As travel growth shifts to data-thin emerging markets, the author argues most hotel sales teams can only harvest existing demand, not create it, and outlines how to build teams that can.
HSMAI Europe's first Commercial Strategy Forum in Paris will be co-located with EquipHotel Paris on 5 November 2026, with HFTP also joining the event at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles.
The article argues that successful salespeople focus on understanding client needs through strategic questioning and silence rather than traditional pitching techniques.
The technique involves offering a small concession like comp rooms or waived fees to secure agreement when clients show buying signals but hesitate to commit.
Author argues hospitality vendors must shift from traditional selling to building trusted partnerships through expertise and transparent communication.
Using painting metaphors, the author explores how hospitality professionals can approach new opportunities with strategic planning and creative execution.
Corporate travel buyers now use AI agents to research hotels, benchmark rates, and analyze reviews before contacting sales teams, fundamentally changing the negotiation dynamic.
The article outlines how hospitality vendors lose deals by lacking online social proof despite heavy outbound spending, offering a 90-day framework to fix it.
The author introduces a four-layer leadership framework covering strategy, systems, signal interpretation, and storytelling to build resilient revenue organizations.
The article explains how hoteliers can build recurring guest relationships through targeted sales efforts with demand drivers like airports, military bases, and construction projects.
The article argues that hotels are using outdated revenue strategies designed for stable markets while today's demand is fragmented and unpredictable.
The author advocates distilling your customer problem-solving into one word for marketing clarity, using "retention" and "inconsistency" as examples.
Joyce Macieri of Minerva Foods discusses how women have evolved from operational roles to strategic leadership positions in corporate travel management.
Hotels outside FIFA 2026 host cities can capture significant demand through early positioning as strategic bases for teams, corporations, and multi-city travelers.