 
14:18 - Navigating geopolitical challenges and soft bookings 
22:55 - The Middle East's luxury development boom 
25:41 - Leadership advice for women in hospitality 
27:23 - Closing thoughts


If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here.

Hotel Moment Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so


Previous guests include: Shannon Knapp, CEO of Leading Hotels of the World (LHW), Patrick Norton of Brittain Resorts & Hotels, Shawn Jereb of Montage International, Carlo Del Mistro, Chief Digital Officer of Ennismore, Jason Pirock of Springboard Hospitality, and many more.


Are you a hospitality industry leader with insights to share? We're always looking for innovative voices to join our conversation about the future of hospitality technology.

If you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming episode of Hotel Moment, we'd love to hear from you! Our podcast reaches thousands of hospitality professionals worldwide, and we're particularly interested in perspectives on:

• Innovation in hospitality technology
• Guest experience transformation
• Revenue optimization strategies
• Emerging industry trends

Express your interest in being a guest →
Check out the three most downloaded episodes:

• Revinate’s new CEO — on a mission to empower hoteliers with data-driven technology | with Bryson Koehler 
• Guests define what luxury means today | with Shannon Knapp
• Your commercial strategy as an evolution and not a revolution | with Jennifer Hill
  
  

In this strategic episode of Hotel Moment, Dylan Cole, Managing Director EMEA at Revinate, teams up with Nick Ellis, Country Director Oceania & Indonesia and Enterprise Director SE Asia at Revinate, to translate the five major 2026 hospitality trends into practical applications for Australia's unique market. Dylan notes that showing up to Australian hoteliers with decks of global best practices causes immediate tune-out because the market needs specialized treatment, while Nick acknowledges that if something sounds great on deck but doesn't work during busy Sunday morning checkout with short-staffed front desks, Aussie hoteliers sense it immediately.


What you'll learn: 

• Australia's commercial savvy personalization: With some of the planet's highest labor costs and unusual hotel mix from 500-room CBD towers to remote resorts, Australian hoteliers use personalization not for fancy subject lines but commercial necessity to drive direct bookings, encourage on-property spending, and make loyalty feel like genuine relationships rather than point spreadsheets, setting properties apart from competitors fifty meters down the street.
• The jigsaw puzzle problem and CDP solution: Nick shares his GM pet hate where every guest handed every staff member tiny jigsaw puzzle pieces of preferences, but no one assembled complete pictures to create experiences — emphasizing the sweet spot of using data before arrival and during stay rather than three weeks later. Customer Data Platforms provide practical Aussie solutions with one clean guest profile connected through APIs, allowing hotel groups to change stack parts without collapse while surfacing insights so bartenders know favorite drinks and front desks greet returning guests with "We've got a piña colada waiting for you."
• Real-time data's critical importance: Real-time data matters more in Australia because conditions change instantly with massive population on tiny pinheads, where concerts sell out cities within hours and surprise US Navy aircraft carrier harbor visits fill hotels completely within two hours at lead-in rates. Nick's GM story demonstrates how reviewing performance after checkout means missing revenue optimization opportunities, with real-time updates ensuring teams react with context rather than guessing, enabling bar supervisors to know hourly sales warranting current staffing and profiles firing book direct emails every time OTA guests check out.
• Privacy and personalization moving in tandem: Recent top-tier Australian companies and government agencies appearing on news front pages because of data breaches make privacy front-page concern where Aussies don't mind sharing information as long as it's clear why while maintaining control and understanding usage. At Revinate, privacy and personalization move in tandem where getting one right while ignoring the other causes guests to notice negatively because no one does business with brands they don't trust, requiring technology decisions considering both elements together.
• Connected systems for employee and guest experience: The move from isolated guest communications to full journey orchestration matters because guests think in experiences not systems, while hotels still stitch together different platforms for email, messaging, feedback, and loyalty. With staff quality and availability representing Australia's biggest hospitality challenges beyond even labor costs, connected tools and easy tech create smoother experiences teams enjoy where smoother means more efficient and efficient means profitable, making employee experience equal guest experience importance.
  
  

Throughout the conversation, Dylan and Nick emphasize that Australian hoteliers don't need to chase every trend or add more tools or systems that almost integrate, but need better connections, better timing, better guest experiences feeling joined up, teams feeling connected to tech and guests, with connectivity and timing as central themes.


If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Instructions on how to do this are here.

Connect with Nick Ellis here:

• LinkedIn
• Revinate

Connect with Dylan Cole here:

• LinkedIn
• Revinate

Follow the podcast here:

• LinkedIn

Episode Highlights
[00:00] Australia's commercial savvy necessity - Nick Ellis opens with market reality: "In Australia, we're commercially savvy, we have to be with the high cost of doing business in Australia. So personalization, we use it to get guests to book direct, knowing what they're going to buy, encouraging spending while they're on property."


[04:54] The jigsaw puzzle problem - Nick describes his GM frustration: "Every guest we had in our building would hand every single staff member a little tiny piece of that jigsaw puzzle of who they were and what they loved and what they were looking for. And everyone had these tiny little jigsaw puzzles, but no one had that complete picture and was able to put them all together and create that experience. There's such a sweet spot around using that information before arrival, during the stay, not three weeks later."


[07:11] CDP as Aussie solution - Nick gets excited: "It's so exciting for me as a career hotelier slash tech nerd. It's just practical, it's flexible, it's powerful, no unnecessary drama. I'd call it a bit of an Aussie solution. Hotel groups who run multiple properties, it means you can change parts of the stack in and out without everything falling over. Being able to surface those insights that you're collecting, it's such an awesome opportunity for hotels to really understand the guests, but then also deliver on it."


[08:36] The aircraft carrier story - Nick shares revenue lesson: "I was a GM leaving a hotel at 5 p.m. and we were sitting at 30% for the evening. Two hours later I get an automated email saying we had now sold all inventory. I walked in the next morning like, 'What happened?' Turns out the US Navy had parked an aircraft carrier in the harbor and the entire city had filled within two hours. We sold every room at lead-in rates. The bosses were like, 'Why didn't anyone react? Why didn't anyone yield?' That cost us a lot of money. If you're reviewing the performance after checkout, you've missed the opportunity."


[12:18] Real-time context for teams - Nick explains operational shift: "When you've got real-time updates happening, it just means your teams aren't guessing. They're reacting with context. You employ all these people throughout your business who are sort of best in what they do, but at the end of the day, unless they've got the picture of what's happening at the time, they're just making a decision with a little limited piece of a puzzle."


