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Love/Hate Your Tech Stack? Enhancing Guest Experience in Short-Term Rentals · Host Planet: Airbnb, Holiday Let, and Vacation Rental Insights

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A lot of the tech companies, so they said they were kind of
0:02
frustrated because their customers use maybe 20% of the
0:06
utility of their technology. Basically nobody is happy with
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the tech that they have. AI is changing everything, and
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one of the things that it's changing is that ability to
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really personalize across operations and guest experience.
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How is tech transforming hospitality?
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What are the huge tech mistakes being made by STR operators, and
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what separates the brands that cut through from those who don't
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in the world of public relations?
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Jessica Gillingham from Abode Worldwide will be answering all
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these questions and more on today's Host Planet podcast.
0:49
Jessica, thank you for joining us on the House Planet podcast.
0:52
Tell us about your book Tech Enabled Hospitality and what
0:57
inspired you to write it. James, thank you so much for
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having me on the podcast. It's really good to be here
1:04
again because I know it's on on your podcast when you started,
1:07
but it's great to be here and to talk about the book.
1:10
So the book is called Tech Enabled Hospitality and I'd love
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to say that it came from sort of a bright idea from me to write
1:20
it. But I was actually approached by
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a business publisher called Gogan Page about 18 months ago
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and they said that they had explored the hospitality market
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and there basically wasn't many books about hospitality.
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So they asked if I would put together a proposal of what I
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thought would be a good book for, for the industry.
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And so I went away. I was really busy at the time.
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I was about to get married. I had a child doing GCSEs and a
1:51
child doing A levels, literally all in the same week.
1:56
And you know, when they sort of say give a busy person a job,
2:00
they get it done. But in my case, I think it was
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also, you know, I didn't think enough to say no, that's a lot
2:07
of work. I'm not going to take it on.
2:08
I took it as a challenge and as I work and have done for many
2:14
years now in technology for hospitality, so short term
2:18
rental technology and also hotel technology.
2:21
So I felt that a book that kind of needed to get out there
2:25
really was a about tech enabled hospitality.
2:31
So about how technology is changing the way that we provide
2:36
hospitality. So so I kind of went away and
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sort of thought about what is it, what is it that I'd love to
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talk about? And I wanted to look at it from
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2 angles, operations and guest experience.
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So I went to go Gampage and I said this is what I'd like to
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write about and they said, fine, go ahead and you know, do your
2:56
best and do it. So that's kind of the beginning
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really. And within the book I
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interviewed over 30 leaders across operators, so operators
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and also tech leaders. And actually it's not just short
3:10
term rentals. I look at hospitality as a whole
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in terms of hotels and short term rate rentals as well.
3:18
Just explain to us how the tech has developed in the hospitality
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space. I I imagine we've gone from next
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to nothing to a lot in a fairly short space of time.
3:30
Absolutely, James. And in just the, the, the span
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of time that I've worked in the industry, it's, I mean, it's
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just grown exponentially the amount of solutions that are out
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there. I think one of the things that
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has been so sort of interesting to me, you know, speaking with
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all the leaders in the research of the book has been around
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there is there is a sort of a divide across hospitality.
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And the divide isn't so much around.
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So it's, you could call it a tech divide.
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And the divide isn't so much about, you know, budgets that
4:04
the operators have or the size of the company.
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There is a real sort of divide in mindset when it comes to
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technology. So whether operators see it as
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a, you know, with strategic vision and have that kind of
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appetite to use technology to sort of improve what they're
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doing. So in a way they're seeing it as
4:23
an investment or they see it as a cost and a kind of we just
4:27
need to fix that problem with that thing.
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So that's kind of the mind shift that we're seeing happening
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across hotels and short term rentals in terms of operations.
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I mean there's more to it than that.
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You know there is, the way that the hospitality is being
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provided is changing and tech is enabling that as well, which
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which I just find really fascinating.
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That's a really interesting take away, isn't it, that the
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direction is coming from the top and it very much depends on the
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leader regarding whether the company's adapting or adopting
5:04
technology or or not. I imagine that's one of the key
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takeaways from the book. What are the other key takeaways
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that that you got from the experience?
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I think that one of the the the main key take away, which I was
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really surprised about and I don't know why I was surprised,
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but I was every single leader talked about that.
