Karen Stephens sits down with Casper Overbeek, Chief Product Officer at citizenM, to explore how the brand is revolutionizing guest loyalty and personalization in hospitality. Together, they discuss: citizenM's journey from 10 to 38 hotels across prime locations in Europe and the US The development and success of their paid subscription loyalty program, which now has 45,000 active members Their groundbreaking approach to guaranteed availability and rate parity The distinct differences between Eu...
Feb 12, 2025•28 min•Ep. 115
Karen Stephens sits down with Hans Meyer, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Zoku, about revolutionizing the hospitality industry through innovative design and community-focused spaces. Together, they discuss: Hans's journey from corporate hospitality roles to becoming a pioneer in hybrid hospitality concepts The inspiration behind Zoku, which came from interviewing 150 global nomads and experiencing the lifestyle firsthand How Zoku's unique design combines living, working, and social spaces to...
Feb 05, 2025•20 min•Ep. 114
Karen Stephens sits down with John Burns, President of Hospitality Technology Consulting, to explore the critical role of personalization in modern hospitality. With decades of experience helping hotels navigate technology and electronic distribution, John offers valuable insights into: The essential transition from anonymous guest interactions to personalized recognition How hotels can effectively select and implement technology solutions The role of staff training in delivering personalized ex...
Jan 29, 2025•19 min•Ep. 113
In this insightful episode of Hotel Moment, Karen Stephens speaks with Jan Freitag, National Director of Hospitality Analytics at CoStar Group. Together, they explore: The 2025 market outlook, with projected RevPAR growth of 1.8% and the continued bifurcation between luxury and economy segments How the "wealth effect" is driving unprecedented growth in luxury and ultra-luxury hotels The evolution of luxury travel from purely leisure to a mix of leisure, corporate, and group business The importan...
Jan 22, 2025•26 min•Ep. 112
In this insightful episode of Hotel Moment, Karen Stephens explores the evolving role of AI in hospitality with Evan Crawford, Vice President of Marketing at Pyramid Global Hospitality. As Pyramid implements new technology across their benchmark collection of independent hotels, Evan shares valuable perspectives on: How AI can augment rather than replace human interactions in hospitality Strategies for turning vast amounts of data into actionable insights The importance of maintaining authentic ...
Jan 15, 2025•18 min•Ep. 111
In this forward-looking episode of Hotel Moment, host Karen Stephens, Chief Marketing Officer at Revinate, brings together insights from industry leaders to explore key trends that will shape hospitality in 2025. The episode features perspectives from: Aaron Miller, VP of CRM and Digital at Highgate, discussing the return of hotels and the evolution of guest experiences Carlo Del Mistro, Chief Digital Officer at Ennismore, sharing insights on hyper-personalization and the future of loyalty progr...
Jan 08, 2025•16 min•Ep. 110
In this special episode of Hotel Moment, Karen Stephens reconnects with three industry leaders and previous guests to explore their latest innovations and successes: Aaron Miller, VP of CRM and Digital at Highgate, reveals how preparation and strategic messaging led to a successful Black Friday campaigns across their portfolio of nearly 90 independent hotels worldwide. Shawn Jereb, SVP of Revenue Management & Distribution at Montage International discusses their focus on creating distinctive...
Dec 18, 2024•17 min•Ep. 109
In this recast episode of Hotel Moment, we revisit a compelling conversation between Karen Stephens and JC Thompson, Founder and CEO of Pursuance. Originally recorded after NAVIGATE Miami, the episode explores how personal relationships remain crucial in luxury hospitality, even as AI becomes more prevalent. Since this conversation, JC has launched Pursuance.co, where hoteliers can build their own revenue optimization and human intelligence workshops. Together, they discuss: Why the voice channe...
Dec 11, 2024•28 min•Ep. 108
In this special compilation episode of Hotel Moment, Karen Stephens draws from her previous guest conversations to highlight the two most fundamental elements of hotel success: data collection and application. The episode features three industry experts sharing their unique perspectives: Adam Mogelonsky, Partner at Hotel Mogel Consulting, explains why high-caliber data is the gateway to all good things at your hotel. He emphasizes how quality data enables hotels to understand the emotional drive...
Dec 04, 2024•7 min•Ep. 107
Join Karen Stephens and Marc Winchell, Corporate CRM at Pacific Hospitality Group, as they dive deep into the Stay Golden loyalty program. Marc reveals how PHG is shifting away from OTA dependence by reimagining hotel loyalty. Rather than points, Stay Golden focuses on immediate value through direct booking discounts, room upgrades, and personalized pre-arrival experiences. Together, they discuss: Why immediate rewards and 10% discounts outperform traditional points systems How first-party data ...
