The playbook for hotel and career growth

the Future of HospitalityYeah. All all the curl other cultures, other countries, other, customs, all that. And that is that is probably what you mean with I think I thought I knew it all, but once you get to a new country and all their their quirks and all their excitements and everything, yeah, it's it's all different. What is the most surprising lesson that you've learned?

Brian HicksI think the the hotel industry is a people industry. Right? And I think everybody's, you know, clued into that, and that's what gets a lot of us into it. What I found over my career is that the the relationships and and my network, like building my network and fostering those those relationships has played a bigger role as I look back on my career than I than I really ever thought. And, you know, when you're able to network with top professionals that have amazing experiences, have had, you know, their own experiences outside of anything that you would have done, getting those insights are are really critical to growth. Right? They really kinda help you grow, and it helps shape your career quite a bit. I think the people that I've interacted with that I consider to be industry experts and rely on them and cultivate that network have played a huge role in in my success. I I can't underestimate that. So I think people coming into this industry use those you know, get to start a network. Right? Start working your network. Start to get to know people that are kind of at the same stage of your career, but also people that have been around for a little while and maybe have some other experiences that they could share with you.

the Future of HospitalityHow would we do I mean, we are you and me both. I mean, we grew up without Internet most part of our lives and no no apps, etcetera. Everything happens online nowadays, so it seems. So how do you do that? What is the advice to give to young people who are entering this? I mean, I was going to save this question for less, but we're talking about it right now because that's what you say. You say it's it yeah. I believe that too. Networking, building relationships that is so valuable. But with this digital in this digital age, do you see differences, or how do you have any advice?

Brian HicksYeah. Look. I think you can use technology to enable that network. Right? But that face to face interaction is still it's still what people are looking for. It's still where people really feel the warmth of someone, and that's what HSM AI is all about. I mean, if you are if you have even just a slight interest in growing your career within sales, revenue management, digital marketing, please consider joining HSMAI, one of our chapters, if you want to so we have a some amazing chapters where they get together and they talk about specific issues for their market. So let's say Las Vegas or New York or South Florida. Right? But then that also allows you the entry into the greater organization and a much wider network from a lot of our conferences and events.

Brian HicksAnd it is a amazing opportunity to grow your network. All you need is a couple of introductions, and that can really take things into directions that you probably didn't even think were possible and making connections. The one thing about this industry is that people, I think, underestimate is people want to share their experiences. You would be surprised. You you might think, I can't reach out to this individual. They'll never return my call, or they're too big in their organization. I don't wanna reach out to them. And that can be inside an organization, but also outside Everybody that I have interacted with that has made their career is more than willing to share their experiences and share their time. So don't be afraid. Work that network and and really try to that's really gonna help. One of the things that I found really interesting over the last couple of years is hiring.

Brian HicksRight? There is you talked about technology. I have talked to nobody that has actually applied for a role through a digital service of some sort and actually got a job that way. Everybody that I'm talking to has worked their network. They know somebody that knew about a role. They said they were looking for a change or they were looking for a new opportunity, and that's how they found out about it. It wasn't an application through, you know it's a website or, you know, social media or anything like that. It just it's changed a lot. It's almost like there's been a distrust of the technology and the digital world. So bring it back to the personal the personal side of networking.

Brian HicksI've and maybe maybe that's my age and, you know, the people that I know, but I think that is true. I really think opportunities are coming up, it's it's networking that's getting those opportunities for people. Network real life, real in real person networking. That's what it is about. You mentioned indeed the role that HSMAY

the Future of HospitalityAI is is playing in this. So let's elaborate on that a little bit because you joined the association. When was that exactly?