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Hospitality is at the heart of hospitality.
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So even ones that were, you know, they've developed tech
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that does all sorts of crazy and amazing things for companies or
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they are, you know, they, they are very much what they would
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consider tech enabled operators. At the heart of it is human
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experience. And even if that human
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experience now requires or can require far less humans
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delivering it, it's still the human experience which is at the
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core of it. And every single person that I
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spoke to talked about that, you know, they didn't talk about,
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you know, slashing stuff or automating in a way that wasn't
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about still providing the human experience.
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So I think that was what kind of surprised me.
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You know, I sort of expected a bit less of that.
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The other areas and there are, there are sort of all kinds of
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areas that sort of go a bit deeper into because in the book
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we, we, you know, I've looked at all areas of operations and
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guest experience, everything from, you know, pricing to IoT
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and access to guest communication, guest experience,
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pricing, fintech, marketing, all of it really looked at, looked
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at kind of how tech is changing all of those aspects.
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And there are sort of certain things that have kind of come
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out. And and the one that we just
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talked about is that sort of cultural mind shift that that
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needs to happen for operators to really sort of to see tech as an
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investment not costs is kind of the first one.
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The fact that it's democratizing hospitality so that small
7:05
operators and this is particularly pertinent for the
7:08
short term rental space is you can have, you know, 5 home or
7:12
one home and use technology to provide a really good experience
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and have a really good running functioning, you know, business
7:23
because of technology. So that's sort of democratizing
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is was a sort of a key theme that came through the other.
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And this came more from the operators, as you'd understand
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than the tech companies. Is the innovations important?
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But actually stability is more important.
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So this is more looking at vendors that that might be
7:42
chosen. You know, there are so much
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innovative startups that are kind of coming out, but actually
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the operators want the stability.
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They want to know that the, the, the, the vendor would which
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sticks with them, you know, can grow with them.
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And then that's another kind of theme was about looking at tech
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companies as partners, not actually as vendors.
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So making sure that, and actually a lot of the vendors
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came with this perspective as well, you know, making sure that
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they are working as partners with their customers to make
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sure that everything is sort of as it should be and they're
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growing. And then there are other themes,
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you know, basically nobody is happy with the the tech that
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they have. That's, that was a sort of a
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core theme from the operators. Other things like the
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hospitality offering is changing and we're looking at things like
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space as being the, I don't mean space, hasn't it our space.
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I mean, instead of selling room nights with, you know,
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especially in the hotel sector, we're looking at selling space,
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space as a service rather than, you know, room nights.
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The more traditional way other things are like looking at
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things like attribute based selling, which means that we're
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not necessarily again just looking at selling a room for a
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night, but actually the attributes to that room in a way
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that airlines do. So that's sort of coming in more
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into the hotel space. Also the fact that, you know, AI
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is changing everything and one of the things that it's changing
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is that ability to really personalize across operations
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and guest experience. We're not there yet, but that,
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but we are, you know, the future is personalization really and
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building that one to one relationship with customers,
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with guests. So those are some of the themes
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that kind of came through it and there are other, you know, there
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are plenty of other themes in it as well, but it sort of looks at
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the whole of hospitality operations as well as the guest
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experience side of it as well. Nobody being happy with their
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tech. I can believe that.
9:52
Tell us about the most enlightening and memorable
9:57
interviews that you conducted. Who were they with and and what
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were the key things that really stuck in your mind?
10:04
It's, you know, every single interview was interesting to me.
10:08
I love smart people that can tell me things that I don't, you
10:12
know, I don't already know. And I and I was very sort of
10:16
conscious and making sure that had diverse voices as well.
10:19
So it wasn't just the founder, you know, in some cases I spoke
10:22
to the CEO or I spoke to, you know, other people within,
10:27
within the business to kind of get their take on things.
10:30
And I think the probably the chapters that I found the most
10:35
interesting were the ones on the guest experience over the
10:40
operation. So for instance, talking to
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Graham Donahue of Sykes, he, he, he's in the chapter about
10:47
marketing and how marketing personalisation is changing
10:52
their book Boost, which is a guest communication software
10:57
that's in the hotel space. You know, talking about how the,
11:02
the, the CRM is really becoming the sort of the, the core of
11:07
opera, you know, the tech stack as well because of that ability
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to communicate and personalize with customers.
