The Modern Hotelier #180: Better Data & Better Hotel Systems | with Robert Dawson
===
Steve Carran: Welcome to a special episode of The Modern Hotelier. We are at the Dallara IndyCar Factory in Indiana at Indianapolis, Indiana. Joined by Robert Dawson, Chief Strategist and Product. Thank you for joining us, Robert, how you doing today? 
Robert Dawson: I'm doing great. Thank you. 
Steve Carran: So Robert, can you give us a little background about how you got to be chief strategist and product before I reckon you?
Robert Dawson: Sure? Yeah. So I've been in the hotel industry for about 25, 30 plus years. I actually started at the front desk in college, fell in love with the industry. I was a history major in college, like had no inclination of being in the hostile industry. Fell in love with it. And as part of that journey I got an opportunity to really look at the technology in the hostile industry, which arguably is lacking, right?
So I made it my business throughout my career to really get into the technology marketing, all aspects that really drive the revenue for hotels. Kind of moved my way up the career. And then as I started to actually build like websites and things like that for hoteliers, I ran into IRECKONU, which actually gave us access to APIs to data that I could never get access to fell in love with the product, worked with them in a consulting capacity for a few years, and then I came on as a the Chief Product and Strategy Officer for IRECKONU. Hopefully taking 'em to the next level and moving things to the future for us. 
David M.: Very nice. So what are you most excited about this year at hiking?
Robert Dawson: Well, I have to be honest, like one, it's bigger than what it's been in years past. Right, right. Yeah. So like the last couple of years post COVID, like after COVID HITEC was struggling a bit, I would say, but the last couple years it's really been picking up. We've got a lot of attendees, um, and I really like, uh, all the, the new faces and the new blood coming into the industry.
So I'm really excited to see that. That's kind of the gray hair guy now. Like it's, it's exciting to see younger folks come to HITEC and that this is still a good venue, right. For hoteliers technology for us to kind of get together and really commiserate about our industry. So I'm really excited about that.
Steve Carran: Absolutely. How do you think this year's theme of HITEC really reflects how hospitality is going? 
Robert Dawson: Yeah. You know, it's interesting because like obviously there's a big push for ai. So like every booth you go by, you see a little, a label of ai. Um, but I think it's, at least we're staying relevant, right?
So we're not remiss of the fact that AI is, that we're paying full on, like we're paying attention. It's here, we have to do something about it. Do we have the answer? Not yet, right? But I feel like ultimately all of us in this industry and the technology are paying attention and HITEC just represents that as well.
David M.: Absolutely. So it's day one. As you walked around the floor, is there anything you saw that surprised you? The robots 
Robert Dawson: Come on. Hey, come on. I saw a drink making robot. It was kind of like the, ultimately it had like six hands and you can make all kinds of drinks. Obviously the robots and the AI stuff is really cool.
I've been at the booth most of the day, but I look forward to kind of going around and looking at some of the other opportunities. But I, I think that's really exciting to see all the innovation with AI and robots.  
Steve Carran: That's great. What are some challenges you're hearing from hoteliers and how is technology helping them solve these problems?
Robert Dawson: Yeah, so not to be too self-serving, but yeah, in our space we hear it's all this fragmented data, right? So yeah, I've got data in my PMS, I got data in my CRS, I got a CRM living over here somewhere else, and I'm hearing regardless of the type of hotel everyone is struggling with. The acquisition of data, the management and cleansing of data, and then how do I action it?
What do I do with it once I have it? Obviously this is what we do, right? And we have a solution for that. But I hear a lot of hotels, I don't care what type of property, from limited service to full service, five star, they're all having a similar challenge with how do I manage this data? Where do I put it, and how do I secure it? And then how do I action it? So that's what I'm hearing a lot. Sure. 
David M.: So are there any products you've seen or sessions that you've. You've heard about that you think people were must sees that they should have made sure they checked out? 
Robert Dawson: Yeah, and I'll go back to the AI opportunity, right? Yeah. I, I think again, we're still, as an industry, we're still trying to figure out where AI fits in our ecosystem.
So it's really great to hear what other people are doing. And I have to say, I really enjoy the entrepreneur section like that, that whole little section, like 'cause one, those guys are hungry, right? Yeah. And you go and talk to them, they have great ideas, great thought. So I would encourage everyone, at minimum go to the entrepreneur section, they have smaller booths, but they've got a lot to say and it's a really good opportunity.
Steve Carran: That's good advice. So I gotta ask about what's new with I reckon you at HITEC this year. Any new parts of the demos, special announcements? Any launches? 
Robert Dawson: Yeah. Tell me what's going on. Yeah, so when we first started, we started as a middleware.
So we connected to P-M-S-C-R-S. Then in 2019 we're like, look, well, we basically have a CDP. And so we basically started building more CDP customer data platform information around our product. And this past year, year and a half, we've really been focusing on CRM. So it's this natural evolution from connect the data, normalize the data, and act on the data.
So we're really been, for moving forward with CRM is as a platform, uh, functionality and really activating the data. And what we really wanna strive for is making sure that we enable guest engagement right. It's not just, oh, we collected data and we've blasted email out. Our mission is to help you, the hoteliers, actually engage and make action of that data from a guest engagement perspective. So that's kind of where we're going, and we've done a whole bunch of tools and solutions around that effort to really get us to the next level as we talk about the buzzwords.
David M.: What role do you think AI and automation is really playing today in the hospitality space? 
Robert Dawson: That's a loaded one I think obviously the robot stuff like, so there's gonna be opportunity to supplement your workforce. I don't think we're gonna replace the workforce. I think in the industry, we still will provide a human touch period. I don't, I don't foresee a day where AI or robots take over our front desk or concierge. Right. But I think then stuff like, you know, and I used to be in a digital space.
I used to own a digital agency like SEO and like I have to say that's probably gone, right, to be honest, right? Because AI can do it better, faster, more efficient. So I think as an industry we have to figure out, alright, how does AI fit into our ecosystem? Where do we apply it? And, and it helps us be more efficient.
I don't think it's a, a mechanism to replace, but it makes us more efficient so that maybe a sales manager can do more sales calls, maybe a sales manager can interact more with, uh, a group that they've booked and actually get from behind the desk because AI is doing a lot of the ground, the grunt work, if you will. So I think that's where it's gonna lead in the future. 
Steve Carran: So why do you think events like HITEC matter and how are they helping advance the digital industries? 
Robert Dawson: So I think, again, as we mentioned earlier, it brings us together first and foremost, right? Right. So it brings small, luxury, hotels, independence, you know, brands, everyone from the top to bottom right here, right?
And then there's subsequent technology partners, right? And from our perspective. Like if I'm working with a client that says, Hey, we connect to Book for time, for example, and we have an integration with them, I can go talk to the book for time guys while I'm here and say, Hey, we've got a co client, the API you gave me is working this way.
I need this. Right. And we can do that in real time. Whereas, you know, you don't always get the right people and plus a lot of the senior C-Suite folks are here, right? Yep. So I can have meetings with them and it's a once in a year opportunity to really get our arms around folks. Great. A hundred percent.
David M.: Well, thank you so much for spending some time with us. Have a great rest of the HITEC, and enjoy yourself today.
Robert Dawson: Great event. Appreciate it. Thank you guys.