[14:52] Employee experience equals guest experience - Nick emphasizes priorities: "The biggest challenge to doing hotels in Australia is the cost of labor, but first and foremost, before that, it's where the team coming from. The quality and availability of team. That value proposition and becoming an employer of choice is more critical now than ever. Employee experience is just as important as guest experience. When the tools are connected and the tech is easy and the experience feels smoother, the team enjoy it. Smoother means more efficient and for hotels, efficient means profitable."

Chapters:00:00 - Intro 
03:49 - Personalization as commercial necessity in Australia 
05:17 - The jigsaw puzzle problem with guest data 
07:11 - Customer Data Platforms as practical foundation 
08:36 - Real-time data and the aircraft carrier story 
11:50 - Privacy as front-page concern in Australia 
13:40 - Guest journey orchestration and connected systems 
16:36 - Wrap-up and 2026 benchmark report preview



If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here.

Hotel Moment Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so


Previous guests include: Shannon Knapp, CEO of Leading Hotels of the World (LHW), Patrick Norton of Brittain Resorts & Hotels, Shawn Jereb of Montage International, Carlo Del Mistro, Chief Digital Officer of Ennismore, Jason Pirock of Springboard Hospitality, and many more.


Are you a hospitality industry leader with insights to share? We're always looking for innovative voices to join our conversation about the future of hospitality technology.

If you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming episode of Hotel Moment, we'd love to hear from you! Our podcast reaches thousands of hospitality professionals worldwide, and we're particularly interested in perspectives on:

• Innovation in hospitality technology
• Guest experience transformation
• Revenue optimization strategies
• Emerging industry trends

Express your interest in being a guest →
Check out the three most downloaded episodes:

• Revinate’s new CEO — on a mission to empower hoteliers with data-driven technology | with Bryson Koehler 
• Guests define what luxury means today | with Shannon Knapp
• Your commercial strategy as an evolution and not a revolution | with Jennifer Hill
  
  

In this episode of Hotel Moment, Dylan Cole, Managing Director EMEA at Revinate debuts as podcast co-host with over 13 years at the company across New York, San Francisco, Singapore, and Amsterdam offices — bringing essential regional context to the five major hospitality trends shaping 2026. While the previous trends episode covered hyperpersonalization, unified tech stacks, real-time decisioning, cybersecurity and privacy, and guest engagement platform evolution from a global perspective, Dylan demonstrates that hoteliers in London, Munich, Stockholm, and the Amalfi Coast face fundamentally different pressure points requiring regional strategy.


What you'll learn:

• Regional personalization motivations: In UK and Ireland, personalization defends margins against OTA dominance with high labor costs and price-sensitive guests, making it about driving direct bookings and valuable loyalty rather than being fancy. DACH guests demand clear consent and value-driven communication without creepiness, requiring prominent opt-in buttons and data privacy lines. Northern Europe expects zero tolerance for generic communication tied to brand credibility where guests who trusted brands with data expect right messages. Southern Europe uses personalization as powerful in-stay revenue lever for driving experiences, increasing on-property spend, and maximizing peak demand without discounting.
  
  
• Operations-driven tech unification: Unified tech stacks are pushed by operations teams rather than IT departments, particularly in UK and Ireland where really lean teams have no appetite to juggle five different systems that don't talk to each other, making unified stacks mean less manual work, faster execution, and fewer things breaking at worst moments. DACH portfolios find disconnected systems create risk beyond slowdowns, Northern Europe needs flexibility to evolve without locking into yesterday's decisions, and Southern Europe requires unification for managing seasonality and rapidly changing staffing models.
  
  
• Real-time data regional priorities: UK and Ireland need real-time data for survival where expensive labor and quickly changing guest behavior mean inability to react causes absorbed unnecessary costs. DACH uses real-time data for precision forecasting holding up under scrutiny from multiple stakeholders. Northern Europe finds static reports feel outdated with real-time visibility becoming baseline expectation. Southern Europe captures on-property value while guests are present, especially when demand shifts with weather or events, with bottom line being that looking only at last month's performance means you're already behind.
  
  
• Privacy as brand promise: Privacy functions as a brand promise rather than compliance, with DACH and Northern Europe guests actively assessing data handling where transparency, consent, and restraint all matter. UK and Ireland see rising guest awareness influencing repeat bookings and loyalty. Southern Europe with international travelers finds strong data protection is simple expectation. What's different in 2026 is privacy can't be treated separately from personalization, making trust a brand promise rather than legal checkbox.
  
  
• Unified engagement platforms: Guest communication platforms evolve because guests think in experiences not systems, while many hotels communicate in fragments with separate systems for email, messaging, and feedback creating friction. Unified platforms bring pre-arrival, in-stay, post-stay together, helping UK and Ireland drive direct revenue, supporting DACH structured compliant communication, meeting Northern Europe high digital expectations, and enhancing Southern Europe experiential differentiation with different reasons producing same smoother journey outcome.
  
  

Throughout the episode, Dylan emphasizes that 2026 hospitality trends solve very real regional problems, where simplification creates value, and where activation of existing capabilities rather than new technology purchases can drive results.
If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Instructions on how to do this are here.

 If you want to go deeper into these trends, we have a full guide to the latest hospitality trends of 2026 with practical insights designed to help you move from strategy to execution. 

Connect with Dylan Cole here:

• LinkedIn
• Revinate

Follow the podcast here:

• LinkedIn

Episode Highlights
[03:00] UK and Ireland margin defense - Dylan explains the regional driver: "In the UK and Ireland, personalization is really about defending margins. The market is dominated by OTAs, high labor costs, and price-sensitive guests. So personalization isn't about being fancy, it's about driving more direct bookings, making loyalty actually feel valuable, and selling the right upsell to the right guest at the right time. If you're not activating guest data here, you're going to feel it straight in your P&L."

[03:50] DACH consent requirements - Dylan describes the different conversation: "Guests still want relevance, but they want it done with clear consent, and they want to make sure that values are driven with the communications. They don't want any creepiness. So you got to make sure that you're dropping in that line about data privacy in your conversations, your communications, and that you're leaving that opt-in button pretty prominent for those guests."
[04:37] Southern Europe revenue leverage - Dylan contrasts drivers: "In Southern Europe, hoteliers, especially in resort destinations, can use personalization as a powerful in-stay revenue lever. Basically, it's how you drive experiences, it's how you increase on-property spend, it's how you maximize peak demand without discounting. It's all the same trend, it's just completely different drivers."

[05:20] Operations-driven tech unification - Dylan reveals the unexpected insight: "Unified tech stacks sound like a trend that should be driven by the IT department, but in Europe they're actually being pushed by the operations team. In the UK and Ireland, we're seeing that teams are quite lean, in fact really lean, and there's no appetite from our customers to juggle five different systems that don't talk to each other."