Brian HicksSo I joined in November of last year. So 2024.

the Future of HospitalityYeah. Yeah. And So you're quite new to the game. What is what is the what are the first challenges that you see that you want to just embrace? And what what do you see? What is really necessary? And it also in terms of the people that we talked about that you can help them with these building these relationships. So tell me a little bit more of what it is that the association is doing and what do you see as a challenge for yourself? Yeah. Yeah. Great question. So the the good news for me is I've been involved with HSMAI

Brian Hicksfor more than ten years. So I was lucky enough when I was in London, overseeing revenue management for for Europe, Middle East, and Asia, and, HSMAI reached out as they were starting their first advisory board within revenue management. And I had the opportunity to be one of the first members of that advisory board, which was outstanding. You know, we're really trying to get the word out about revenue management. It was already out there. Everybody was doing it, but there was no formalized revenue management, advisory board within HSMAI. So that was that was my first foray into HSMAI. Fast forward a couple years later, I moved back to The US, and, Bob Gilbert, is our the past president, reached out almost immediately and said, Brian, we'd love to have you involved in The Americas. So, you know, we're gonna transfer your membership. We want you to stay involved. And so I stayed involved there. A couple years later, I joined the board. So that was probably about three and a half years ago.

Brian HicksAnd prior to that, I was on the advisory board for revenue management, then was able to move into the Americas board, which was a great opportunity. So, you know, I'm not a stranger by any stretch to HSMAI. It's been around it for quite a while, and it's been an amazing organization. And it's played a huge role in so many individuals' careers, and it's because of the networking. Right? So number one, we talk about networking. We have many events throughout the year. One of the big things that we do is our commercial strategy conference, which is coming up in June, an amazing conference. We're gonna have record attendance this year, and we seem to grow that every year.

Brian HicksWe get amazing speakers. It's great think tanks. It's a lot of really great discussion and amazing networking. So highly recommend you you attend that if you're kind of growing your career. In addition to that is our certifications. We have an amazing, education platform. So, again, if you're new or you're growing your career within sales or revenue management, take a look at our courses. They are outstanding. They are really in-depth. These aren't just a tick box type of a training. It's very in-depth, and you'll get a certification at the end, which is well respected in the industry. So there's multiple education opportunities as well throughout HSMAI.

Brian HicksSo so that's a huge part of of really, what we wanna try to promote, in terms of people coming into industry. So lots of opportunities, chapters, networking, conferences, events, and then, of course, our certification platforms.

the Future of HospitalityWow. Okay. About these these certifications and these these courses that you provide, what is the number one course? What is the from the top of your head, what what yeah. For me, it's the the revenue management, the CHS. Revenue management. Tell me more about it. Why is that? So,

Brian Hicksyou know, as somebody who, you know, really grew my career management, I I was in revenue management before it was really even called revenue management. So it even goes back to my days with Ritz Carlton when they were purchased by Marriott, and they wanted to install the first revenue management system in addition to Marsha. And I led that initiative for the Ritz Carlton and Buckhead, which was my first foray foray into revenue management. And it is such a you know, there it's a black box for a lot of people. So being able to really become truly educated and aware of all the elements of revenue management for somebody growing their career is a massive step forward. You can imagine if you're just starting out, you've got maybe six months to a year of revenue management experience.

Brian HicksNow you're ready to really take that next step. And and sometimes when you're working within, say, a specific brand, you learn a lot about that brand, right, and their systems and their tools. And And there's nothing wrong with that. That absolutely needs to happen. But if you do wanna grow your career and you wanna start to have, you know, opportunities with other brands, other smaller hotels maybe, going through, you know, the CHRM is a great way to get a much broader knowledge base of revenue management across the industry, and it's gonna open up a whole lot more doors for you. You know, a lot of the big brands have their own training sessions, and and they're very brand specific.

Brian HicksBut, again, if you're, you know, looking to expand and maybe go with another brand, this is a great stepping stone to really get a much more broad approach, more of the industry kind of best practices as opposed to brand best practices. And it's not to say those aren't those are incorrect, but it's just having that knowledge base is really rewarding for individuals when they're growing their careers.

the Future of HospitalityRight. You mentioned that that when you started, there was no such term as revenue management. How would you define revenue management to a stranger, to someone who just entered the enter the business? Could you define it in a few sentences perhaps?

Brian HicksWell, there there's the, you know, there's the traditional revenue management approach, which is eating at the right price at the right time to the right customer, but, you know, that is that is kind of the basics of it. Right? So today, with all the technology that's out there, you have so many opportunities to use technology that does a lot of what we used to do in the back with spreadsheets and, you know, just literally, I go back to the days of, we had a a board in the back office of, the Ritz Carlton and Buckhead, we and had our competition, and we basically had a light. And if the light was green, they had rooms available. If it was red, they didn't. So you'd know who was sold out that night and who wasn't. And you're making you're making revenue management decisions based off of, you know, a silver green light.

