In this weekâs episode of the Hotel Moment podcast, Karen Stephens, Revinate CRO, and Brian Murphy, Group CRM Executive of Cliste Hospitality, reveal what keeps the fire going between hotelier and guest: reliable, personalized, and quick communication. Murphy breaks down the misconceptions around the influence of technology on guest communication, but also why thereâs no replacement for the âhuman touchâ element of the guest experience.
Expect to learn how to service guests using text communications, and why that has a downstream impact on not only the ease with which your front desk operates but the guestâs overall perception of their stay.
Meet your host
Karen Stephens is Revinateâs Chief Revenue Officer and runs the sales, marketing, and customer success teams. She has more than 20 years of experience in the industry alone.
On the Hotel Moment podcast, Karen speaks with leaders to draw out their experiences and insights. She is also a Francophile and Prof K â a coach, a mentor, a guide to the people who work with her.
Transcript
Intro â 00:00:02: Welcome to the Hotel Moment podcast, presented by Revinate, the podcast where we talk to leaders in the hospitality industry. If youâre looking for trends, perspectives, and stories from leaders in travel and hospitality, youâre in the right place.
Karen â 00:00:21: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Hotel Moment podcast. Today, I couldnât be more excited to welcome Brian Murphy, a tremendously passionate and skilled hospitality professional. Brian is based in Ireland where he works with Cliste Hospitality as their Group Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Executive. Brian has worked at many award-winning restaurants and hotels, and judging by his job history, is a born leader and someone who knows how to manage both guest and staff expectations within this ever-changing sector. Welcome, Brian.
Brian â 00:00:52: Thank you very much, Karen. Itâs lovely to be here.
Karen â 00:01:02: Well, you know what? Iâm so excited to have you on the call. We have many customers in Ireland and we donât have enough representation on this podcast. So youâre the guy.
Brian â 00:01:05: Itâs great. Itâs great. No, itâs good. Itâs great.
Karen: 00:01:06: So just to get us started here, you know, I had a look at your LinkedIn profile and youâve really worked at some beautiful hotels and restaurants all across both the UK and Ireland. A couple of hotels and restaurants in London as well. So having worked in several different hospitality environments where the expectations of customers must have been very high in some cases, how important is adaptability to thrive in those roles that youâve had in the past?
Brian â 00:01:30: Thatâs a really good question. I started out in the hospitality industry 15 years ago, and itâs an industry that I fell into. And I remember like it was just yesterday. But I suppose Iâve worked in so many different properties throughout my time, you know, from the boutique hotels and to the corporate giants in Liverpool Street to the Michelin Star restaurants. And at the end of the day, Iâve always found that the guest is the guest. And Iâve never, ever changed who I was, I suppose, in my job, Iâve always been true to who I am. And I suppose thatâs kind of what kept me in the industry, because I suppose, you know, every day is different and has been different. And you know, adapting to those guest preferences â I think Iâm going off-topic Karen.
Karen â 00:02:41: No youâre not! No. I think what youâre hitting on is brilliant. Itâs about bringing your authenticity to whatever youâre doing.
Brian â 00:02:57: Yeah look. I can restart I suppose. I mean, look, as I say, I fell into the hotel industry, Karen, and it just fell on my lap and I didnât know what to expect. And I always think back, I beat the hospitality book so much. And I decided to pursue it, and moved to London. And as I say, I came from really small boutique Irish hotels into London. I always remember. I was so scared going to London because I didnât know what the expectancy was there. I soon realized that as long as youâre true to yourself and you stick to your guns, and you donât change who you are. I mean, itâs an industry of personalities. And Iâve been lucky enough to be successful in all of the diverse range of hotels and restaurants Iâve worked in because of that ethos.