[06:32] Real-time data regional priorities - Dylan breaks down survival versus precision: "In the UK and Ireland, real-time data is about survival. Labor is expensive, guest behavior changes quickly, and if you can't react in the moment, you are going to absorb unnecessary costs. In DACH, real-time data supports precision, better forecasting, and fewer surprises."

[09:07] Fragmented communication challenges - Dylan identifies the core problem: "Guest communication platforms are evolving because guests don't think in terms of systems. They're thinking in terms of experiences. And right now many hotels are still communicating in fragments. They have one system for email, another for messaging, another for feedback. Across EMEA, that fragmentation creates friction for guests and staff."


Chapters:00:00 - Intro
02:14 - Five trends with regional context for Europe 
03:00 - Hyperpersonalization across UK, DACH, Northern, Southern Europe 
05:20 - Tech stack unification driven by operations teams 
06:32 - Real-time data and decisioning regional priorities 
07:30 - Privacy as brand promise across European regions 
09:07 - Guest engagement platform evolution and fragmentation 
09:58 - Strategic prioritization framework for European hoteliers


If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here.

Hotel Moment Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so


Previous guests include: Shannon Knapp, CEO of Leading Hotels of the World (LHW), Patrick Norton of Brittain Resorts & Hotels, Shawn Jereb of Montage International, Carlo Del Mistro, Chief Digital Officer of Ennismore, Jason Pirock of Springboard Hospitality, and many more.


Are you a hospitality industry leader with insights to share? We're always looking for innovative voices to join our conversation about the future of hospitality technology.

If you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming episode of Hotel Moment, we'd love to hear from you! Our podcast reaches thousands of hospitality professionals worldwide, and we're particularly interested in perspectives on:

• Innovation in hospitality technology
• Guest experience transformation
• Revenue optimization strategies
• Emerging industry trends

Express your interest in being a guest →
Check out the three most downloaded episodes:

• Revinate’s new CEO — on a mission to empower hoteliers with data-driven technology | with Bryson Koehler 
• Guests define what luxury means today | with Shannon Knapp
• Your commercial strategy as an evolution and not a revolution | with Jennifer Hill
  
  

In this special recast trends episode of Hotel Moment, host Karen Stephens, Chief Marketing Officer at Revinate, and Brenna Turpin, Marketing Coordinator at Revinate, preview what hoteliers should expect in 2026. Withinsights from  conversations throughout 2025, they identify five critical themes that will reshape the industry.


What you'll learn:

• Hyper-personalization becomes mainstream: Building on Carlo Del Mistro from Ennismore's 2025 prediction, personalization shifts from collecting preferences and stay histories to actually using that data for tailored experiences. The evolution moves from "one size fits some" broad segments to "one size fits one" individualized offers, with generative AI creating messaging and real-time triggers activating upsells based on guest behavior.
  
  
• Unified tech stacks replace legacy patchworks: Ideas' Future Forecasts report reveals only half of hoteliers currently use mostly integrated tools, but 2026 will drive adoption of cloud APIs and microservices architectures, enabling faster innovation. Customer Data Platforms emerge as the anchor, consolidating siloed data sources into single guest profiles while enabling activation across channels through embedded CRM functionality.
  
  
• Check out the Idea’s report here.Real-time decisioning transforms operations: Moving beyond retrospective analytics, hotels will use live data from local events, weather patterns, foot traffic, and travel trends to adjust demand forecasts and revenue strategies dynamically. Unified dashboards pulling live stream data rather than batch data enable occupancy forecasting, dynamic pricing, staffing optimization, and event-based interventions based on actual conditions.
  
  
• Cybersecurity and privacy become non-negotiable: As guest data grows richer with behavioral and location information, regulatory frameworks including GDPR, CCPA, and global equivalents continue evolving. Hotels must transparently explain data usage with clear opt-in/opt-out controls, treat every IoT device and integration point as potential vulnerability, and prioritize unified clean data since fragmented data creates open doors for cyberattacks.
  
  
• Guest communication evolves into orchestration hubs: Platforms move beyond separate email tools, chatbots, and messaging apps to create connected guest journey systems. AI virtual concierges access full guest history and current context to trigger hyper-personalized offers, mobile apps integrate real-time request handling with upsell opportunities, and API-first approaches enable seamless data exchange while maintaining human-led service for complex interactions.
  
  

Throughout the conversation, Karen and Brenna emphasize that 2026 represents a pivot point where initial digital adoption waves complete and the focus shifts to real-time activation, deep personalization embedded into operations, and viewing technology through added privacy and safety measures as must-haves rather than nice-to-haves.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Instructions on how to do this are here.

Check out the Idea’s report here

Connect with Brenna Turpin here:

• LinkedIn
• Revinate

Connect with Karen Stephens here:

• LinkedIn
• Revinate

Follow the podcast here:

• LinkedIn

Episode Highlights:
[01:35] The action frontier - Karen sets the stage: "We've had a watershed year for digital transformation, and the next frontier is not just about adoption, it's about action. We've got to weave together guest experience, operational agility, and data-driven decision making."

[02:25] Beyond name and greeting - Karen explains evolving expectations: "Guests expect more than name and greeting. They really expect tailored stays, meaningful upsells, and experiences that anticipate their needs. It's really about show me that you know me and market to me as if you know what I'm gonna want pre, post, and during stay."

[04:20] From accumulation to activation - Brenna identifies the critical shift: "2025 has been about guest data and accumulation. 2026 will be the year of guest data activation. It's going to shift from just purely collecting the data to really translating it to actual personalization from pre-arrival to post-stay."

[08:45] Real-time decisioning emerges - Brenna highlights operational transformation: "Data has long been a hot topic in hospitality, but many hotels still use it retrospectively. In 2026, the emphasis is on growing towards real-time operational decision-making using occupancy forecasting, dynamic pricing, staffing optimization, and event-based intervention."
[13:23] Security as loyalty driver - Karen addresses escalating concerns: "Hotels are going to need to transparently explain how they use data. Opt-in, opt-out controls and secure infrastructure will gain loyalty. You've got to make sure you're using a platform that's got best-in-class security embedded."


Chapters
00:00 - Introduction to 2026 trends 
01:43 - Trend 1: Hyper-personalization goes mainstream 
05:49 - Trend 2: Unified tech stacks and microservices platforms 
09:15 - Trend 3: Data analytics and real-time decisioning 
12:57 - Trend 4: Cybersecurity and privacy escalation 
15:36 - Trend 5: Guest communication platforms as orchestration hubs 
19:01 - Recap and looking ahead to 2026


If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here.

Hotel Moment Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so


Previous guests include: Shannon Knapp, CEO of Leading Hotels of the World (LHW), Patrick Norton of Brittain Resorts & Hotels, Shawn Jereb of Montage International, Carlo Del Mistro, Chief Digital Officer of Ennismore, Jason Pirock of Springboard Hospitality, and many more.


