GLO Video Interview at ATM 2023 with David Garner, VP Commercial, Minor Hotels on Strategy, Sustainability and Innovation

GLO Video Interview at ATM 2023 with David Garner, VP of Commercial for Minor Hotels (Middle East and Africa) on strategy, sustainability and innovation

0:45: On market recovery

2:15: On challenges in 23/24

4:35: On being part of Global Hotel Alliance and the Discovery Dollar Programme

7:17: On piloting Discovery Dollar's new earn & burn feature

8:48: On Minor Hotels' sustainability efforts and being part of Green Collection

12:35: On?Digitalisation,?AI implementation and personalisation

15:00: On characteristics of UAE and Middle Eastern travel markets

16:22: One prediction for 2024

17:45: If you had a magic wand, what customer experience or loyalty feature would you invent?

18:46: If you had 1 million Discovery Dollars, how would you spend them?

20:10: If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self on loyalty, what would it be??

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Dilek Glenister, GLO:?Good afternoon I'm Dilek Glenister and it’s a pleasure to talk to David Garner from Minor Hotels.

David Garner, Minor Hotels:?I'm David Garner, VP of Commercial for Minor Hotels. I am responsible for the Middle East and Africa region for our Group. We have over 530 hotels worldwide, across 65 countries across eight distinct hotel brands.

Dilek Glenister, GLO: 2023, has been a very strong year. People are talking about revenge travel after two years of lockdown. How has the year been for you?

David Garner, Minor Hotels:?It’s interesting when you talk about revenge tourism because really in the Middle East, we were only locked down for six weeks anyway. In fact, the last few years have been some of our record-breaking years for us from a revenue and commercial perspective. And we've seen this trend continue into 2023. I think the main impact in 2023 for us in our regions is that other global destinations have started to recover as well. We’re very strong in Asia. We've seen a very strong recovery in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Cambodia, where we are very strong. But in the Middle East Africa, we've seen sustained growth. There are obviously some global trends which are impacting us. There's still a lack of flight availability to several key destinations. We hope that the airlines can continue to expand their networks because there is such high demand.

Dilek Glenister, GLO: You mentioned a lack of flight availability, which leads me to the next question about the challenges you expect this year.

David Garner, Minor Hotels:?A lot of Western European markets have had some impact this year due to inflationary pressures, and increasing cost of living but we are still seeing an upward trend from those customers coming to our properties. Some of them are becoming more experience-led, some are becoming more conscious of what their programmes are going to include – i.e. cost value. For us, it's not just about cutting costs. It is actually creating value for the customers in our resorts along with our properties in our cities. We've managed to do that by very effectively bringing in certain activities, where we manage our guests' journey through our properties. But we are impacted in some destinations by lack of flight availability into key destinations like Oman, where we have three properties. We need more international flights from overseas into those countries. If you talk to some of the major carriers like Emirates, their fleet is only operating at 80% capacity as they bring back the A380s. But they need more staff to be able to run those flights and you can see that in the pricing of the airlines. But the general recovery has been pretty strong across all destinations. And with the opening up of the outbound travel from China, I think for our region in Middle East and Africa we will see a very strong demand in Q3/Q4.

Dilek Glenister, GLO: You have touched upon that the customers have become more demanding as to what they're expecting from you as a hospitality provider. How have you used your loyalty programme to address those new customer demands to improve customer experience?

David Garner, Minor Hotels:?We’re very proud to be a member of Global Hotel Alliance (GHA). During the pandemic they very wisely reviewed what benefits are given to our loyal guests because the GHA in the end is an organisation that has multiple companies, multiple partners under one programme. The benefits of it is the ability to cross-sell into multiple brands in different markets in the world.?If you look at the US market where we do not have a large footprint but the ability of GHA partners to influence their guests to come and stay at Minor Hotel is very strong. The GHA program turned into the Discovery Dollars Programme at the end of last year and changed from being a benefits program to a rewards program. Our guests in our properties now will earn Dollars which they can then use for future stays or redemptions in resorts, for F&B and spa activities etc. It allows us to offer higher level of rewards for our members and it gives them the flexibility to actually use those for business or leisure no depending on purpose they are travelling for.