11:13
Then spoke to some operators that were, you know, just doing
11:18
some really amazing things for their, you know, their customer
11:22
profiles using technology. So one of the the companies that
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I spoke to was Coconut, which is a short term rental operation in
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France. And you know, they built their
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own tech because what they found in the market wasn't quite what
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they wanted. Now, that's always a really
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risky choice. Often it goes a little bit pear
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shaped, but for them it's really worked well.
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And, you know, they've been able to scale and then then sell it
11:47
on as well. And even though it was a, you
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know, a real investment in the beginning, it is an investment
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that the leadership feels has paid off.
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So and then one of the other ones that I found really
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interesting is Zoku, the founder Zaku, which is a operator in the
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Netherlands. And the CEO was also one of the
12:09
Co founders of Citizen M, which is, you know, a hotel brand and
12:13
how they are. This is how they're approaching
12:15
space in a different way. So instead of selling just room
12:19
lights, they're looking at hotel rooms, how they can sell it as
12:23
office space during the day and then a hotel room at night and
12:26
and all and using event spaces in a different way.
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And I just find that, you know, just thinking outside the box
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very interesting. Superb.
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Yeah, great that you mentioned Graham there.
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I interviewed him recently for a series that we're working on and
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we had a brilliant chat about how the Forge Holiday Group and
12:43
Sykes are adopting AI and it was absolutely fascinating.
12:49
So I'm not surprised that you mentioned Graham.
12:52
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14:10
In terms of STR operators and how they're utilizing tech.
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What are the biggest mistakes that you think that they're
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making? So that's always a really
14:21
interesting question. Firstly, I think it's probably
14:25
not looking at where the problem is that they need to solve.
14:29
So thinking a problem is over here, but actually not realizing
14:33
it's kind of over here. So I think that's probably one
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of the big mistakes. The other bit is maybe not
14:41
always understanding the tech that they do already have and
14:45
how they can utilize it better. So, you know, through the
14:48
research of the book as well, you know, a lot of the tech
14:51
companies, so they said they were kind of frustrated because
14:53
their customers use maybe 20% of the utility of their, their,
14:59
their technology. They're not using it to the full
15:01
potential. Now that is down to the tech
15:04
companies to educate, you know, educate better, you know,
15:08
account management, all that stuff.
15:10
But I think that is 1 and you know it and it can be either.
15:14
And then another one is going two ways.
15:16
It's either I want that next shiny thing, the thing that's
15:19
going to solve solve my headaches, or I'm not going to
15:24
really look and check and see what else is out there in the
15:28
market. And one of the kind of the top
15:30
tips of one of the operators is trialing things, you know, build
15:34
sandboxes, you know, to trial tech before you start to put it
15:40
out, you know, within your operation.
15:42
So those are kind of some of the mistakes that can be made and
15:46
some of the things to mitigate, mitigate against.
15:50
Yeah, interesting. You mentioned there the the tech
15:53
operators needing to educate their customers.
15:55
I, I had an issue with with some of my tech recently and I asked
16:01
to have a call to run through it to, to help me out.
16:04
And the first thing the guy said to me on the call was couldn't
16:06
you find the video on our website to tell you what to do?
16:09
And I was like, Oh my word. I was like, you've put me in a
16:12
bad mood. Immediately I was like, well,
16:14
the reason I did it was XY and ZI had AI had a good reason for
16:17
not watching a video. But I just thought you can't
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talk to your customers like that, You know, it's yeah, it
16:22
was crazy and a bad experience right from the start.
16:24
So, so yeah, I think, I think the tech companies do have a bit
16:27
to learn from that. So from your vantage point then
16:31
obviously leading abode worldwide PR company, you're
16:35
working with a lot of brands in the STR space.
16:39
What are the trends that you think are worth watching in 2025
16:43
and beyond? So.
16:45
One of it. So there are two trends
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actually, and they're kind of linked.
16:51
One of them is around looking at, and it's actually quite
16:54
difficult in short term rentals because because we don't, you
16:57
know, the repeat booking is a sort of a tricky 1.
17:00
Like, you know, it's not like business travellers that might
17:03
regularly go to New York and stay in the same kind of hotel
17:07
short term rental, you know, the, the, it's harder, but I
17:11
think it's looking at things a little bit differently.