Are you a hospitality industry leader with insights to share? We're always looking for innovative voices to join our conversation about the future of hospitality technology.

If you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming episode of Hotel Moment, we'd love to hear from you! Our podcast reaches thousands of hospitality professionals worldwide, and we're particularly interested in perspectives on:

• Innovation in hospitality technology
• Guest experience transformation
• Revenue optimization strategies
• Emerging industry trends

Express your interest in being a guest →
Check out the three most downloaded episodes:

• Revinate’s new CEO — on a mission to empower hoteliers with data-driven technology | with Bryson Koehler 
• Guests define what luxury means today | with Shannon Knapp
• Your commercial strategy as an evolution and not a revolution | with Jennifer Hill
  
  

In this celebratory New Year's Eve episode of Hotel Moment, host Brenna Turpin, Marketing Coordinator at Revinate, reflects on an extraordinary year for the podcast that saw it reach over half a million listeners and climb to the top three on Apple Podcasts for Hotel Technology. Rather than simply counting downloads, she curates the wild stories, crisis moments, and bold decisions that reminded listeners why hospitality is such a special industry.

What you'll learn:

• Redefining luxury service: Jeff Wielgopolan, Service Director at Meadowood Napa Valley with over 20 years in luxury hospitality including former global senior vice president of learning and development at Forbes Travel Guide, defines luxury as "the ability to not have to think" where guests simply show up and pay while every need is anticipated, explaining how intentional interactions move guests from past travel stress to present moment awareness to future excitement.
  
  
• Training philosophy transformation: Jeff challenges conventional staff training by asking whether teams are taught what and how to do tasks versus why they do them, demonstrating how bell staff asking "how was your trip?" while guests enjoy beautiful views disconnects them from the moment by making them think about cramped airplane seats instead of being present at the property.
  
  
• Hiring smarter than yourself: Sky McLean, founder and CEO of Basecamp Resorts, describes building a $600 million hospitality empire by acknowledging she had no idea how to run a hotel after managing just two Airbnbs, immediately hiring an operations manager and accountant, emphasizing that success comes from putting the right people in the right seats by matching their skill sets and desires with organizational needs while treating people the way she wants to be treated.
  
  
• Scaling through empowerment: Sky's approach from those first two hires grew Basecamp to 300 employees and expansion into wellness tourism with Everwild spa concept combining Nordic spas, hot and cold therapy, and stunning mountain settings, demonstrating the innovation that happens when entrepreneurs hire great people and empower them to run.
  
  
• Crisis management under impossible conditions: Ben Campbell, president and CEO of Hospitality America, describes Hurricane Helene's devastating impact when two feet of rain in 24 hours caused mudslides and left hotels without power for a week and one property without water for three weeks, creating sanitation challenges for toilets, linen, and basic operations while serving as shelter for FEMA workers and displaced residents whose homes washed away.
  
  
• Operating without systems: Ben shares running a hotel for 14 days without internet or property management system during a previous hurricane in South Florida, managing everything on spreadsheets with room matrices, demonstrating resilience when digital systems fail completely and paper emergency binders become the lifeline for operations.
  
  
• Values-driven crisis response: Hospitality America's PEACH values (Passionate, Excellence, Adaptable, Community, Humble) weren't just poster words during the crisis but the framework guiding every decision as teams rented box trucks to transport linen between properties, with staff staying late to do laundry for hotels without water, showing hospitality isn't just about good times but being there when things fall apart.
  
  
• Emergency preparedness essentials: Ben emphasizes never taking anything for granted, maintaining fully updated emergency binders on paper because digital systems fail, creating comprehensive crisis binders with step-by-step documentation covering all bases, and choosing to be more prepared than underprepared for any threat to the area.
  
  
• Culture as first strategic priority: Agnelo Fernandes, CEO of Cote Hospitality managing properties including a dude ranch in Arizona with over 200 horses, reveals his strategic priorities start with culture and leadership rather than top line revenue, spending his first two years as CEO resetting culture with minor tweaks in some cases and major cleanses in others because culture is the beginning and end of pretty much any organization.
  
  
• Long-term thinking over quarterly returns: Agnelo's unconventional approach told investors and boards that culture would be fixed first before growth, maintaining a "brag book" of positive feedback and accolades as reminders of the leader he wants to be and the impact he wants to have rather than focusing on immediate returns that typically drive quarterly decisions.
  
  
• AI exploration without implementation pressure: Agnelo's team spends one hour weekly playing with AI by thinking through problems faced during the week, using artificial intelligence not to solve issues directly but to be inspired to think about different options, identifying 40 different aspects of their business that could be transformed while emphasizing that people will never change even as technology evolves.
  
  

Throughout the compilation, Brenna emphasizes the common thread connecting these diverse stories: hospitality is fundamentally about people, seeing what others need and showing up to meet that need, having the courage to do things differently when different is what's required, whether through massive financial risk based on vision, showing up daily during crisis, prioritizing culture over short-term revenue, or redefining luxury as effortless care.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Instructions on how to do this are here.

Connect with Brenna Turpin here:

• LinkedIn
• Revinate

Follow the podcast here:

• LinkedIn

Episode Highlights:
[03:10] Luxury is the ability to not have to think - Jeff Wielgopolan from Meadowood Napa Valley delivers a memorable definition: "Luxury is the ability to not have to think. It's the greatest luxury that you can give somebody. From a guest perspective, all you should have to do is show up and pay." This reframes luxury away from marble bathrooms and thread counts toward anticipating needs before they're expressed.

[03:44] Moving guests through time - Jeff explains intentional interactions: "Upon arrival, I will always say that my best arrivals move the guest from the past into the present into the future. The front drive deals with the past, the front desk deals with the present, and as the bell escorts you to your room, they tell you about the future." When bell staff ask "how was your trip?" while guests enjoy beautiful views, they disconnect guests from the moment by making them think about cramped airplane seats.

[06:00] Hire people smarter than you - Sky McLean shares her scaling strategy: "The key in this whole thing is hire people smarter than you at the thing you need them to do. I knew I have no idea how to run a hotel. I ran two Airbnbs. That doesn't make me a hotelier. So I hired an operations manager and an accountant. It's always about putting the right people in the right seats."
[07:25] Hurricane Helene crisis management - Ben Campbell describes devastating conditions: "Two feet of rain in 24 hours. We had two hotels. One lost power for about a week. One hotel lost water for about three weeks. How do you stay sanitary without running water? I rented a box truck, drove up to that hotel, got all their linen, drove it down to our Embassy Suites in Greenville. The staff stayed late, did the laundry, then did all the laundry for the hotel that didn't have water."