Dilek Glenister, GLO: If you look back at last year, has the Discovery Dollar Programme met your expectations? Where there any surprises?

David Garner, Minor Hotels: We've seen it as nothing but a benefit for us. Because we can use it for our corporate guests, for our leisure guests and there's no difference. It's addressing what the consumer wants. The consumer has been wanting more rewards-led programmes which they can use for their own benefits either within their stay – could be that at check-in they say “Please use my Discovery goals I've got to offset the cost of my room, or food and beverage” that they have at the properties. So, I think the involvement in the Discovery Program has been very important for us and we've seen a very good interest from our customers.

Dilek Glenister, GLO: You are part of the pilot programme which allows members to spend at your properties without having to stay.

David Garner, Minor Hotels: The Discovery Dollars Programme is being launched in phases. So, the phase that's coming towards the end of this year will be the ability to earn and burn your Discovery Dollars whilst you're staying at the property or as an outside guest who's going to use the facilities or restaurants. We are happy to be part of that program here in the Middle East with the Anantara on the Palm Jumeirah.

Dilek Glenister, GLO:?What's next? What your plans to roll it out further in the future?

David Garner, Minor Hotels:?I think we will continue to expand the actual benefits over the next few months. For me, it's a strong programme already having millions of users. For us the real heart of GHA is cross brand selling benefits: Us being visible and likewise the GHA partners being visible to our customers.

Dilek Glenister, GLO:?Let's talk about sustainability. I believe it's a topic is also very close to your heart since you were part of the launch of the Green Collection. Can you tell us about Minor Hotel Groups’ sustainability efforts, as well your plans to further roll out the Green Collection.

David Garner, Minor Hotels:?Our properties are very driven and at the heart of the sustainability support. Particularly the Anantara brand is the heart of our DNA. We worked with external partners such as Green Globe in the past to have our properties rated. We're one of the first companies in the Middle East to bring in plastic-free water within our properties. We have our own bottling plants even in properties which are located in the middle of the desert to properties on the Palm because it cuts down on the one-time use of plastics. That saves millions and millions every year. We're working with wildlife conservation such as our elephant camps in Thailand, we engage in environmental conservation efforts such as our beach clean-up campaign. We're very involved with it from all levels. When we analyse food wastage we actually weigh and measure our food wastage to see how we can minimise wastage. We feed this back into the food chain and the supply chain to become more environmentally aware and sustainable.

Dilek Glenister, GLO:?Your sustainability efforts help the communities, do good for the environment and climate but also must be helping your bottom line because you have less wastage and save energy.

David Garner, Minor Hotels:?We have to invest in these programs. Our long-term objective is that you are becoming more environmentally aware, we are passing this onto our consumers, we're educating them in that whole process of it. Do they want their linen changed every day, do they want fresh towels every day? These options we’ll give to the guests to consider. I guess it might create some savings also for the property and has a benefit, but it's more about the approach that we have. Because there are people out there who demand this. Who want the hotel to be responsible, who want to see that it is green certified. They're making a conscious decision in their purchasing to select properties who act in this way.?It's also important how we communicate with different generations. Are we talking through social media, through the press or are we pushing through our own websites? I think it's important that we get the communication right.

Dilek Glenister, GLO: Digitalisation, AI implementation and personalisation are topics which are being currently much talked about. What is your approach to new technologies?