Brian HicksExactly. Green red light. Right? So we've come a long way since then, which is is is exciting. Right? I think when you think about somebody who has a real affinity for AI technology, demand sensing, price recommendations, etcetera, you know, the tools that are out there and that are just going to become more and more prevalent. If you enjoy using those tools, I guarantee you, you're gonna enjoy revenue management in the hotel industry because it's happening. It's happening quickly. And, again, that that's a great opportunity for people that that wanna get into revenue management today. So the definition from way back then to today has changed a lot, but I think today, it's more about if you really enjoy that technology base of of tools and systems, it's checkout revenue management.

the Future of HospitalityWonderful. Okay. You mentioned advanced technology, AI. I mean, we the the the term came across a few times already. How do you see that hotels, how they are embracing or approaching the quick developments in in in in advanced technologies so as well as on the front side as the back end? Do you see hotels that maybe are hesitant? Do they need a little push or a little help? How do you see that? What's the what's the average developments that you see?

Brian HicksWell, we're definitely in that growth phase. Right? So I think you have some hotels that may not have the resources or the energy to really focus on it right now. And a lot of times, they just kinda wait until there is a very very solid kind of ways of working with AI, and then they'll then they adopt. Right? So they kinda get to it after a little while. But, look, on the front end, I think operational efficiency is where AI is making a huge, huge impact. When you think about automated routine tasks, right, whether it be checking in or the one I've seen a lot is room service requests. Right? I was at a hotel, just last week and was able to, on a keypad on the in the room, make a request for water. Right? So there's first some extra water in the room. We left, came back, and the water was there. Right? Think about scheduling.

Brian HicksRight? Using AI to understand, the flows of check ins and checkouts for housekeeping is huge. Right? Somebody's got a late checkout. The AI can predict that to a much better level and can put together some really good forecasting schedule models for housekeeping, which is really difficult. It frees up, you know, staff for a lot of, you know, more face to face interactions, guest centric activities. It's just overall guest experience is elevated if hotels really, you know, utilize utilize AI. We talked about revenue management. Right? So the predictive analytics that is going into, you know, forecasting, optimizing pricing strategies, inventory management, this is truly a game changer in terms of driving driving decisions.

Brian HicksRight? Decisions that, you know, were typically then done by an individual looking at a lot spreadsheets. Mhmm. And it's it's helping to maximize revenue. So that's gonna play, I think, a huge role. And then the last one is really kinda training and development. You know, I've seen a lot of hotels that have moved to their line level staff training taking place on that individual's phone. Right? So how to run a room service tray to a guest and what are some of the or, you know, serving, you know, serving at a banquet. Like, what are the protocols? How does that work? You can, you know, you can track their progress.

Brian HicksYou can provide real time feedback as they're, you know, going through the app and making decisions. You can say, no. You know, do it this way or do it that way. So I think when you think about, you know, the staffing challenges, a bit of turnover, new people coming into the industry, if they can embrace, you know, that type of technology for training and development and getting people into the industry, you know what? Maybe they'll stick around for a while because people don't like to feel like they don't know what they're doing when they go into a new role. And if you can give them that training in advance and we know that people's time is tough. So if you use AI to go through that training, that's gonna save so much time, and people are gonna feel so much better about about their jobs.

the Future of HospitalityRight. I spoke to quite a few general managers, and I'm I'm getting different stories. That's why I'm asking the question, what is the is there any advice that you would because there were a few that said we wanna embrace it, but we don't know where to start. So

Brian HicksYeah. That's I mean, I've I've heard that a lot as well, and I think that's where it kinda go back to my first point, which is, you know, a lot of if if they don't have the time to invest and the the the funds to invest right now, as with any technology, over time, there will be things that will become a bit more standard and highly adopted, and the cost will come down. So there's look. There's no shame in our industry. It's it you know, we've always been very challenged when it comes to investing in technology. I always use the, you know, the the adjective if if if you have a a lounge chair in the lobby that needs to be replaced because it has a tear in it, are you gonna are you gonna replace that, or are you gonna go spend it on technology?