[08:54] Operating without technology - Ben shares previous hurricane experience: "I went 14 days without internet. I went 14 days without a property management system. We were running a hotel off of a spreadsheet that I created with a room matrix." In 2025, his team ran hotels on paper for two weeks because they had no other choice during the crisis.

[11:12] Culture before revenue - Agnelo Fernandes reveals his priorities: "If you look at our strategic priorities, it starts with culture. It doesn't start with top line. It doesn't start with anything else but culture and leadership. I spent a good part of my first two years resetting culture. In some cases, minor tweaks and in some cases, major cleanses. Culture is the beginning and end of pretty much any organization."

Chapters:00:00 - Intro
03:10 - Jeff Wielgopolan on redefining luxury and intentional service 
06:00 - Sky McLean on building a $600M empire through smart hiring 
07:25 - Ben Campbell on crisis management during Hurricane Helene 
11:12 - Agnelo Fernandes on culture as first strategic priority 
15:00 - People-centered hospitality


If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here.

Hotel Moment Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so


Previous guests include: Shannon Knapp, CEO of Leading Hotels of the World (LHW), Patrick Norton of Brittain Resorts & Hotels, Shawn Jereb of Montage International, Carlo Del Mistro, Chief Digital Officer of Ennismore, Jason Pirock of Springboard Hospitality, and many more.


Are you a hospitality industry leader with insights to share? We're always looking for innovative voices to join our conversation about the future of hospitality technology.

If you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming episode of Hotel Moment, we'd love to hear from you! Our podcast reaches thousands of hospitality professionals worldwide, and we're particularly interested in perspectives on:

• Innovation in hospitality technology
• Guest experience transformation
• Revenue optimization strategies
• Emerging industry trends

Express your interest in being a guest →
Check out the three most downloaded episodes:

• Revinate’s new CEO — on a mission to empower hoteliers with data-driven technology | with Bryson Koehler 
• Guests define what luxury means today | with Shannon Knapp
• Your commercial strategy as an evolution and not a revolution | with Jennifer Hill
  
  

In this celebratory episode of Hotel Moment, host Brenna Turpin, Marketing Coordinator at Revinate, takes a different approach by curating the most impactful moments from the podcast's archive this year. Rather than featuring a single guest, she presents a carefully selected compilation that showcases both the entertaining personality and serious innovation driving modern hospitality forward.


What you'll learn:

• Rethinking loyalty beyond points: Bashar Wali, founder and CEO of Practice Hospitality and This Assembly, with over three decades in hospitality, delivers his unfiltered perspective that points programs represent bribery rather than genuine loyalty, arguing true loyalty comes from making guests feel seen, understood, and valued rather than simply rewarded with transactional benefits.
  
  
• Simplifying direct booking friction: Bashar also compares buying shoes on Instagram with three button presses to hotel websites requiring 75 steps, including keyboard switches between alpha and numeric inputs, emphasizing that hotels with perishable inventory shouldn't fight guests every step when they're trying to give you money.
  
  
• Entrepreneurial origin stories: Sky McLean, founder and CEO of Basecamp Resorts, shares how she took a $38,000 loan check from a BMW dealership for a car she couldn't afford and used it to buy land in Canmore, then lived in a camping trailer on the construction site while building what would become a $600 million hospitality empire, advising that "there's no right time, so just do it."
  
  
• Cybersecurity's human element: Matthijs Welle, CEO of Mews, warns that cybercriminals now use AI to impersonate voices and buy Google ad words to create fake login pages, emphasizing that teams at the frontline with access to sensitive data must be trained because IT departments can't provide 100% protection when human error creates vulnerabilities.
  
  
• Never Google your login pages: Matthijs shares the critical practice of bookmarking login pages or using single sign-on instead of searching on Google, where criminals set traps with ads looking exactly like legitimate pages that steal credentials when employees enter them.
  
  
• Master data management as a foundation: Dimple Jethani, CIO of Aramark Destinations, overseeing technology for iconic properties in Yosemite and Yellowstone, emphasizes, master data management becomes critical when implementing systems like Salesforce because failing to integrate properly ruins your master data and creates silos, preventing actionable insights.
  
  
• Starting with guest questions: Dimple stresses defining what you want to know about guests before collecting data, building systems to answer specific questions about how you know them, engage them, and understand what's important to them, rather than accumulating information without purpose.
  
  
• Transaction-level personalization: Dana Cariss, Senior Vice President of Revenue Strategy at CoralTree Hospitality, describes how their four-year investment consolidating data from PMS, point of sale, and sales systems into a single warehouse enables them to see not just whether guests used resort credits but exactly where they spent them, allowing hyper-targeted campaigns sending spa packages to spa lovers rather than generic promotions.
  
  
• Technology for social impact: Georgine Muntz, CEO of Visual Matrix, explains how their PMS and housekeeping tools enable staff to safely document suspicious activity related to human trafficking without confronting potentially dangerous criminals, feeding information into databases that help identify patterns and assist law enforcement.
  
  
• Partnerships over integrations: Georgine emphasizes that while APIs and integrations are important, hotels operating 24/7 in real time need partners who will fix issues at 2 a.m. rather than point fingers, achieving 98% issue resolution without referring customers elsewhere through relationship-focused support.
  
  

Throughout the compilation, Brenna reinforces that great hospitality happens when human connection balances with intelligent technology, using data to enhance rather than replace intuition while building systems that free teams to make guests feel welcome, understood, and valued.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Instructions on how to do this are here.

Connect with Brenna Turpin here:

• LinkedIn
• Revinate

Follow the podcast here:

• LinkedIn

Episode Highlights:
[02:20] Points are bribery - Bashar Wali delivers his bold perspective: "Points are not loyalty. Points are bribery. If I stop giving you points, are you still coming? No, that's not loyalty. I'm buying your loyalty, not earning it." His point underscores that true loyalty comes from making guests feel seen and valued, not just rewarded.
[03:05] The 75-step booking nightmare - Bashar compares retail to hotel booking: "I go on Instagram, I see a pair of shoes, I press three buttons, they're in the mail. I go on a hotel website to book a room, and on step 75, they're making me change my keyboard from Alpha to Numeric. Please don't fight me every step of the way when I'm trying to book my room on your website."
[04:16] The BMW loan origin story - Sky McLean shares her wild beginning: "I end up with a check for $38,000 from BMW. I'm like, done, sold. I'll take this car I can't afford with a $1,000 a month payment, and I'm gonna take that check and buy a piece of dirt in Canmore, which is the land where the first Basecamp Resorts now sits."
[06:44] The human cybersecurity vulnerability - Matthijs Welle warns: "We have to teach everyone who works at the frontline that has access to sensitive data how to protect that data. You can't look at an IT department to do 100% protection. That's never 100% unless you really make your teams aware of it."