17:14
And so really looking at your customer, your guests, and
17:19
instead of looking at it as just one transaction that you might
17:22
be having with them, looking at the lifetime value of that
17:26
guest. So what does it, you know, what
17:30
is the lifetime value of that guest as you nurture that
17:34
relationship, you know, for five years, 10 years or whatever it
17:37
might be. So rather than just seeing like,
17:39
OK, there's this one booking and then there might be another one
17:44
booking it, it's really looking at at that way.
17:47
And then that ties into the thing that we don't yet have in
17:51
short term rentals or certainly not successfully is loyalty.
17:55
And how can you grow loyalty? And I was at a conference
17:59
recently and there were speakers talking about how how short term
18:03
rentals and hotels think they do loyalty well, but actually
18:08
loyalty isn't emails, you know, it isn't about sending emails
18:13
and sending discount codes and those things.
18:16
It's about building a relationship.
18:18
And it's about really building that loyalty through a
18:21
relationship. It's not transactional, which I
18:24
think is a way that many might approach like, you know, it's,
18:27
it can sometimes be our tendency to look at things in a
18:30
transactional way rather than in a, in a relational way.
18:35
And when it comes the customers, you know, the relational way,
18:38
just like you've just experienced, you know that
18:41
wasn't a relational way that you just, you know, when he said why
18:45
didn't you watch the video? He's not seeing you.
18:49
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, it takes me back to.
18:52
Lived out in Qatar for 10 years and flew a lot with with work.
18:56
And because you're a frequent flyer on Qatar Airways, every
18:59
time you get on the plane, somebody comes along and gives
19:02
you a personal welcome. We'll say hello, you know,
19:05
Hello, James, Welcome back. What meal would you like?
19:08
Daddy. Daddy, da.
19:09
And it's just that kind of touch where it, it, it escalates, it
19:14
goes from being you, you're just a customer to actually, you
19:16
know, we value you and, you know, thank you for being, for
19:19
being a loyal customer. So you obviously work with a lot
19:24
of leading STR tech brands, helping them to kind of cut
19:29
through and to get that positive PR.
19:33
What separates do you think, the brands that cut through and and
19:38
those who don't? So it's something I think about
19:42
a lot actually. And because there are many
19:46
really fantastic sort of solutions out there.
19:49
There's loads of great people kind of leading things.
19:54
I think that there's a, there's a, there's a few things and I
19:57
honestly think it comes down to leadership.
20:00
So it's leadership that has a vision, that has a purpose, that
20:04
absolutely believes in what they're doing and drives it.
20:09
So that leadership also takes risks and invests in what
20:14
they're doing, you know, and really kind of goes for it.
20:17
And sort of it is a little bit like, especially for tech, it's
20:21
kind of like go big or go home. Like especially, you know, now
20:24
there is so much you have to be out there really, you know,
20:30
constantly if you want to get to that sort of, you know, to to a
20:35
critical mass point. So I think it's those things
20:39
that I would say, I'm sure that luck comes in as well.
20:41
Perfect timing, good investors, you know, all of those things,
20:45
great team, all of those things. But I think it's the quality of
20:48
the leadership and the vision. And then it's being, you know,
20:53
brave to be out there in a consistent way.
20:57
And then of course it's and actually I should have said this
21:00
bit first, it's delivering a really good product and putting
21:03
your customers at the centre of that product as well.
21:07
When ASTR. Brand approaches you and they
21:10
say, look, we we've got a great product, but we need to cut
21:15
through kind of where do you start and what are the best
21:19
examples of companies that you've worked with where they
21:22
really have cut through and they've achieved their initial
21:25
goals? Absolutely.
21:27
Now I tend not to talk about individual clients, clients of
21:31
ours, but so I can make it as a sort of a general and we do work
21:37
with start-ups. But our preference at Abode is
21:41
to work like to, for them to have a, you know, a minimal
21:44
viable product and have some traction and have some
21:47
customers, you know, that they have, you know, they are, they
21:51
already have that kind of base. So that then it's not just we've
21:56
got an idea, we've got, you know, something going there and
21:59
we want to get it out. Like PR isn't the time to do
22:03
that. Like you need to get your
22:04
marketing function, your full marketing function, right.