Brian HicksRight? It's a tough decision. Right? And and owners make that decision every day. Right? And so I think we need to be respectful of that. That is part of our industry. I don't wanna walk into a lobby and see, you know, a chair that needs repair or, you know, is is is not in good shape. At the same time, I'd love to have my, you know, my digital room key work, right, and be able to have that technology. But, you know, in our business, it's a trade off and, know, big technology companies aren't always keen to invest in our industry because it is a lower return for them.

Brian HicksIf they can invest in, you know, in MarComms or something like that, they'll probably get a much bigger return than if they're investing in front desk type of app or something like that. So we're challenged in that sense. I think people in that are traveling are understanding of that fact, Yeah. And and they'll make those decisions based off of, you know, how they feel about that experience.

the Future of HospitalityGotcha. About HSM AI, it offers a variety of resources for professionals. Which programs or initiatives have you seen have the most significant impact on members' careers and and businesses?

Brian HicksI think our commercial strategy conference, which is now a global conference. So we have it's held in, four locations right now. Hopefully, we'll get another location in Brazil sometime, bigger one in Brazil. Oh, nice. I've had the, the the the blessed opportunity as I first joined, the organization to attend our Middle East, Commercial Strategy Conference, which was held in Dubai. Outstanding event, well attended industry experts, great discussion, and just a great networking event. It was it was fun for me. I got to see a lot of old former colleagues, and and that was a lot of fun. January, we held our conference in London. Same thing, well attended, big numbers over previous years, great conference, you know, great discussions.

Brian HicksAnd then we have in May, we'll have our conference in Singapore. And then as I mentioned in June, we'll have a conference here, which will be in Indianapolis. And it's already we just got off a call in terms of looking through the content and the speakers, and, participation numbers are higher than we expected, and, it's it's gonna be an amazing event. Really looking forward to that one. I think we'll have close to a thousand people in attendance, and, it'll be That's a lot. It'll be a who's who of, the commercial industry for the hotel industry.

the Future of HospitalityThey're hungry for information and guidance. That's for sure. Yep. So, well, that comes I come to my next question. How do you help hospitality professionals to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to understanding and utilizing new trends or tools

Brian Hicksin sales and marketing? Yeah. So, you know, we've had the the a lot of comments over the last probably since I've joined, so since November, really, as I've kinda gotten into this role, to take a bigger role when it comes to AI. And and we are uniquely positioned, I think, to be able to take on that role because we're not associated with any big brands. We're not associated with any big technology companies. So we can truly represent, you know, the hotelier, the revenue manager, the sales individual marketing that's sitting at the hotel level and try to get some guidance. We need to be careful, obviously, in terms of preference, but I think we can absolutely talk through what we're seeing in the industry, where we're seeing it's going, what are the biggest trends that are happening.

Brian HicksIn fact, we have a a paper that was released just a couple couple weeks ago on how AI is impacting talent. And so we're really trying to stay ahead of the curve and try to stay stay ahead when it comes to understanding how the state of talent, how AI is playing a role there, and how we can help to try to facilitate some of those discussions. So we have, you know, three main advisory boards across the globe as we have different ones, but, you know, it's revenue management, it's sales, and it's marketing. And in those advisory boards, we really have a lot of great healthy discussion around what are you seeing, and these are industry experts that from all the big brands, individual hotel companies, and some of our partners as well.

Brian HicksAnd we collate all of that insights to then develop our content for those commercial strategy conferences. So we stay relevant. We've got a great network and a great advisory board network to give us that insights over time so we know what we can action, and we can start to push out some of that content.

the Future of HospitalityWow. Oh, nice. And over the next five to ten years, how do you see guest expectations change over the next five to ten years?

Brian HicksWell, I think personalization is going to be a trend that's gonna continue. Right? People want to have a personalized offer. They want services that are specific to them, amenities that enhance their stay, that they feel is is is exactly what they're looking for. So I think that's gonna be probably one of the biggest things. Think the second one, people are expecting ecofriendly practices at hotels. Right? Sustainable operations. And it's hard. It really is difficult at times, and, you know, we're a big industry. At times, you've got, you know, some of the big hotels. It's really difficult to think about things like water management or even energy management, but it's some of those little things that we can do, whether it's plastic bottles or, you know, things like that that I think hotels need to start to do a little bit more. And I think you'll see people over time, over the next five years for sure, five to ten, people will start to make buying decisions based off of what they see from a sustainability and ecotourism standpoint.

the Future of HospitalityI believe that too. Yeah. And if you that's my last question for you is for for you personally. If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be?