Karen â 00:03:48: Yeah, absolutely. You know, I think that thatâs the most fun that I have doing these interviews on the podcast is that everybody I talk to that works in hospitality, because weâre such people person, we just love it. And once you get into it, as you say, you just, no matter what job you go into, you kind of bring that guest experience. And itâs an authentic, true thing that you love about, you know, thatâs core to your personality, I guess, is the way to say it.
Brian â 00:04:13: Absolutely. The industry of hospitality, itâs a tough industry. But one thing that I find, especially, you know, having spent the majority of my career in operations, that you know, the good days most certainly outweigh the bad ones because itâs those positive guest experiences or those experiences that you take away every day and you see the impression that it has on that guest journey is what makes it stay in the industry.
Karen â 00:04:43: Can you talk to me a little but about the history of ClÃste, and what has got you excited about the business lately?
Brian â 00:04:50: ClÃste Hospitality is, I suppose, is one of the leading operators and management of hospitality venues in Ireland. And it was founded by two of my colleagues, Paul Fitzgerald and Seán OâDriscoll. And the journey began back in 2012. And I suppose the vision for them was to kind of redefine hospitality in Ireland and the island of Ireland. Our portfolio for now is sitting at 14 hotels across the island of Ireland. And weâve just recently expanded into Belfast in Northern Ireland. And our collection of hotels, is a really diverse selection of four and five-star hotels, throughout handpicked areas of Ireland. Theyâre all inspired by different cultures and the stunning landscapes they all have. And you know, I suppose, our portfolio is so diverse. Weâve got the modern contemporary in Dublin with Dublin Hotel, down to the 5-star luxury Muckers Park Hotel and Spa in that tourist destination. And a lot of it, as I say, is in the name. âClisteâ, is Gaelic for clever, which not only I suppose reflects our Irish roots, but itâs also our commitment to building those genuine relationships with our properties, our clients, and our communities alike.
And I suppose me personally, you know, Cliste Hospitality, specifically the INUA Collection, I am most excited to see where weâre gonna go. I mean, since Iâve come on board, we have grown so much. You know, in times of uncertainty to see that we are expanding our portfolio and growing as team, is a real testament to the product we supply. You know, me personally in the CRM realm, having come from operations, Iâm starting to see the other side and see kind of whatâs on the horizon, and it really looks good.
Karen â 00:06:59: Thatâs exciting. So I always love it when somebody, you know, again, we talked to a lot of professionals on this podcast that started in one area of the business, be that operations, you did a lot of restaurant things, and then you move over kind of the more, letâs call it technology heavy part of the business. So now youâre in email marketing and CRM. Can you talk to us about how you leverage AI or technology? Because youâve got a lot of guests, a lot of hotels, theyâre coming from all different parts of the world. So how do you in your new role leverage technology to really meet those expectations? And also, letâs face it, drive bookings into those hotels?
Brian â 00:07:37: So you know, as I say, you hit the nail on the head. I came from operations. Iâve recently come into CRM and email marketing with ClÃste Hospitality Hospitality. And I suppose, you know, it was a role that came about, Karen because our portfolio was expanding and weâve been working with Revinate for several years. And we had this incredible pool of data, but I suppose we werenât probably leveraging as best as we possibly could. And you know, we at ClÃste Hospitality, weâre certainly understanding the importance that technology is now with the industry. How weâre harboring in so many initiatives at the moment, and weâre always experimenting with different initiatives as well. I suppose, as of recent, so weâve started to roll out our online check-in just to make everything easier for the guest on that journey. Weâve also implemented our chatbots across the property as well, which is fantastic because it feeds into our Revinate. So any of those warm leads that we get to our chatbots can feed back into Revinate, and we can attract those audiences to our properties. I suppose one that Iâm really excited about at the moment is Ivy, which has come on board in the last couple of months and weâre just in the soft launch phase of Ivy. And, you know, weâre so excited about it here at ClÃste to introduce Ivy across the group because not only, you know, are we the first hotel group in Ireland to roll out Ivy, but I suppose it really is like a significant step forward in aligning, I suppose, our mission of creating those deeper connections with our guests. Our