[08:43] Master data management matters - Dimple Jethani emphasizes: "No one wants to talk about foundational things, but master data management matters. If I decide to implement a system and I don't integrate it, my master data has just been ruined."
[09:59] Transaction-level personalization - Dana Cariss explains hyper-targeting: "We can see quickly if the guest is using resort credit or not. Do we understand where they are actually spending that credit? Once we do, are we tailoring our ongoing messages based on that guest spend? Once you understand at a transaction level, then we can truly tailor personalized communication."

Chapters:00:00 - Intro
02:20 - Bashar on loyalty and booking friction 
04:16 - Sky McLean's entrepreneurial leap of faith 
06:44 - Cybersecurity with Matthijs Welle 
08:43 - Master data management with Dimple Jethani 
09:59 - Transaction-level personalization with Dana Cariss 
11:07 - Technology for social impact with Georgine Muntz 
13:00 - Closing reflections on high-tech, high-touch hospitality


If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here.

Hotel Moment Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so


Previous guests include: Shannon Knapp, CEO of Leading Hotels of the World (LHW), Patrick Norton of Brittain Resorts & Hotels, Shawn Jereb of Montage International, Carlo Del Mistro, Chief Digital Officer of Ennismore, Jason Pirock of Springboard Hospitality, and many more.


Are you a hospitality industry leader with insights to share? We're always looking for innovative voices to join our conversation about the future of hospitality technology.

If you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming episode of Hotel Moment, we'd love to hear from you! Our podcast reaches thousands of hospitality professionals worldwide, and we're particularly interested in perspectives on:

• Innovation in hospitality technology
• Guest experience transformation
• Revenue optimization strategies
• Emerging industry trends

Express your interest in being a guest →
Check out the three most downloaded episodes:

• Revinate’s new CEO — on a mission to empower hoteliers with data-driven technology | with Bryson Koehler 
• Guests define what luxury means today | with Shannon Knapp
• Your commercial strategy as an evolution and not a revolution | with Jennifer Hill
  
  

In this strategic episode of Hotel Moment, host Brenna Turpin, Marketing Coordinator at Revinate, brings together six powerful direct booking strategies covered throughout the year into one connected playbook specifically designed for holiday demand. Rather than treating each strategy as standalone, she demonstrates how loyalty, segmentation, OTA win back, cart abandonment, lead nurture, and upsells work together as a unified system that turns December into the most profitable direct booking season while setting properties up for strong Q1 2026 performance.


What you'll learn:

• Holiday demand psychology - The holidays bring emotional, motivated guests willing to spend more who actively choose places to create memories, making this the moment when direct booking strategies either shine or miss out, because while OTAs spend aggressively in Q4, properties have something more powerful through knowing guests and having their data.
  
  
• Duplication and inclusion framework - Renee Murrieta explains that 70% of travelers expect personalized communication but this can feel intimidating, solving it through creating one strong targeted campaign using data points like geolocation, family status, interests, or past stay behavior, then duplicating it for other segments while adjusting only pieces that need to change, ensuring every guest gets something relevant without reinventing the wheel while avoiding leaving large database segments untouched for months.
  
  
• Scalable personalization tactics - Renee emphasizes that not every piece needs to say "I know you live in the northeast and need to get down south to Florida," but rather you can reference location once in the subject line or lead story while keeping remaining content evergreen, achieving higher engagement rates through strategic customization points rather than over-personalization that becomes unsustainable.
  
  
• Transactional plus emotional loyalty - Ellis Connolly from Laasie breaks loyalty into two components, the transactional "parking fee loyalty" and the emotional piece, explaining that Laasie blends both to tie transactional and emotional loyalty together so guests feel the hotel has thought about them regarding reward content while giving them things to experience outside of just staying at the property.
  
  
• Loyalty as December multiplier -True loyalty isn't just points but personalization and recognition where maintaining relationships beyond the stay becomes critical, and when paired with first-party data, personalization, and incentive-driven rewards, loyalty becomes the engine underneath all direct booking efforts, mattering more during holidays because travelers want belonging, family moments, and traditions rather than just rooms.
  
  
• Segmentation for relevance increase - Segmentation isn't about narrowing audience but increasing relevance, where families planning multi-room stays, couples seeking New Year's Eve experiences, remote workers chasing sunshine, past holiday guests, local staycation visitors, and OTA bookers from last year each respond to different emotional drivers requiring geo-targeted escape messaging, family-specific experiences, romance-led getaway content, local event features, loyalty early access, and past guest reactivation.
  
  
• OTA win back as margin recovery - OTA reliance spikes in Q4 because OTAs spend aggressively to capture holiday traffic, but most OTA guests don't actually prefer OTAs and lack compelling reasons to book direct, making holiday campaigns with festive storytelling, exclusive access, tradition-driven content, loyalty perks, and early booking windows change dynamics instantly, with OTA win back campaigns consistently performing at 41% open rates and $5-6 revenue per email sent.
  
  
• Cart abandonment for high-intent capture - Holiday shoppers bounce frequently because budgets are tighter, families coordinate, and travelers compare rooms, dates, and packages, but most cart abandoners have extremely high intent and convert quickly with automated nudges including reminders about dates they were considering, gentle urgency about filling weekends, loyalty member pricing, and add-ons they viewed during sessions.
  
  
• Speed-based lead nurturing - In hospitality, speed equals sales, and holiday leads go cold even faster when someone fills out forms for holiday parties, winter retreats, Christmas family stays, or New Year's Eve packages where response time determines booking outcome, as demonstrated by French Lick Resorts where Jason Wells from Revinate explains that reservation agents lead guest journeys by catching interests early even when guests don't book spa, restaurant, or golf initially, marking it on reservations so outbound experience design teams know exactly what to focus on during follow-up calls.
  
  
• Voice-led emotional upselling - Digital upsells handle scalable revenue while voice upsells capture memory-making moments, with holiday guests wanting to feel excited through offers like "We notice you're traveling with kids, want us to arrange a hot cocoa welcome?" or "Would you like an add-on for holiday breakfast with Santa?" or "We have a New Year's Eve wine pairing, should I reserve you two seats?" proving that when agents are emotionally invested and excited, guests say yes.
  
  
• System integration for Q1 momentum - The holiday season's highest intent, highest emotion period paired with these six strategies through segmentation, loyalty, OTA win back, cart abandonment, lead nurture, and upsells doesn't just optimize December but fills direct funnels with engaged, known, loyal guests who book again early in Q1, as demonstrated by Brittain Resorts and Hotels whose unified strategy generated $63 million in direct revenue while increasing repeat visits and loyalty conversions.
  