22:08
You need to make sure that you you're fit for purpose for
22:10
customers, all of those things. So we don't typically work with
22:14
really early stage, however often it is.
22:21
It's like if I have a conversation with a founder and
22:25
they're able to really convince me of what they their vision and
22:29
I can see that they've got those things, then then I can't, it
22:33
becomes much easier because it's like, right, totally see a,
22:36
you've got market fit, you've got vision, you're prepared to
22:39
take risks, you're out there. So we would do and we've done
22:43
it. You know, for many companies out
22:45
in the space, it's that foundational work.
22:47
It's like, what is it that you need to be known for?
22:51
What are your kind of core messages?
22:53
What can you lead the industry on?
22:56
And and then it's that that's really so really doing the
23:00
strategic work. You know, what are your
23:02
objectives, You know, is it that you want to break into a new
23:05
market? Is it that you know that you
23:07
want investment? Is it that you need to sort of
23:10
cut through because of through a really tough competitor market?
23:14
Or are you have you actually reinvented the wheel on a
23:17
particular, you know, part of the market?
23:21
Or is it that you're looking for talent, you want to attract the
23:25
best talent? Like there's lots of different
23:27
reasons why companies will want to invest in NPR and in their
23:31
comms. So we'd look at all that that
23:34
stuff 1st and then start positioning them and doing it
23:38
through all kinds of, you know, ways.
23:40
Some of it seems almost like it's hidden, you know, suddenly
23:45
this company is everywhere and and it's really about building
23:49
that trust and that credibility and that visibility and brand
23:53
value in brands. Without it, you know they it's
23:57
very difficult to cut through. In a world getting more
24:02
dominated by AI and large language models like ChatGPT and
24:08
potentially ChatGPT and similar models becoming more important
24:13
than Google for example, how much more important do you think
24:18
PR is becoming for brands if they want to cut through it's?
24:23
It's, you know, I don't know whether it, I mean LLMS becoming
24:27
becoming more important than Google.
24:29
I don't know that there's even a question mark about that.
24:32
And where the LLMS are getting their information from is from
24:36
trusted sources. And trusted sources means earned
24:41
media publications, you know, websites that are not just your
24:45
own kind of website. So I think it's something like
24:48
70% of the citations that come through Google overviews,
24:54
perplexity ChatGPT come from media sources.
24:57
So in and it's not just the media sources, it's about the
25:01
positioning as well. So it's around, you know, if
25:04
you're able to, if your brand is being positioned as a, you know,
25:10
tech company for XYZ solution for XYZ audience or that you're
25:14
known for thought leadership topics that you talk about in
25:18
the industry, you are going to be coming up in, in the the
25:23
search, you know, visibility. So it's vitally important, more
25:28
so than ever actually, which is kind of exciting.
25:32
Very exciting for the PR space. OK then.
25:35
So what's next for you and Abode worldwide?
25:39
So next is I've actually got, well, it's working on the book
25:43
launch. So, so getting that out there.
25:45
And then it's having a little bit of hibernation time over the
25:49
summer before all the big, you know, events and conferences of
25:54
the it's autumn. So I will personally be
25:57
travelling to quite a few events.
25:59
I speak at quite a few events. So I'll be doing that.
26:03
And then I have got another book in my, up my sleeves that I'm
26:08
very excited to, to, to kind of start to think about writing.
26:13
So that's the, the next step. And for us, you know, the team,
26:18
you know, we've got a great team and everyone's just kind of
26:21
hunkered down doing, doing their stuff and and helping our
26:25
clients, you know, get get their names out there.
26:27
So yeah. Fantastic.
26:31
And in terms of getting the book and where people can find you,
26:34
where should they head? So if they go to Amazon it's
26:40
tech enabled hospitality. They can also just put into
26:43
Google tech enabled hospitality and there is several pages to,
26:49
to purchase the book. And for me, I am on LinkedIn.
26:53
I'm always really happy to, to hear from people, whether it's
26:56
property managers, tech companies, whoever in the space.
26:59
You know, I love having conversations with SDR, you
27:02
know, it's how I learn about what's going on.
27:05
So I'm always, you know, available.
27:08
Plus I will be at various conferences over the autumn
27:12
time. Superb.