approach kind of revolves around leveraging those personalized automated communication through the guest journey and enhancing that engagement and satisfaction. And Ivy is such a versatile tool that it contributes to so many various objectives that we have. So, you know, we really want to improve that guest satisfaction across the portfolio. We really want to understand the guests and their preferences, but not only with Ivy, you know, it also addresses any on-site issues that we have promptly. But again, we want to try and boost that outlet revenue as well. And really when we were looking for a tool, Ivy ticked all those boxes, really. And do you know what, for us as well Karen, in the industry, obviously staffing has become â is a global issue in the industry at the moment. And I suppose Ivy has its ability with artificial intelligence to free up our staff on the site. It really allows them more time to focus on delivering, I suppose, the old-school meaningful guest experiences that we all know well. And by embracing the AI technology, routine tasks are automated. So it empowers all the team on the floor, and I know all too well to give that personalized exceptional service. And with Ivy, it was a no-brainer for us because we know that the guests are now real tech-savvy, and who rely on WhatsApp quite daily. And weâre starting to really understand now their digital habits. And our aim is, I suppose, is to try and enhance the guest journey at every touch point by delivering not only a message, but a personalized value-driven message. So weâre incredibly excited. Weâre thrilled to have Ivy come on board. As I say, itâs kind of in the soft launch phase at the moment. But, you know, as you said, we get a lot of international guests to our properties. Ireland is a really hot destination for international guests, especially from America and the United States. And you know, a bit further than that, with Ivy Translate, itâs now allowing us to tap into our international guests by communicating with them in their native languages. So weâre attracting a way broader audience now than we ever could. And, you know, weâre really excited to see how Ivy evolves and positively impacts that guest Interaction.
Karen â 00:12:11: Awesome. Well, thank you so much for talking about Ivy. So Ivy is our messaging app. Itâs our SMS app that integrates with WhatsApp for the listeners who donât know too much about Ivy. But I think you hit the nail on the head. You really want to meet guests where they are. They already have WhatsApp on their phone. They donât have to download something new. And then I really love what you talked about with your staff because staffing is an issue. And then also for the professionals you do have on property, you donât want to bother them with, âWhatâs the Wi-Fi password? Can I get extra towels? What time does the restaurant open?â So thereâs so many questions that guests ask over and over and over again. And if you can automate part of that, great. And then you also have the ability when it is a more in-depth question â something about a local restaurant or something happening in the region, your staff can jump in and actually do what they do best, which is proper guest experience. So thanks for calling that out because I think itâs important.
Brian â 00:13:15: Exactly, you know, Karen, it really is. The staff that we have, weâre incredibly blessed across our portfolio with the level of staff that we have. And the Irish, theyâre particularly known for delivering that customer service, and people travel to Ireland for it. So we donât necessarily want to kind of replace that. While weâre embracing technology at ClÃste Hospitality, and we understand itâs a pivotal role in the industry, we would never want to overshadow that personal touch and that genuine hospitality that our colleagues provide and our guests crave it. So we at ClÃste are just using AI to enhance and to facilitate those connections.
Karen â 00:14:06: And I think thatâs the proper use. You know, I think AI can be so terrifying to a lot of people. Certainly, when you look at the news, youâre like, âOh, my gosh, this is going to do everything.â But I think actually the proper application of AI is to do exactly what youâre saying. Take away the redundant tasks that nobody wants to do, but you will never be able to replace the staff thatâs on property. And that is why people go to Ireland, because they love Irish people, you know, because they want to â I know whoâs speaking as an American, you know, we love everything about it. The accent, the sense of humor, like everything. So I think thatâs a good way to think about it. So kind of looking off into the future, you know, if you had a crystal ball, what do you see any big advancements coming down the line for hospitality? We talked a little bit about AI. You talked about kind of the new check-in. What is kind of your dream state coming down the line if you had a crystal ball in the next call it five to 10 years for hospitality?
