Acquiring and retaining hospitality customers with surprise-and-delight rewards... James Nannos, Director of Hotel Sales & Partnerships for Stay Wanderful (a direct booking tool to increase guest conversion and provide surprise- and-delight rewards) joins John Matson and Bess Chapman in the MouthMedia Network studio powered by Sennheiser. In this episode: How independent hospitality brands should think about retaining customers Independent hospitality chains don’t have a powerful distribution network Tangible guest rewards, differentiated experiences to guests, and then continuing conversation after the fact How can independents get in there and make a difference Most prefer experiences and benefits to points, most won’t get value out of points Personalizing small but highly perceived value rewards Most want to choose rewards If Stay Wanderful is in many properties, how that helps still customers choose a specific property Raising the bar of service won’t dilute the opportunity Stay Wanderful makes it look like a hotel is giving you the rewards, like a white label solution for that hotel The only business where customers are sleeping in palace of business—you must capture them while they are there Independent properties fighting uphill battle A fee-for-success model The importance of fining out the real decision-maker of a hospitality property or brand Why hotels are operating off of antiquating systems, integrating into an old tech stack The helpfulness of the Cornell network The impact of military methodology and experience on entrepreneurialism and how it connects with hotel business