Nov 27, 2024•26 min•Ep. 106
In this recast episode of Hotel Moment, we revisit an insightful conversation between Karen Stephens and Lori Kiel, whose roles have evolved since the original recording - Karen is now Chief Marketing Officer at Revinate, and Lori has taken on the role of Senior Vice President of Revenue Management at Pyramid Global Hospitality. Together, they explore: Lori's journey from reservations to becoming a champion of commercial strategy The importance of breaking down silos between sales, revenue manag...
Nov 22, 2024•38 min•Ep. 105
In this enlightening episode of Hotel Moment, Karen Stephens engages with Emily Goldfischer, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of hertelier, to explore the evolving landscape of women's leadership in hospitality. Emily shares her fascinating journey from PR professional to journalist and entrepreneur, highlighting how her experiences shaped her mission to spotlight and support women in the industry. Together, they discuss: Emily's transition from hospitality PR to founding hertelier, and how the platf...
Nov 13, 2024•22 min•Ep. 104
This week, on the Hotel Moment podcast, we are running an experiment. Today’s podcast was generated using an AI-powered tool. We fed the tool our content, played with the prompts, and landed on this episode. The world of podcasting is currently in the midst of a debate: “Are conversations crafted by AI-powered tools engaging? Are they on point? Convincing? And what extent will we go to in our search for efficiency?” We had a suspicion we wouldn’t be fans of AI-generated podcasts. After producing...
Nov 06, 2024•24 min•Ep. 103
In this week’s episode of the Hotel Moment podcast, we’re featuring a webinar from our webinar series, Hotel Moment Deep Dive. Revinators Bailey Yeats, Customer Education Specialist, and Maggie Stothart, Lead Email Marketing & Data Specialist, advocate for advanced preparation when it comes to email marketing if hoteliers want to achieve record ROI this Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Together, they cover: The importance of starting email marketing efforts early to maximize engagement and avo...
Oct 30, 2024•44 min•Ep. 102
In this episode of Hotel Moment, Bryson Koehler, CEO of Revinate, welcomes Jeff Jonas, CEO and founder of Senzing, for an in-depth discussion on data management and its impact on the hospitality industry. Together, they explore: The concept of data as a living organism and the challenges of data entropy in complex systems The critical role of entity resolution in enhancing customer experiences and preventing fraud How real-time learning and machine learning are transforming decision-making proce...
Oct 23, 2024•33 min•Ep. 101
In this special 100th episode, Bryson Koehler returns to the Hotel Moment podcast for a deep dive into the transformative power of data in hospitality. In this insightful conversation with host Karen Stephens, Revinate’s CEO draws on his extensive experience, including his pivotal role in Revinate’s growth and his leadership at IHG, to highlight how data is reshaping direct bookings and enhancing guest experiences. Key topics covered include: The evolution of data-driven guest feedback and its i...
Oct 16, 2024•27 min•Ep. 100
In this episode of the Hotel Moment podcast, we're featuring a webinar from our sister series, Hotel Moment Deep Dive. In this webinar, we hear from Brian Stinemetz, Client Success Manager at Revinate, Brent Sanders, Sr. Customer Education Specialist at Revinate, and guest speaker Raul Martinez from AmbienteTM Sedona. As they explore successful outbound strategies for maximizing direct revenue, they discuss: The critical role of capturing and following up on non-booked leads How outbound calling...
Oct 02, 2024•23 min•Ep. 99
In this thought-provoking episode of Hotel Moment, Karen Stephens sits down with Adam Mogelonsky, a Partner at Hotel Mogel Consulting Ltd, to uncover the transformative power of Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) in modern hospitality. Adam provides deep insights into how CDPs are revolutionizing the way hotels manage their technology and data to enhance guest satisfaction and streamline operations. Tune in as they discuss: The role of CDPs in modern hotel tech : Adam explains how CDPs act as the ce...
Sep 25, 2024•32 min•Ep. 98
In this week’s episode of the Hotel Moment podcast, Robbert Manussen, Area General Manager Taiwan at IHG Hotels & Resorts, joins Karen Stephens , Revinate CMO, to share how he’s used technology to connect cultures and help hoteliers across three continents stay relevant in their respective markets. Robbert explains that facilitating a cohesive guest experience is like building bridges between guests and hotel teams, and it all starts with investing in the right technology that staff can trai...
Sep 18, 2024•30 min•Ep. 97
In this episode of Hotel Moment , Karen Stephens sits down with Shannon Knapp, President & CEO of The Leading Hotels of the World, to explore the evolving luxury hospitality landscape and how independent luxury hotels can thrive in the modern era. Shannon shares her wealth of experience in the luxury travel space, shedding light on how her organization supports over 400 luxury hotels across 80 countries. Tune in as they discuss: The changing definition of luxury : Shannon reflects on how lux...