  

Throughout the episode, Brenna emphasizes that using first-party data to tell seasonal stories, segment smarter, nurture faster, upsell with emotion, and win back every possible OTA guest creates a connected system where December becomes the direct booking breakthrough that determines Q1 2026 performance.
If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Instructions on how to do this are here.

Read more about The latest hospitality trends for 2026 here

Connect with Brenna Turpin here:

• LinkedIn
• Revinate

Follow the podcast here:

• LinkedIn

Episode Highlights:
[02:02] Duplication and inclusion framework - Renee Murrieta explains the recipe for success: "70% of your database wants you to talk to them in a personal way. And you do have that data. So I think there's a recipe for success that involves both duplication and inclusion. Customizing a message to a specific audience, you have the data points to do that. You can get something in front of them that you think is going to resonate with them, and the results show that it does."

[03:20] Scalable personalization strategy - Renee continues: "It doesn't mean every part of it has to say, 'Hey, I know you live in the northeast and you need to get down south to Florida pretty soon because it's cold.' You can say that once. Maybe your subject line calling out something that's gonna catch their attention. But the rest of the content could be rather evergreen. That inclusion piece means you don't want to leave big sets of your database out and untouched for months on end."
[04:10] Transactional plus emotional loyalty - Ellis Connolly breaks down loyalty components: "There's two types of loyalty that we think about. There's that parking fee loyalty, which is transactional, and then there's the emotional piece to that. What Laasie does really well is we're able to really blend those two to tie both together, your transactional and your emotional loyalty, so you get full circle on making that guest feel really good."

[06:00] OTA win back performance metrics - Brenna shares compelling data: "OTA Win Back campaigns consistently perform with 41% open rates and a $5 to $6 revenue per email sent. That's not just a marketing channel, that's a margin recovery machine. When you combine OTA Win Back with segmentation and loyalty, you reclaim holiday demand instead of losing it to commissions."
[08:31] Speed-based lead nurturing - Jason Wells from Revinate describes French Lick's approach: "They're actually leading that guest journey and getting that guest excited and wanting to book and picking up on those interests. Even if they don't book the spa, the restaurant, the golf on that initial call, it is marked on that reservation and that lead form. So when your outbound experience design team's giving them a call, they know exactly what to focus on."

[09:00] Voice-led upselling for holidays - Brenna explains the emotional closer: "Holiday guests want to feel excited. 'We notice you're traveling with kids. Want us to arrange a hot cocoa welcome? Would you like an add-on for a holiday breakfast with Santa? We have a New Year's Eve wine pairing. Should I reserve you two seats?' Digital upsells handle the scalable revenue, voice upsells capture the memory-making moments."

Chapters:00:00 - Intro
02:02 - First-party data and personalization 
04:10 - Strategy one: Loyalty as emotional multiplier 
05:00 - Strategy two: Segmentation for relevance 
06:00 - Strategy three: OTA win back margin recovery 
07:30 - Strategy four: Cart abandonment capture 
08:31 - Strategy five: Speed-based lead nurturing 
09:30 - Strategy six: Voice and digital upsells 
10:45 - System integration for Q1 2026 momentum


If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here.

Hotel Moment Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so


Previous guests include: Shannon Knapp, CEO of Leading Hotels of the World (LHW), Patrick Norton of Brittain Resorts & Hotels, Shawn Jereb of Montage International, Carlo Del Mistro, Chief Digital Officer of Ennismore, Jason Pirock of Springboard Hospitality, and many more.


Are you a hospitality industry leader with insights to share? We're always looking for innovative voices to join our conversation about the future of hospitality technology.

If you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming episode of Hotel Moment, we'd love to hear from you! Our podcast reaches thousands of hospitality professionals worldwide, and we're particularly interested in perspectives on:

• Innovation in hospitality technology
• Guest experience transformation
• Revenue optimization strategies
• Emerging industry trends

Express your interest in being a guest →
Check out the three most downloaded episodes:

• Revinate’s new CEO — on a mission to empower hoteliers with data-driven technology | with Bryson Koehler 
• Guests define what luxury means today | with Shannon Knapp
• Your commercial strategy as an evolution and not a revolution | with Jennifer Hill
  
  

In this special trends episode of Hotel Moment, hostKaren Stephens, Chief Marketing Officer at Revinate, and Brenna Turpin, Marketing Coordinator at Revinate, take a collaborative approach to previewing what hoteliers should expect in 2026. Rather than featuring an external guest, they synthesize insights from the podcast's conversations throughout 2025 to identify five critical themes that will reshape the industry.


What you'll learn:

• Hyper-personalization becomes mainstream: Building on Carlo Del Mistro from Ennismore's 2025 prediction, personalization shifts from collecting preferences and stay histories to actually using that data for tailored experiences. The evolution moves from "one size fits some" broad segments to "one size fits one" individualized offers, with generative AI creating messaging and real-time triggers activating upsells based on guest behavior.
• Unified tech stacks replace legacy patchworks: Ideas' Future Forecasts report reveals only half of hoteliers currently use mostly integrated tools, but 2026 will drive adoption of cloud APIs and microservices architectures enabling faster innovation. Customer Data Platforms emerge as the anchor, consolidating siloed data sources into single guest profiles while enabling activation across channels through embedded CRM functionality.
• Real-time decisioning transforms operations: Moving beyond retrospective analytics, hotels will use live data from local events, weather patterns, foot traffic, and travel trends to adjust demand forecasts and revenue strategies dynamically. Unified dashboards pulling live stream data rather than batch data enable occupancy forecasting, dynamic pricing, staffing optimization, and event-based interventions based on actual conditions.
• Cybersecurity and privacy become non-negotiable: As guest data grows richer with behavioral and location information, regulatory frameworks including GDPR, CCPA, and global equivalents continue evolving. Hotels must transparently explain data usage with clear opt-in/opt-out controls, treat every IoT device and integration point as potential vulnerability, and prioritize unified clean data since fragmented data creates open doors for cyberattacks.
• Guest communication evolves into orchestration hubs: Platforms move beyond separate email tools, chatbots, and messaging apps to create connected guest journey systems. AI virtual concierges access full guest history and current context to trigger hyper-personalized offers, mobile apps integrate real-time request handling with upsell opportunities, and API-first approaches enable seamless data exchange while maintaining human-led service for complex interactions.
  
  

Throughout the conversation, Karen and Brenna emphasize that 2026 represents a pivot point where initial digital adoption waves complete and the focus shifts to real-time activation, deep personalization embedding into operations, and viewing technology through added privacy and safety measures as must-haves rather than nice-to-haves.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Instructions on how to do this are here.