Brian â 00:15:07: Itâs a really tough one, to be honest. Itâs a really hard one to call because â I say fortunate â- Iâve seen massive changes in the industry myself, having worked my way up through the industry, seen out through pandemics, worked through pandemics, post-pandemic, and now where we are today. If I had a crystal ball where we are in five years, five to 10 years, you know what, Karen? I wouldnât like a whole lot to change, to be honest with you. And thatâs me being truthful. Itâs already, as weâve touched on AI, you know, taking over those mundane tasks. But itâs an industry that has lasted the test of time and has seen out a pandemic and has probably come out stronger than it. Of course, weâve had our ups and downs, but itâs always been such a resilient industry. And yeah, if I had a crystal ball, I would love to see, you know, it just grow and flourish like it always has and not to change too much, really. And thatâs kind of where I would love to see it. I wouldnât love to see too much of a change. I just think itâs a beautiful thing and Iâd hate to see too much change to it.
Karen â 00:16:35: Yeah, I think thatâs a beautiful way to put it. We keep optimizing what weâve got going on here, you know, maximize it. But I think thatâs whatâs so wonderful about hospitality. We deliver experiences. You know, weâre the vacation of a lifetime. Weâre how people recharge, relax, and connect. So I agree with you 100%. OK, so Iâve got one last question for you. What piece of advice would you give someone just getting into hospitality now? So someone whoâs brand new, theyâre thinking about coming into the sector. What piece of advice would you give?
Brian â 00:17:16: Stick with it. Stick with it. I started, as I say, 15 years ago, and I didnât really see, I didnât really know if there was a future for it in me. And especially after pandemic, I thought about different career paths, as did a lot of people. But advice, stick with it. Itâs the most rewarding industry. I find if someone could have told me 15 years ago that Iâd be sitting here talking to Karen, I would have laughed. And Iâve literally gone â Iâve never studied hospitality, Karen. I worked my way up through the ranks. Anyone starting out in hospitality, I will say, âjust get out there.â Travel as well is really beneficial. London really kind of opened up my eyes to the expectancies in the industry, but also kind of the opportunities. You know, spread your wings. Go to meetings that youâre not invited to. Ask the questions that youâre not supposed to ask. A mentor told me very early on in my career, Karen, to âalways surround yourself with people who have an interest not only in your personal growth, but also your professional growth.â And Iâve always kind of stuck by that throughout my career and been incredibly lucky. But you make your own luck as well in the industry I find.
So stick with us. I know the hours are long. I know those split shifts, but itâs all worth it. and set yourself a goal. And Iâm sure you can get there.
Karen â 00:18:58: Okay, great. So Brian, it has been a real pleasure. So if folks want to learn more about ClÃste Hospitality, where can they find you?
Brian â 00:19:04: Yeah, so you can learn more about ClÃste Hospitality. Itâs Cliste Hospitality. And you can also see our diverse range in the INUA Collection at inua.ie.
Karen â 00:19:17: Wonderful. Thank you so much, Brian.
Brian â 00:19:20: My pleasure. Thank you very much, Karen.
Outro â 00:19:21:Thank you for listening to the Hotel Moment Podcast. Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. And if youâre watching on YouTube, please like the video and subscribe for more content. For more information, head to hotelmomentpodcast.com. The Hotel Moment Podcast is presented by Revinate.
About Revinate
Revinate empowers hoteliers to directly connect with their guests.
Our Guest Data Platform and communication solutions unlock revenue for hoteliers and put them in control of the full guest experience â initial research, booking, check-in, throughout the stay, and even after check out â all via the communication channels that guests prefer, whether it’s voice, text, email, or web.
More than 12,000 hotels globally bank on Revinate to drive direct revenue and deliver delightful guest experiences.
Ask us how we do it. Visit our website to get a demo.
