LODGING LEADERS
196 | How to Drive Direct Bookings and Manage OTA Contributions with James Nannos
LODGING LEADERS
James Nannos leads the Hotel Partnerships Team at Stay Wanderful, where he’s focused on hotel growth, loyalty programs, and customer success. Prior to joining Stay Wanderful, James was part of the original Breadcrumb POS team (acquired by Groupon), and has held numerous other startup and private-equity related roles. Outside of work, James is a Captain and Troop Commander of B-Troop, 1-104 Cavalry in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. James received his B.S. from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, and his M.B.A. from Drexel’s Lebow College of Business.
In This Episode, James reveals …
- How to drive direct bookings and manage OTA contributions.
- What the guest booking process look like now, why OTAs have such a negative stigma, and what a healthy contribution mix looks like.
- How to get a new OTA guest to return to your property … and book direct, including some meaningful on-property incentives that work.
- The most cost-effective spend of your digital marketing budget, including some alternative (off the beaten path) options that are also effective.
Resources & Links
James Nannos
- email: james@staywanderful.com
Stay Wanderful
LODGING LEADERS
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346 | Repositioning For Recovery: Hotel conversions to outpace new builds
Lodging Econometrics has tracked the hotel industry since 1998. Its global database includes new-hotel pipelines as well as renovations and brand conversions. Hotel franchisers once eager to launch new brands are focused on converting existing hotels because it’s a faster way to recover revenue lost to the COVID-19 pandemic than through new construction. In Episode 346, Lodging Leaders explores the increasing number of conversions in the U.S. hotel industry and what owners and operators need to consider before repositioning an asset.
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345 | ‘Rosy View of Future’: Hotel industry sees unleashing of pent-up investor demand
In the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., financiers anticipated a swell of distressed hotel businesses. Some raised rescue funds to respond to what they thought was a pending crisis. Though there are financial rescues taking place, the level of such activity is far below what industry advisers and fund managers expected. Commercial real estate investors positioned to act in the early days of the pandemic held off and are now just beginning to unleash their cash hoards totaling billions of dollars. Episode 345 of Lodging Leaders podcast explores the state of capital investment in the hotel industry.