Brian HicksSo I'm, you know, I'm a career hotelier. I'm this is all I've ever done. And one of the saddest, I think, or one of the most challenging points in my career was, during COVID. I personally had to furlough, a 100 plus employees on my team. And then even after that, to let some of those employees go later on. It was one of the most challenging times in my career, and I'm I'm hopeful that that will be that that will be continue to be the most challenging time of my career. But, unfortunately, through that, we did not do ourselves, any service in terms of showcasing the many, many opportunities for growth, for advancement, for opportunities to have a full on career within hospitality and and specifically with within hotels.

Brian HicksSo I think we need to start with showcasing some success stories. I used myself. I started the front desk. I started in housekeeping. I've had a tremendous career. I've been very blessed, but those opportunities are there. So starting off in those kind of smaller positions can absolutely showcase the opportunity to have a much greater career and not just, you know, thinking that I'm gonna be stuck at the front desk. There are diverse opportunities. We have marketing. We have IT. We have customer service. I mean, there are people, I I think, are challenged to understand all the various elements that go into running a hotel. Right? I think when people find out how many people work at some of these big brands, they're shocked. They're like, what would all those people do? Right? It's it's I think I I heard that very early on in my career. Like, you know, oh, you know, I know so and so that works at IHG. Do you know them? Like, no. You know, it's a big company.

Brian HicksRight? And and I think also when you think about companies like, you know, the big brands, they are really, really focused on bringing in individuals that want to grow their careers, and they're putting in the opportunities to to to think about things like work life balance, training. Want to attract top talent. There's it's not, you know, it's not just a fluke that these companies are going after wanting to be the best places to work in their communities, in their cities globally. Right? They showcase it anytime they're you know, they they get to one of those awards. So there is a lot going in. The brands are investing heavily in their in their employees and wanting to showcase that there are truly great career opportunities.

Brian HicksSo that would be the thing that I would wanna change the most. Really want to showcase that there are amazing opportunities in this industry.

the Future of HospitalityThere are. Because, yeah, you triggered something. I hear a lot of general managers say the same thing that a career in hospitality is no longer, for a lot of people, no longer a career choice. It's a job choice, and they don't stay at the same position for long. So they're kind of moving through. That's why probably hotels need to put more energy and more time and more effort probably into

Brian Hickskeeping their talents and Yes. And helping them evolve. Am I correct? Yes. Absolutely. Because if you're you know, you can there's, again, so many different opportunities, and and they they'll they'll want to work with you. If you wanted to move from accounting and you said, you know what? I wanna move into revenue management or I wanna move into sales. Like, you can create those paths for people and and make sure that they see those opportunities. So yeah. Absolutely. I mean, there are a lot of people fall into this industry, and that's why I said earlier, I'm one of those few people that, you know, I went to hotel school. I'm still in hotels.

Brian HicksAnd there's, you know, there's a few of us around, but a lot of people just end up falling into the industry. They fall in love with it, which is amazing. And it's just making sure that they see that there are many, many different paths depending upon what they're excited about.

the Future of HospitalityWell, I'm an example myself. I started in the hospitality industry myself, and I was a general manager at age four 24, I think, and went to become a banker after that, then started a career in solar energy, and now I'm doing podcasts and guest journey. So, yeah, it's a it you can go always. Someone made a reference to a Swiss army knife. I I mean, I said, yeah. There you go. Yeah. That's kind. That that's quite on point. Yeah. That is on point. Yeah. Okay. Brian, I

Brian Hicksthink we we covered everything we wanted to cover. Thank you so much for being on our show. Thank you, Arjan. This has been awesome. It's great to speak with you. And, yeah, hopefully, somebody sees this and joins HSMAI or at least looks at some of our certification.

the Future of HospitalityWonderful. Thank you.