Sep 11, 2024•25 min•Ep. 96
In this week’s episode of the Hotel Moment podcast, Joel Morales, CMO at Castlerock Asset Management, joins Karen Stephens , Revinate CMO, to offer a proactive approach to budget season – starting before August. Joel highlights the benefits of initiating budget planning as early as May or June, and how he’s seen sales and marketing departments align and collaborate with greater speed and efficiency. Tune in for a change in perspective when it comes to the timing of budget planning, and how you c...
Sep 04, 2024•26 min•Ep. 95
In this episode of Hotel Moment , Karen Stephens, Revinate CMO, and Patrick Norton, Chief Marketing Officer at Brittain Resorts & Hotels advocate for making a data-centered tech stack the foundation for guest communication to win back previous OTA bookers. Patrick also highlights the several use cases for guest history marketing to foster guest loyalty and continue building detailed guest profiles. Tune in for inspiration on how to attract guests to your brand and keep the data collection pr...
Aug 28, 2024•26 min•Ep. 94
In this special episode of the Hotel Moment podcast, we’re featuring a webinar conversation recorded and published by Hospitality Net. Jason Pirock, Head of Marketing at Springboard Hospitality and Adam Mogelonsky, Partner at Hotel Mogel Consulting Ltd., investigate how a Customer Data Platform turns guest interactions into conversions on every channel — web, email, text, and voice. Jason explains why nurturing guest relationships becomes second nature with a CDP by enabling guest data applicati...
Aug 21, 2024•32 min•Ep. 93
In this episode of Hotel Moment , host Karen Stephens is joined by Bree Brostko, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Brand Strategy at Retro Hospitality. Retro is a boutique hospitality management firm with a focus on adaptive reuse properties, and Bree highlights the Hotel Fauna project in Bedford as a prime example of this. She also shares how Retro Hospitality uses email marketing and local partnerships to enhance the guest experience. Together, they discuss: Bree’s experience in the industry...
Aug 14, 2024•25 min•Ep. 92
Karen Stephens sits down with Renee Murrieta in the latest episode of Hotel Moment . Renee is Founder of Show.Tell., a boutique, London-based hospitality marketing agency. Together, they discuss: How you can use data from one property to cross-sell and promote other properties in your collection Efficient methods for personalizing campaigns for every segment of your customer base The importance of collating the data from all of your marketing channels to instruct your strategic decisions And mor...
Aug 07, 2024•28 min•Ep. 91
In this special episode of Hotel Moment, Karen Stephens, Chief Marketing Officer of Revinate, takes a unique approach by introducing herself and providing an in-depth history of the podcast and its evolution. The episode offers a retrospective view of how Hotel Moment began during the uncertain times of the COVID-19 pandemic as a platform for hoteliers to share stories and insights. Originally launched by Go Moment, the podcast was later integrated into Revinate's portfolio following the acquisi...
Jul 31, 2024•23 min•Ep. 90
Karen Stephens sits down with Carlo Del Mistro in the latest episode of Hotel Moment . Carlo is the Chief Digital Officer at Ennismore, a leading hotel management company in London. Together, they discuss: Ennismore’s groundbreaking membership program, Dis-loyalty, which offers exclusive discounts on hotels and restaurants within their portfolio. The importance of data collection and leveraging technology in Ennismore’s strategy Building a single customer view to understand guest spending and tr...
Jul 24, 2024•19 min•Ep. 89
In this episode of Hotel Moment , Karen Stephens speaks with Joe Pettigrew, the Chief Commercial Officer at EOS Hospitality. Together, they discuss: The importance of a strong commercial strategy and how it impacts the hospitality industry. Joe explains that a clear and simple vision is crucial for aligning all departments towards a common goal. The value of focusing on NOI as the ultimate measure of success rather than getting caught up in metrics like direct booking percentage or social media ...
Jul 17, 2024•26 min•Ep. 88
In this episode of Hotel Moment , Karen Stephens interviews JC Thompson, the Founder and CEO of Pursuance. Together, they discuss: The importance of personal relationships in the luxury hospitality industry and why AI can’t replace the real human connections that guests are looking for. How and why Pursuance focuses on deep-diving with a specific smaller sub-set of customers rather than spreading themselves more widely Why sharing personal stories and experiences is a more effective method of co...
Jul 10, 2024•26 min•Ep. 87
In this episode of Hotel Moment, host Karen Stephens is joined by Nick Cavanaugh, Founder and CEO of Sensible Weather. Together, they discuss: Automated reimbursement for bad weather affecting travel plans Use of advanced technology for weather prediction and customer reimbursement Integration with booking platforms and hotel partners And more! Nick Cavanaugh is a visionary leader at the forefront of climate finance and technology. With a background spanning climate science, data analytics, and ...
Jul 03, 2024•22 min•Ep. 86
