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.
Featured articles
Hospitality trend predictions for 2024
Honestly, how often do predictions actually come true? We know some of ours did. Prioritizing technology — greater use of first-party data — a focus on sustainability in travel — check, check, and check! Every year, we source predictions for the year to come from top hospitality experts who have their fingers on the pulse of the industry. Here’s what they have to say. What you will see here Even more data-driven decision-making The rise [...]
A comprehensive guide to the hotel customer data platform
At the risk of stating the obvious, hoteliers are in business to make money. But the foundation of the business is offering your guests a positive experience in exchange. A significant portion of your efforts to bring in more revenue hinge on understanding what your guests are looking for and finding the most efficient way to offer it to them. Likewise, all of the tools and technology you bring in to help you run your [...]
6 ways to encourage guests to book direct
Right now, there is a guest imagining their future stay at your hotel. They’ve scrolled your socials, browsed your website, and checked reviews. But when they are ready to pull the trigger, will they use an OTA or your booking engine? Something special happens when guests book directly with your hotel instead of an OTA. Yes, you get a bigger slice of the revenue pie — essential guest data that gives you a competitive advantage [...]
OTAs or hotel direct bookings: How to optimize for ROI
There’s a battle raging. And it’s raged for decades. Ever since the introduction of online travel agencies (OTAs) in the ‘90s, hoteliers have struggled to achieve the optimal distribution mix between OTAs and hotel direct bookings. Some even perfected it. But then the pandemic happened. And everything changed. In the wake of it, ongoing staffing shortages, volatile inflation rates, and crumbling third-party cookies are wreaking havoc on the travel industry. These factors, among others, have [...]
Connect with guests and drive efficiency with email marketing automation
Email marketing is a cornerstone of hospitality marketing. Many hoteliers consider email marketing to be a time-consuming effort with different one-time campaigns. But there’s a faster, easier, and more effective way. Step into the life-changing world of email marketing automation. By using automated email marketing campaigns, you can deliver personalized messages to guests, improve engagement, drive bookings, and increase guest loyalty – all with streamlined processes working in the background. What you will see here [...]
Top hotel trends: Industry experts predict what’s ahead
Predicting the future is always a challenge, particularly when it comes to the hospitality space. Just think of how hotel trends have take shape over the years. Until budget airlines took off in the 1970s, the idea of affordable airfare was laughable. And who would have guessed that travelers would eventually be able to do everything from booking a room to texting the front desk all from a cellphone? But if anyone can provide an [...]