Many articles in the hospitality industry tout the importance of customer engagement, hotel chains, airlines and especially retail, stress that the key to getting and keeping customers is to engage them. Everything from data mining products to loyalty providers to payment systems slant their offering to include giving the c lient the ability to get a deeper understanding of their clients and guests. Loyalty programs are often the best vehicles for not only capturing client an

I read an article the other day that reported on a talk given by Ms. Niki Leondakis, CEO of Two Roads Hospitality’s Hotels and Resorts unit. In the article she recounted an incident she had when staying at a chain hotel (not one of her own) where she wanted a cup of coffee before her morning workout but was told that the restaurant would not open for another 10 minutes; long story short; no coffee for her. The article then went on to talk about how over standardization within