Latest / Suite Spot: A Hotel Marketing Podcast / 191 – 2025 TMG Year in Review with President Dana Singer
Transcript
- Ryan Embree: Welcome to Suite Spot, where hoteliers check in, and we check out what's trending in hotel marketing. I'm your host, Ryan Embree. Hello everyone. Welcome to another episode of The Suite Spot for an annual tradition. One of my favorite episodes. We were talking about this off camera, about how many years in a row it's been that we've done this, but it's such a cool time, obviously, end of the year, beginning of a new year, such a time for reflection. And, you know, looking into the future and with me today is a very familiar guest president at Travel Media Group, Dana Singer. Dana, thank you so much for joining me back on the Suite Spot. Dana Singer: Absolutely. Good morning, Ryan. Ryan Embree: From the comfy confines of our TMG headquarters and Maitland. So grateful for you having the opportunity to join me on the sweet spot too. You know, look at TMG year in review. We do this every single year. Dana 2025 has been an exciting year. It's been a year of innovation, productivity success, obviously on the Travel Media Group side, but more importantly for our hospitality partners. And I'd like to start by just kind of reflecting on this past year and sharing how TMG has grown as a company, but also how those efforts have made meaningful contributions to our hotel partners. Dana Singer: Yeah, sure. 2025 has definitely been a successful year for Travel Media Group. We celebrated a number of milestones, but most importantly, as you just said, you know, for our hotel partners that we collaborate with and support every single day, it's been really exciting to see their growth. One of the most significant markers of our progress this year has been the expansion of our teams. Increasing the depth of new talent across multiple departments has strengthened our ability to deliver the level of service our partners rely on. And it's been inspiring to see fresh perspectives join our longstanding expertise. Everyone's working together towards the same mission. It's all about delivering industry leading solutions and an outstanding client experience every step of the way. Internally, our goal is to anticipate the industry's needs, and based on that, we've developed new solutions. We refined our existing services, and we've continued to advance our technology. Every innovation has centered on the question, how can we empower our partners to achieve their goals? And our commitment has always been to help hoteliers succeed. And we achieve this by innovating without compromise. And in 2025, I believe we've done so in more meaningful ways than ever. Dana Singer: It's so cool to see and to, quite frankly, to be a part of, to see the success of our hotel partners, new partners coming on board, um, along with new team members here at TMG, helping our partners, succeed and achieve those milestones and goals. Because I've had several guests on this podcast talk about the guest expectations and how not only are they rising, but they're becoming more complex, especially with the integration of technology, it's becoming faster than ever. The pace and acceleration of these guest expectations. And the same applies to, you know, our hotel partners. How has TMG kind of maintained to stay one step ahead and really positioned itself as the leader as we try to enhance the guest experience in our services at TMG? Dana Singer: Yeah, I mean, exceeding guest expectations is the foundation of success in hospitality. So it's vital that we not only adapt, but we anticipate what hoteliers will need next. And this year, innovation has once again been at the center of our business strategies. You're gonna hear me talk about that a lot, probably this morning. One of the most exciting recent advancements has been the launch of Smart Response. And this is our hybrid human AI review response solution, which has been added to our existing suite of response services. And what makes it unique is its incredibly advanced AI training that's built on more than 2 million reviews that our in-house professional writers have personally crafted. And so that depth of expertise provides an unparalleled technology with nuance authenticity and hospitality care that hotels expect. Every response generated is overseen by our team of professional writers to ensure accuracy, empathy, and alignment in each property's unique voice. You know, across the board, every team at TMG has been laser focused on elevating our services, refining workflows, and galvanizing our partnerships. We're so committed to understanding our management company partners needs to ensure a positive guest experience while improving operational efficiency without compromising authenticity. So, you know, just seeing the real impact of these efforts is, is rewarding. I mean, I love hearing about the wins and watching our partners grow, and that's what makes the work that we do so meaningful. Ryan Embree: Yeah, it really is, again, so cool to be, to be a part of those wins with our hotel partners. And I think at the foundation of a lot of the innovation and advancements to our solutions, Dana, have been conversations, meaningful conversations that we've had with our hotel partners, not just this year, but over the years. You know, whether that's talking to, you know, we've covered a ton of hospitality events, from the Suite Spot standpoint and hosted some really industry leaders and professionals, thought leaders in hospitality. And from our educational webinars that what we host our brand, ambassador Cassidy hosts every single month. Where do you think that, or why do you think it's important rather to kind of grow in these areas and how has it helped improve the business? Dana Singer: You know, as you mentioned, the best way to understand what hoteliers are facing day to day is to be in a position to really listen and understand their strategies. And it just doesn't matter, you know, if that's in person at an event or virtually, you know, these touch points allow us to deepen our understanding of how to develop our innovation roadmap to better serve their needs. And throughout 2025, if we look back, we've really doubled down on our commitment by attending major industry events as a press resource. This includes the Hunter Hotel Investment Conference, NYU IHIF, the Independent Hotel Show, and the Hospitality Show. And next year, we'll be adding even more. These interviews that we conduct at these events are an important facet in keeping the industry in tune with trends and leadership strategy. It's just one small yet crucial part of what's shaping the hospitality industry today. Ryan Embree: Yeah, it's been, again, such a privilege to be able to talk to industry leaders, thought leaders, you know, across the country. You know, some of the team members at TMG have been able to speak on panels at some of these events and share their insights and what we're learning from our hotel partners. That is the catalyst for meaningful change in hospitality because 2025, it's been a challenging year for hotels. The industry is