27:13
And we'll put your LinkedIn and the Amazon link for the book in
27:17
the show notes. OK then Jessica, we've got a few
27:20
questions to finish. Favorite brand in the
27:24
hospitality space? So.
27:27
There is one that I like a lot at the moment and we talked.
27:31
I talked a little bit about loyalty and it is from the Ennis
27:37
More Group, which is a group of hotel brands and it's called
27:41
Disloyalty and it's a loyalty program which is a brand in and
27:46
of itself, which is very, very different from other kinds.
27:49
It's not points based. It is actually giving discounts
27:53
and all those things like free coffees when you go.
27:56
And it's not about keeping you to one particular hotel chain,
28:01
it's about the whole like you can use it across, you know,
28:04
20-30 brands. They're all within Ennis Moore
28:08
Group, but it's a really interesting concept and one that
28:12
you know, someone very smart in the short term rental sector
28:15
should start to look and develop excellent.
28:19
Disloyalty sounds very interesting.
28:22
Individual shout out Now, is there somebody that you'd like
28:25
to give a shout out to and why so?
28:28
I am going to give it to our mutual friend Humphrey Bowles.
28:32
And, and the reason is, is he recently did a post about the
28:39
digital sharecropping on LinkedIn and he did a talk about
28:43
it. And you know, basically the, The
28:47
thing is, is like, you know the entrepreneurial myth, you know,
28:51
are you an entrepreneur or are you working in a job?
28:55
Do you actually own the assets of your business?
28:58
And he did this post and he's got this sort of, he kind of
29:02
brought to attention this idea and his talk is excellent if
29:04
ever you get a chance to, to, to, to watch it.
29:08
And I think he's just brought to the surface just a very
29:12
interesting concept for those of us in the short term rental
29:16
industry to think about now. What I also like about it and
29:20
from APR perspective is his thought got picked up by a big
29:24
trade, you know, travel tech publication focus, why he was
29:27
quoted in it. He's kind of I've seen all sorts
29:30
of really interesting people be commenting on it and taking it
29:33
further and further. So it's a little bit like a
29:37
viral moment in in STR space. So I think for for for those
29:43
several reasons, I'm I would give my shout out to Humphrey.
29:47
Great. Shout out for Humphrey.
29:48
Yeah, the chat is well worth watching.
29:51
And by the time this episode comes out, our podcast interview
29:55
with Humphrey will already be on our channels and it really is a
29:59
must listen. I've been reviewing it recently
30:02
and it's a really, really great episode.
30:04
I, we, we picked 3 social media clips from every episode that
30:08
we, that we publish on our platforms.
30:10
I could have picked about 20 social media clips from from
30:13
Humphrey's episode. It was really, really great pact
30:15
with knowledge. Finally, then, Jessica, advice
30:18
to anybody who wants to write a book.
30:21
So my short answer is don't do it.
30:23
It's really hard work, but you're doing it.
30:25
Again, I'm. Doing it again, I'm a glutton
30:28
for punishment. I think it's best you, you have
30:32
to realise that it's, you know, it's, it's, it's a lot of work.
30:35
It took a year from, you know, planning the researching, doing
30:39
the researching, actually all the copy editing and the bits
30:43
that the publisher does. You know, that's a huge
30:45
undertaking as well. I think it's having an idea that
30:49
you really want to explore and that you, you know, that you're
30:52
really curious about and then having a sort of a structure of
30:58
what that how you're going to communicate that idea and those
31:01
thoughts basically. So I take that back about don't
31:06
do it. Absolutely do it.
31:08
You know, if you've got something that you really want
31:10
to explore, then absolutely do it.
31:14
Superb. Make sure you check it out,
31:16
everybody on Amazon. And of course, get in touch with
31:20
Jessica if you want to have a conversation about the STR
31:23
space. That's something I did when I
31:24
started out and Jessica was kind enough to reply and give me 15
31:28
minutes of her time. Jessica, real pleasure as ever.
31:31
Thank you for joining us on the Host Planet podcast.
31:35
Thank you, James. Very much for having me, Grace
31:37
Jessica. Gillingham there from Abode
31:39
Worldwide about her new book STR tech and PR in the vacation
31:44
rentals industry. All right, that's it for today's
31:47
episode. Remember, this podcast is
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