Hey, Ben here!

If you run an independent stay, your next guest could come from ChatGPT, Amex, or an Airbnb search.

Not a hotel brand.

Here’s what I mean by that:

Our guest on episode 51 just got back from a room full of Middle East hotel investors at GIOHIS (the Gulf and Indian Ocean Hospitality Investment Summit).

Andrew Humphries spent 16 years with Four Seasons and was COO of Katara Hospitality.

He shared that the big brands want the distribution and the fees. And he says they're drifting away from actually running hotels.

Running the hotel is the part independents already do well.

The marketing (getting found and getting booked) is the hard part.

Why does that matter?

Because independent hotels have 3 ways to get bookings:

1. Join a group that does the marketing for you, like Leading Hotels or Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH).
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2. List on an OTA like Booking.com, Expedia, and Airbnb and pay their fees to “rent” their audience.
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3. Build your own demand with social, direct bookings, and email.

And in this episode, we talk about how the first 2 options are getting worse (which makes the third option more valuable).

In this week's episode, we cover...

• ​Andrew Humphries on brands vs independents (21:24). Big brands come with their name, distribution, booking systems, and loyalty programs that send guests their way. Independent stays don’t.
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  At Katara, Andrew says joining Leading Hotels made a "notable difference" for the Royal Savoy in Lausanne.
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• ​Why the Middle East keeps bouncing back (17:06). Bahrain hasn't come back at all, but Dubai is still strong. Andrew thinks it's because the Gulf now has a big local market (Saudi, UAE, Qatar) that that wasn't there 10 years ago.
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  So when international travelers get nervous, local guests keep the rooms full.

• ​Amex x Airbnb (47:57). Amex’s best customers can now book your stay if you’re on Airbnb. Sounds good on paper.
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  The catch: Airbnb still takes its usual cut (15.5% on host-only pricing). They says your prices and payouts stay the same, so you're not paying Amex a second commission on top.

​Click here to watch this week's full episode of This Week in Hospitality.​

Enjoy,

Ben Wolff

Founder, Oasi & Modern Hospitality Accelerator

PS… Want to start building your own demand?

We just opened up a few more spots inside our Modern Hospitality Accelerator this week.

Right now, we’re building brand-new training for all of our members where my team and I will reveal the entire $500,000 marketing playbook we’re using right now to:

• Attract ideal guests (without a big brand or OTA)
• Turn that attention into direct bookings
• Fill our calendar at premium rates

​Click here to book a quick call with my team about one of those spots (before another operator grabs it).​