becoming more complex and a time, there's almost, there's only a finite time that a hotelier has to meanwhile their daily duties and responsibilities continue to grow. So being a resource for them, as you mentioned, Dana, on the education side, has been huge. And we've heard, and the feedback and engagement that we're getting, people are craving that connection right now, especially in hospitality. It's really, really inspiring to see and hear from, from our hoteliers. And again, 2025 big year for hospitality, big year for Travel Media Group. From your standpoint, Dana, how do you make sure as a leader, we're continuing to make that impact that TMG's known for? Dana Singer: Yeah, you know, 2025 has been very validating in terms of strengthening TMG's position as a trusted leader and partner in the hospitality industry. And there are a number of notable highlights. We've worked diligently behind the scenes to develop robust partnerships with important industry platforms. This year we finalized our direct integrations with Booking.com and Expedia, and this enables us to build review response workflow efficiencies that are unparalleled in the hospitality industry. We're also honored to lead the industry with a unique, scalable social media content creation solution that's developed specifically for hospitality clients. We achieved several milestones with that solution, including surpassing 1 million custom-crafted social posts. And that's especially important as today's travelers increasingly rely on social media to make their booking decisions. We celebrated the eighth year of our Suite Spot podcast. We've now surpassed 190 episodes, and clearly we're, we're just getting started. The podcast features guests from a wide range of hotel brands and management companies, and this platform allows them to share their diverse perspectives with a global audience, with messages that resonate, across the industry. I could go on and on, but ultimately, the true measure of our impact comes from the feedback that we receive, whether it's from our partners, listeners, or other industry professionals. It's clear that our initiatives are making a difference, and that motivates us to keep innovating and raising the bar. Ryan Embree: Again, I'll circle back to just being such a privilege to work in hospitality. You can feel the passion of the hoteliers that we work with, that I speak to on the podcast and conversations that we have across the country. It's such a special industry that we work in that we get the privilege to work in every single day. And at the top of the episode, I mentioned this episode represents a great time of reflection to look back on this past year to see how far we've come as an organization with our hotel partners, and celebrating the milestones and goals that we've been hand in hand with our partners to help them achieve, but also to look towards the future, right? And to see what's next. That's always so inspiring as you kind of get geared up for a brand new year. So, Dana, as we mentioned this and we wrap up the, not only 2025, but this episode today, can you preview anything for our Suite Spot listeners, what to look forward to in 2026? Dana Singer: Yeah, sure. You know, our teams are already hard at work, shaping and implementing new initiatives for 2026. Every conversation we have starts with the same question. How can we better support our hotel partners in the industry as a whole? Essentially, we wanna give them what they need before they know they need it. As I reflect on 2025, it's been a year of growth and innovation, and we're committed to carrying that momentum, into the new year ahead, and I can promise there will be new introductions of creative strategies and solutions to help our partners succeed to all of our Gen Z subscribers. Get ready for an exciting new addition to our podcast series that focuses specifically on social media. Everyone is excited about what 2026 will bring for TMG and the hotels management companies and brands that we're committed to serving. Ryan Embree: Yes, I am geared up and ready for 2026. I know me and my team, the podcast, the Suite Spot team is ready to go. We've got some incredible content planned for you, so stay tuned here. Very excited to see all the innovation that comes out of our organization at Travel Media Group, but also hospitality as a whole. This might be the most exciting time to be in hospitality right now with all the disruption happening, all the innovation that we hope to bring all of those value and insights to our customers, our partners and, and hospitality community every single day through, like I said, our educational webinars, our podcasts, some of the innovative solutions, that we're partnering with hospitality in. So, again, Dana, as we kind of wrap up today, I think I've asked you for this the last couple years, is just kind of a final thoughts wrap up to this year as we kind of put a book into not only this episode, but 2025. Dana Singer: Everyone with this as we wrap up 2025. What resonates most with me is seeing how our work has helped our partners succeed. The commitment and passion that all of our team members have for our industry is evident in their work every day. They show up and take big swings that propel our partners forward. We never get tired of hearing about how our solutions support our clients by saving time, enhancing guest experiences, and ultimately strengthening their reputations. And that's really what it's all about for us. So, to our listeners, if you'd like to learn more about what partnership with Travel Media Group can look like or what we do, now's a great time to reach out. We look forward to talking with you, and I can assure you, that you're in good hands and of course to our hotel partners, thank you for your continued trust, and collaboration. And Ryan, thank you for inviting me to the Suite Spot this morning. I always enjoy spending this time with you. Ryan Embree: Well, thank you. I know, you know, you take time out of your day, especially around this time of year, which can be obviously really crazy with the holidays, but appreciate you having these conversations again. So inspiring, so exciting. We are ready for 2026 here at Travel Media Group. I know the industry is ready to start a brand new year and really appreciate your thoughts and insights and joining me today, Dana. So thank you for joining me on the Suite Spot. Dana Singer: Yeah, my pleasure. Ryan Embree: To all of our listeners, Happy New Year. Thank you so much for joining me. Whether this is your first episode listening or 190th, we're so excited to be celebrating 200 episodes at some point in 2026, but again, we've got all credible lineup of content planned for you. But sincerely wish you nothing but the best and a happy New Year. So thank you for listening to The Suite Spot, and we will talk to you next time. To join our loyalty program. Be sure to subscribe and give us a five star rating on iTunes. Suite Spot is produced by Travel Media Group. Our editor is Brandon Bell with Cover Art by Bary Gordon. I'm your host Ryan Embree, and we hope you enjoyed your stay.