Hotel customers are savvier than ever, and they expect more from their stay, whether they are indulging in a luxury resort stay, expanding their horizons with a lifestyle property, or opting for budget, select service and mid-range properties. And hotel managers and teams across the spectrum need to get creative and proactive in the way they go about it.
This was a consensus shared by the panelists of the “Creating Value & Updating the Guest Experience” during the 2025 Americas Lodging Investment Summit, including Matthew Boettcher, VP and premium category leader, U.S. and Canada, Marriott International; James Carroll, president and CEO, Crestline Hotels & Resorts; Evan Laskin, chief investment officer, Margaritaville; Fouad Malouf, chief operating officer, Red Roof; and Nirav Shah, RVP, development, Hyatt Hotels. The panel was moderated by Rob Schneider, managing editor at Hotel Investment Today.
“(As an operator), I firmly believe that the interaction between our employees and the guests is still the main driver of customer satisfaction,” stated Carroll. “When a guest has a positive, amazing experience with a member of the staff after arrival, that sets the tone for the entire visit and will have an impact across their entire stay. Likewise, negative interactions with team members can tarnish the rest of the stay regardless of how nice the room is. Hiring good people is key and training our folks to make sure that they’re having those positive interactions, especially right out of the gate, is critically important.”
Generation Adaptation
For this reason, getting staff fully trained on newly implemented technology, is a part of Carroll’s successful formula, as pre-arrival communications, the arrival, and the check-in process needs to seamless especially when check-in kiosks or online early check in is becoming the rule rather than the exception in many property models. Schneider asked the entire panel about their thoughts on how ownership brand companies should analyze consumer data, changing spending habits, and emerging trends to align their portfolios with different markets, from Baby Boomers, to Generation X, Millennials, and Gen Z who each have a different outlook to spending and travel planning.
Boettcher pointed out that in the U.S. market, travel and experiences make up a $1.2 trillion industry, and then drew the audience’s attention that 70 percent of Millennials and Gen Z goes to experiences rather than goods.
“Gen Z (travelers) are some of the best savers out there, especially as they’ve gone through two major world events in their lifetimes—the Great Recession during their childhoods, seeing what happened to their parents, and COVID-19,” he said. “While they save money by buying used clothing through sites like BeBop, for example, they’re willing to (spend) on travel experiences. The days of looking at data every ten years are gone. You can’t see the younger traveler only as a Courtyard by Marriott guest. While they may choose Courtyard for business trips, they may decide to splurge on a long weekend at an Edition and save up for two years to go on the Charleston Yacht experience.”
Boettcher and Shah also agreed that management should learn to distinguish the difference between a fad and a trend in order to make adaptations that will fit a specific property and its guests, especially with so many different sub-niches within larger ones (i.e. “urban luxury,” “lifestyle,” “sustainable luxury,” “elegant/traditional luxury) including designed for cost-conscious customers and long-term stays. While a fad is something that can come and go as fast as viral social media, trends are regarded as something that will last a year to a decade.
“Think of some of the big trends, such as workstations, ecotourism, and solo travel,” said Boettcher. “Solo travel (is) starting to get really big, which blows my mind. Somebody on my team just went down to Brazil by himself and did not know anybody. There are big opportunities for hotels and resorts attach into those trends.”
Little Somethings Extra Add Up
Shah said that in order to have continued relationships with guests, regardless of the stage of life, management needs to “meet the customer where they are” just as companies like those represented on the panel need to “meet the owners where they are.” In order to do that, there needs to be an understanding of a given guest’s needs, which with many younger demographics means updated technology, fitness/wellness offerings, and loyalty program benefits aimed at that group’s interests.
“Our approach has been to go deeper with the choices of our particular consumer,” said Shah. “For example, we have partnerships with Peloton, Headspace, Masterclass, and guests can use some of their loyalty points on some of the perks coming out of the collaborations. Brands such as Andaz’s modern luxury, luxury wellness-focused Miraval, social spaces-focused Caption by Hyatt, and others that design and define the guest experience.”
Guest feedback can also lead to deeper brand loyalty as well as innovation. He cites guest input enabling the company to fine-tune the Caption by Hyatt concept (offering flexible, playful, and eco-friendly stays in city settings), and launch Hyatt Studios. While Shah’s team was researching ways to improve the “Captions” brand, they also found that people staying in hotels in this category wanted better public spaces and some access to social interaction even in a select service setting.
This mindset leads brands in a category like this to add or reconfigure attractive public spaces, as well as having food outlets that draw in people from the local community, according to Carroll. Even brands whose names conjure up certain expectations in the traveler’s mind require some rethinks based on geographic location and customer demographics.
“A brand’s standard is no longer as standard as it used to be,” Carroll explained. “(A property like) Courtyard or Hyatt Place can exist in both an airport market and a leisure market. However, do you want the exact same F&B offering in those two different markets? Probably not. Owners and operators should have the flexibility to tailor the property to their needs and their guests’, whether it’s the food and beverage, the lobby experience, the check-in experience, or the hotel’s category. These specific adjustments not only make your guests happier as they’re getting exactly what they need based on the type of trip they’re on but also prove to be a lot more profitable.”
Every Guest and Staff Member a VIP
Malouf said Red Roof operators are always looking to identify tools to elevate the guest experience, to staff in real time, and in 2024, management looked to findings in a JD Powers Satisfaction Survey covering the ways the industry required investment in staff, services, and facilities to get a better result with the guests.
“These tools are going to help us track and escalate issues to our staff in real time, and that’s a plus,” he said. “We’re working very closely with our owners to strategize on property improvements to escalate and elevate the entire brand to drive consistent quality and profitability.”
As expenses go up, there’s more pressure from ownership and management companies to have their people do more with less. However, Laskin urged operators to be sure employees have the right training and build a culture where employees enjoy themselves and have fun working. “They’re the ones interacting with your guests every day,” he said. “Even if they’re working harder, they’re still enjoying what they’re doing and feeling like they’re valued part of the experience. This will be impressed upon your guests.”