David Garner, Minor Hotels:?Technology evolves every month. There are different ways to do business, but technology gives us the ability to manage our business better. It allows us to distribute our products and our pricing on a global basis seamlessly. It helps the clients with price parity. They can come to our site, and they know they're not going to be undercut by a third-party site etc. So, I think the digital side from a marketing perspective has actually grown. We can get our communication out to millions of people with a press of a button. Historic people-led prints etc still has a place, but it's nowhere near to the volume that we used to do it at as we become more digital in our approach. The management of social media is imperative on a daily basis and with the growth of ChatGPT and other platforms you have to be very aware of it, you have to embrace it as well.?This can be an opportunity for your company. The consumer will be able to go on a platform and ask: ”I want to go on a on a holiday for two weeks to Dubai. Plan it for me.” And theoretically they'll be able to get a full itinerary with flight times, availability, hotel selections etc. So, we have to be very aware of it. This is why we're with our e-commerce and distribution team continuously looking at how we do our search engine marketing, our optimisation of sites, how we're communicating, our pay-per-click programs which look at advertising spend through digital channels. I think it all has to be integrated with our social media and communication and influence these systems so that we're at the forefront of everybody's mind.

Dilek Glenister, GLO: You are responsible for running Minor Hotel Group’s Middle Eastern business. How would you say that the loyalty in the Middle East differentiates itself from loyalty in the US, Europe, Australia or Asia?

David Garner, Minor Hotels:?The UAE and the Middle East is such a global market. Remember, most of our business is people travelling from Europe, Americas, Asia etc. These are global travellers. So, I don’t think you can specifically say that the Middle Eastern market is different. Everybody is online these days, everybody has apps, everybody is highly connected. I think the Middle Eastern outbound market is a different story. They have certain destinations that they've prioritised over others and there's different ways of attracting them. We actually change our campaigns and our models and look at how we can get more business into our hotels. We often do that by different segments different nationality groups and we tailor-make it.

Dilek Glenister, GLO: If you were to make one prediction for 2024 for your company and your loyalty programme, what would it be?

David Garner, Minor Hotels:?I believe that 2024 will see a sustained growth of international travel. I think that people have become more adventurous in picking their destinations. I think loyalty will continue to grow and be a benefit. And we want those customers. If those customers are engaged with our brands, they feel an affinity with us, they want to stay with us. The stronger our loyalty programme is the more business that we're going to get direct into our own channels and our own brands. We want to own those customers to ensure that each time that they travel they think of Minor Hotels, and they think of GHA.

Dilek Glenister, GLO: If you could invent any loyalty feature or customer experience, what would it be?

David Garner, Minor Hotels:?That's a wonderful question. I think it would be a way that you can with a touch of a magic wand create that experiential itinerary for the customer that stands out from everything else. We talk about experiences already in all our properties but to have the IT know-how which gives you the ability to use your customer’s profile to recommend which of our 530 hotels and resorts worldwide is a perfect match, wouldn't that be great?

Dilek Glenister, GLO: If you had 1 million Discovery Dollars, how would you spend them?

David Garner, Minor Hotels:?I would be looking at a worldwide tour. I would go to some of the most interesting most experience-led destinations that we have. Places like the Royal Livingstone Anantara Hotel on the Victoria Falls where you where you have both Victoria Falls and the wildlife around you. Next thing you're in a bubble in Northern Thailand and a night under the stars with the elephants around you, followed by a luxury holiday into the Maldives, then possibly into Europe into the Amalfi coast and I could go on and on and on. I would build myself a worldwide tour.?

Dilek Glenister, GLO: If you could give your younger self who is starting in this industry one piece of advice, what would it be?

David Garner, Minor Hotels:?Ensure that you're digitally savvy because e-commerce and social media and side of our business is such a growth area. It has such a buying power these days. I’m talking for myself because I'm a commercially focused hotelier. So, you're not just a salesperson, or a revenue person, or a e-commerce or distribution, or ER personality. You must have knowledge of all these areas to really try to benefit our businesses. So, I would say to the young people coming into the industry “You need to be very tech savvy these days because the digital and tech side of our business are such a large portion of our revenue stream.”