john smallwood
Navigating Today’s Persistent Labor Shortages in Hospitality
John Smallwood, President of Travel Outlook | February 22, 2024
How technology can help the hospitality industry traverse these turbulent waters and emerge stronger and more resilient than ever. By John Smallwood, President of Travel Outlook February 22, 2024 – In the dynamic hospitality industry, where guest satisfaction reigns supreme, the persistent challenge of staffing shortages has reached a critical juncture. According to a recent survey by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), a staggering 67% of hotels are grappling with staffing shortages. This scarcity of personnel is not merely an inconvenience; it is a significant impediment to the industry's seamless operation. Despi...
Travel Outlook Partners With Thrio to Advance the Travel Industry Customer Service Experience
Travel Outlook The Premier Hotel Call Center | September 7, 2023
With Thrio's Revolutionary Cloud Contact Center Technology, Travel Outlook Is Taking Consumer Reservations and Customer Service to the Next Level SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO (September 2023): Travel Outlook, The Premier Hotel Call Center™, is pleased to announce a partnership with Thrio, a revolutionary contact center platform that’s making waves in the customer service industry. As the first and only call center certified by the Kennedy Training Network (KTN), Travel Outlook uses a unique, industry-leading sales approach developed exclusively by KTN to train their reservations specialists. With the KTN system, Travel Outlook closes up to ...
AI Is Here to Work With Your Employees, Not Replace Them
Travel Outlook the Premier Hotel Call Center™ | February 21, 2023
Why Hotels Are Now Adopting Zero-Labor Solutions By John Smallwood Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a buzzword in today’s information age. It’s the way of the future and changing how we do business. AI is all around us. It’s in our phones, our cars, and in our homes. In business, AI has captured the interests and imaginations of executives across multiple industries. Not all artificial intelligence is created equal, and the pursuit of artificial achievement may be common, but realizing its full potential is still rare. Continue reading below to learn why. The State of Travel in 2023 The ongoing travel boom was p...
What Customers Want and Expect While Traveling in 2023
John Smallwood, President of Travel Outlook | February 1, 2023
How the hospitality industry is shifting from touch-heavy to touch-free. By John Smallwood, President of Travel Outlook February 2023 There’s no doubt about it, travel has returned and is stronger than ever in 2023. Despite things returning to normal in many ways, the landscape of travel and the hospitality industry has hit an inflection point. Thanks to technological advancements in the last half-decade, and the push for a contactless solution in the last few years, the hospitality industry has shifted from touch heavy to touch-free. In an ever-changing industry, it’s time for hoteliers to embrace change, technological advance...
Labor Shortages and The Impact on Hotel Operating Costs
John Smallwood, President of Travel Outlook | January 17, 2023
How Modern AI Solutions Offset Rising Costs That Cut into Hotel Profits By John Smallwood, President of Travel Outlook January 2023 Thanks to the perfect storm of the last two years, costs are skyrocketing across multiple industries, and the hospitality industry is no exception. Maintaining control over your hotel’s operation is key to running a successful and profitable business. Hotels all over the world have had to adapt to rising costs thanks to inflation, the pandemic, and labor shortages, all of which combine to threaten profitability and longevity. In a perfect world, hotels can seamlessly meet a never-ending stream of deman...
Using Artificial Intelligence to Positively Impact Your Hotel
John Smallwood, President of Travel Outlook | December 20, 2022
How Hospitality-Specific AI is Changing How We Do Business By John Smallwood, President of Travel Outlook December 2022 Artificial Intelligence (AI) seems to be a buzzword in today’s information age. AI is all around us. It’s in our phones, it’s in our cars, and it’s promised to be the way of the future. AI has captured the interests and imaginations of executives across multiple industries. I recently sat down with Adam and Larry Mogelonsky to discuss the importance of conversational AI and their recent article, Why Conversational AI Exemplifies the New Era of Hotel Operations. What I found was that not all artificial intell...
Increase Reservations and Lower Labor Cost by Harnessing Cutting-Edge AI Technology
John Smallwood, President of Travel Outlook | November 29, 2022
How Artificial Intelligence is Changing the Hospitality Industry By John Smallwood, President of Travel Outlook November 2022 If you were to ask 100 hotels what the greatest problem they face in their day-to-day operations is, they would all reply with a similar version of the same story— staffing issues. Staffing shortages have become increasingly problematic for hotels around the world. These issues started before the pandemic and were made exponentially worse by the last two and a half turbulent years. Despite a hotel's best efforts, staffing shortages are noticed by guests and often negatively impact their stays. For most hot...
Cut Labor Expenses Without Sacrificing Service
John Smallwood, President of Travel Outlook | November 10, 2022
How Annette, The Virtual Hotel Agent™ goes above and beyond IVR (Interactive Voice Response) systems By John Smallwood, President of Travel Outlook November 2022 Customer service is at the core of the hospitality industry. You won’t last long in the hotel business if you choose to cut corners and sacrifice service for the sake of profit. Unfortunately, in the modern, complex economy, too many businesses are forced to choose between providing quality customer service and running a sustainably profitable hotel. In the past, when hotels needed a better way to handle their increasingly large call volumes, they would turn to IVR (Inter...
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