Revinate

Karen Stephens

Chief Marketing Officer

Karen Stephens drives long-term growth by building Revinate’s brand equity, product marketing, and customer acquisition strategies. With more than 25 years of expertise in global hospitality technology and online distribution, her deep connections with hospitality industry leaders play a key role in crafting strategic partnerships. She is also the host of The Hotel Moment Podcast, where she interviews top players in the hospitality industry.

It all starts with the end in mind. By identifying your goals for guest engagement and revenue, it becomes easier to map the journey that brings it to life.

If you could give one piece of advice to hoteliers looking to drive more direct bookings, what would it be?

Get all of your siloed guest data into one place! That means PMS data, ancillary data — all of it! Not only will that help you better personalize your marketing and guest communications today, but it will also future-proof you for AI applications in the future. AI doesn’t do silos!

What's the most creative way you've seen a hotel use guest messaging or email marketing?

Honestly it would be really, really hard for me to pick just one! Our customers are so creative and so thoughtful with the way they leverage our technology to drive great results. Luckily, our own marketing team does a fantastic job of showcasing several examples of inspirational campaigns on our website. You can find them all on our Inspirations page.

If you were a hotel amenity, what would you be and why?

If I were a hotel amenity, I would be a complimentary wine hour in the hotel lobby. Kimpton Hotels started this trend years ago, and it is such a great way to socialize, relax, and even meet fellow travelers. My “why” is easy: I’m social, love to travel, and never turn down a nice glass of red!

Featured articles

Hotel data management: How smarter data leads to higher revenue

A travel-weary return guest walks through your door. Without missing a beat, your staff greets him by name, mentions his favorite bourbon is waiting at the bar, and lets him know his room is already set at his preferred temperature. This is not a fairy tale — it’s effective hotel data management in action. Hotel data is your most valuable asset in today’s digital-first world. Yet many properties surrender this advantage with 21% of database [...]

AI in hospitality: Using it to personalize guest experiences

When you were envisioning your career as a hotelier, odds are that you didn’t imagine spending days drowning in guest data. And now, thanks to AI in hospitality, those days can be over. AI for hotels is more than just a buzzword. It’s a tool hoteliers can use to organize and make sense of the guest data they have — providing actionable insights to use in personalized guest communication. Because the reality is that no [...]

Drive conversions with an omnichannel communication strategy

Inspiration. The spark that propels guests to hurry and book a stay with your hotel. But where do they find it? Maybe it’s the photos on your website — stunning ocean views or jaw-dropping mountain ranges right outside the hotel suite’s windows. Maybe they’ve vacationed with you before and received an email announcing the grand opening of a new property in their home city. Or maybe you reignited a guests’ inspiration to book when you [...]

By |August 29, 2024|Categories: Blog|Tags: |

Are points pointless? The evolution of loyalty programs for the modern traveler

This article was originally developed and published for Hospitality Net's Data and Business Intelligence Thematics. Read more here. Let’s play a game of “Would you rather?” Would you rather live the rest of your life on a tropical island or in a big city? Would you rather have an unlimited gift card to your favorite restaurant or clothing store? Would you rather explore deep space or the bottom of the ocean? These scenarios are likely [...]

By |August 21, 2024|Categories: Blog|Tags: |