Check out the Idea’s report here

Connect with Brenna Turpin here:

• LinkedIn
• Revinate

Connect with Karen Stephens here:

• LinkedIn
• Revinate

Follow the podcast here:

• LinkedIn

Episode Highlights:
[01:35] The action frontier - Karen sets the stage: "We've had a watershed year for digital transformation, and the next frontier is not just about adoption, it's about action. We've got to weave together guest experience, operational agility, and data-driven decision making."
[02:25] Beyond name and greeting - Karen explains evolving expectations: "Guests expect more than name and greeting. They really expect tailored stays, meaningful upsells, and experiences that anticipate their needs. It's really about show me that you know me and market to me as if you know what I'm gonna want pre, post, and during stay."

[04:20] From accumulation to activation - Brenna identifies the critical shift: "2025 has been about guest data and accumulation. 2026 will be the year of guest data activation. It's going to shift from just purely collecting the data to really translating it to actual personalization from pre-arrival to post-stay."
[08:45] Real-time decisioning emerges - Brenna highlights operational transformation: "Data has long been a hot topic in hospitality, but many hotels still use it retrospectively. In 2026, the emphasis is on growing towards real-time operational decision-making using occupancy forecasting, dynamic pricing, staffing optimization, and event-based intervention."

[13:23] Security as loyalty driver - Karen addresses escalating concerns: "Hotels are going to need to transparently explain how they use data. Opt-in, opt-out controls and secure infrastructure will gain loyalty. You've got to make sure you're using a platform that's got best-in-class security embedded."


Chapters
00:00 - Introduction to 2026 trends 
01:43 - Trend 1: Hyper-personalization goes mainstream 
05:49 - Trend 2: Unified tech stacks and microservices platforms 
09:15 - Trend 3: Data analytics and real-time decisioning 
12:57 - Trend 4: Cybersecurity and privacy escalation 
15:36 - Trend 5: Guest communication platforms as orchestration hubs 
19:01 - Recap and looking ahead to 2026


If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here.

Hotel Moment Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so


Previous guests include: Shannon Knapp, CEO of Leading Hotels of the World (LHW), Patrick Norton of Brittain Resorts & Hotels, Shawn Jereb of Montage International, Carlo Del Mistro, Chief Digital Officer of Ennismore, Jason Pirock of Springboard Hospitality, and many more.


Are you a hospitality industry leader with insights to share? We're always looking for innovative voices to join our conversation about the future of hospitality technology.

If you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming episode of Hotel Moment, we'd love to hear from you! Our podcast reaches thousands of hospitality professionals worldwide, and we're particularly interested in perspectives on:

• Innovation in hospitality technology
• Guest experience transformation
• Revenue optimization strategies
• Emerging industry trends

Express your interest in being a guest →
Check out the three most downloaded episodes:

• Revinate’s new CEO — on a mission to empower hoteliers with data-driven technology | with Bryson Koehler 
• Guests define what luxury means today | with Shannon Knapp
• Your commercial strategy as an evolution and not a revolution | with Jennifer Hill
  
  

In this strategic episode of Hotel Moment, Brenna Turpin, Marketing Coordinator at Revinate, challenges hoteliers to identify their most expensive guest. It's not the early check-in requester or the upgrade seeker — it's the guest who continuously books through OTAs, not because they prefer third-party channels, but because they're missing a compelling reason to book direct.


What you'll learn: 

• Why OTA-dependent guests are your most expensive customers and how commission costs compound over time 
• The power of OTA winback strategies: 41% average open rates and $5-6 revenue per email sent 
• Kathleen Cullen's insight on redirecting OTA investment into your own direct booking infrastructure 
• Marc Winchell's "turning off the faucet" metaphor: gradually reducing OTA dependency while incentivizing direct bookings 
• Why direct bookings consistently deliver higher average revenue per reservation beyond just commission savings 
• How to transform random "book direct" emails into strategic, data-driven winback campaigns 
• Voco Belfast's successful approach: using segmentation, seasonal experiences, local storytelling, and brand voice without discounts 
• The holiday opportunity: why Christmas and New Year represent the highest intent booking window for winback campaigns 
• Strategic holiday messaging: festive experiences, family traditions, winter moments, early access, and nostalgic content 
• Why personalization builds trust, trust drives bookings, and bookings drive lifetime value 
• How to create always-on winback conversations that guide guests toward direct relationships
  
  

Discover how properties like Voco Belfast prove that connection and experience-led messaging converts OTA bookers far more effectively than discount tactics.

Sign up for the Direct Booking Mastery Certification here.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Instructions on how to do this are here.

Connect with Brenna Turpin here:

• LinkedIn
• Revinate

Follow the podcast here:

• LinkedIn

Episode Highlights:
[00:38] Your most expensive guest - Brenna reveals the truth: "Your most expensive guest is the guest who books through an OTA and keeps doing it. Not because they honestly prefer OTAs and not because the offer is necessarily better with OTAs, but because guests are missing a compelling reason to book direct with you."

[01:35] Invest in direct, not commissions - Kathleen Cullen from PTG Consulting makes the business case clear: "Many times we're investing in the OTAs. Why not invest those same dollars that you're currently giving to third parties and shift that investment into your own website, into your own direct booking strategy."

[02:08] The faucet metaphor - Marc Winchell from Pacific Hospitality Group offers a perfect analogy: "It's so easy just to dial it up. We're slowly turning that faucet off and we're incentivizing guests to book direct." It's about controlling the flow, not shutting it off completely.

Chapters:00:00 - Intro 
00:38 - Your most expensive guest revealed 
01:35 - Why direct bookings are critical 
02:08 - OTA winback campaign performance 
03:30 - Voco Belfast success story 
04:45 - Holiday opportunity: Christmas and New Year strategy 
06:15 - Direct Booking Mastery Certification overview


If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here.

Hotel Moment Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so


Previous guests include: Shannon Knapp, CEO of Leading Hotels of the World (LHW), Patrick Norton of Brittain Resorts & Hotels, Shawn Jereb of Montage International, Carlo Del Mistro, Chief Digital Officer of Ennismore, Jason Pirock of Springboard Hospitality, and many more.


Are you a hospitality industry leader with insights to share? We're always looking for innovative voices to join our conversation about the future of hospitality technology.

If you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming episode of Hotel Moment, we'd love to hear from you! Our podcast reaches thousands of hospitality professionals worldwide, and we're particularly interested in perspectives on:

• Innovation in hospitality technology
• Guest experience transformation
• Revenue optimization strategies
• Emerging industry trends

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Check out the three most downloaded episodes:

• Revinate’s new CEO — on a mission to empower hoteliers with data-driven technology | with Bryson Koehler 
• Guests define what luxury means today | with Shannon Knapp
• Your commercial strategy as an evolution and not a revolution | with Jennifer Hill