Recapping Black Friday, the guest experience, and “Dis-loyalty”

In this special episode of Hotel Moment, Karen Stephens catches up with three previous guests to explore how their innovative strategies have evolved. Aaron Miller, VP of CRM and Digital at Highgate shares insights on Black Friday success, Shawn Jereb, SVP of Revenue Management & Distribution at Montage International discusses the evolution of luxury experiences, and Carlo Del Mistro, Chief Digital Officer at Ennismore provides updates on their groundbreaking "Dis-loyalty" program. Together, they offer a fascinating look at how different sectors of the hospitality industry are innovating and preparing for 2025.

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 experiences in the luxury space.
Carlo Del Mistro, Chief Digital Officer at Ennismore, shares exciting updates about their "Dis-loyalty" program, which has grown to include over 100 properties across 10 brands and 180+ restaurants globally.

These conversations provide valuable insights into different approaches to guest engagement, loyalty, and revenue generation in today's evolving hospitality landscape.

If you would like to tune in to Aaron, Shawn or Carlo’s previous episodes, please follow the links below.

Aaron Miller: No missed opportunities — prioritizing a data collection practice for every property
Shawn Jereb: Approachable luxury without losing touch with guests
Carlo Del Mistro: “Dis-loyalty” — Ennismore’s unconventional approach to guest loyalty

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Episode Highlights:

[01:00] Black friday strategy at Highgate - Aaron Miller discusses how early preparation starting in August/September was key to their successful Black Friday campaigns. Aaron explains how Black Friday has evolved into a month-long November event — requiring careful planning and strategic messaging throughout the promotional period.

[7:00] Luxury experience evolution - Shawn Jereb explains Montage International's focus on creating distinctive experiences as a key differentiator in the luxury space. He discusses their approach to maintaining authenticity across different properties while ensuring consistent brand standards.

[11:00] Dis-loyalty program success - Carlo Del Mistro shares how their innovative membership program has expanded globally since its launch in summer 2023. The program's unique approach of offering immediate benefits without points or tiers has successfully encouraged guests to explore multiple brands within the Ennismore portfolio.

Chapters:

00:00 - Introduction
01:00 - Aaron Miller on Black Friday success
06:00 - Digital marketing strategy at Highgate
09:00 - Shawn Jereb on luxury evolution
1700 - Montage's approach to guest experience
21:00 - Carlo Del Mistro on Dis-loyalty growth
2700 - Closing thoughts

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Instructions on how to do this are here.

Hotel Moment Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Previous guests include: Shannon Knapp, CEO of Leading Hotels of the World (LHW), Patrick Norton of Brittain Resorts & Hotels, Shawn Jereb of Montage International, Carlo Del Mistro, Chief Digital Officer of Ennismore, Jason Pirock of Springboard Hospitality, and many more.

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If you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming episode of Hotel Moment, we'd love to hear from you! Our podcast reaches thousands of hospitality professionals worldwide, and we're particularly interested in perspectives on:

Innovation in hospitality technology
Guest experience transformation
Revenue optimization strategies
Emerging industry trends

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