Editorial Board   Guest Author

Mr. Parker

Jeffrey Stephen Parker

Vice President of Technology , Stout Street Hospitality/Magnolia Hotels

Currently the Vice President of Technology and Chief Funologist for Denver-based Stout Street Hospitality, Jeffrey Parker's responsibilities include all communications and technology projects for the management company and its core brand, Magnolia Hotels, including System and data security, and infrastructure design and operations support for over 500 employees. Some of his recent high-profile projects include the deployment of VMware, Libra on Demand, HotSOS, Airwatch, and Google Apps for Business. Parker is a nationally recognized leader in data security; notably with relation to PCI compliance. He holds a bachelor's degree in Technical Communications from Metropolitan State College of Denver and has been working in the industry for over 25 years. As VP for Stout Street, Mr. Parker has championed the commitment of the company to invest in technology that lowers the cost of compliance while maintaining high-security and accessibility. As Chief Funologist for the company, Mr. Parker is also responsible for the company executives morale and teamwork initiatives. Denver-based Stout Street Hospitality, a privately held hotel management and development company operates upscale boutique hotels catering to the sophisticated traveler. The company focuses on development, management, acquisition, re-branding, new construction and conversation of existing hotel properties. The core product line consists of award-winning, independent boutique hotels under the Magnolia brand that offer a style unlike that of trendy or branded hotels. The company currently operates hotels in Denver, Colo.; Dallas, Houston, and Bryan, Texas; and Omaha, Neb., and is exploring other markets for additional growth opportunities.

Mr. Parker can be contacted at 303-351-1649 or jparker@stoutstreethospitality.com

Coming up in June 2019...

Sales & Marketing: Selling Experiences

There are innumerable strategies that Hotel Sales and Marketing Directors employ to find, engage and entice guests to their property, and those strategies are constantly evolving. A breakthrough technology, pioneering platform, or even a simple algorithm update can cause new trends to emerge and upend the best laid plans. Sales and marketing departments must remain agile so they can adapt to the ever changing digital landscape. As an example, the popularity of virtual reality is on the rise, as 360 interactive technologies become more mainstream. Chatbots and artificial intelligence are also poised to become the next big things, as they take guest personalization to a whole new level. But one sales and marketing trend that is currently resulting in major benefits for hotels is experiential marketing - the effort to deliver an experience to potential guests. Mainly this is accomplished through the creative use of video and images, and by utilizing what has become known as User Generated Content. By sharing actual personal content (videos and pictures) from satisfied guests who have experienced the delights of a property, prospective guests can more easily imagine themselves having the same experience. Similarly, Hotel Generated Content is equally important. Hotels are more than beds and effective video presentations can tell a compelling story - a story about what makes the hotel appealing and unique. A video walk-through of rooms is essential, as are video tours in different areas of a hotel. The goal is to highlight what makes the property exceptional, but also to show real people having real fun - an experience that prospective guests can have too. The June Hotel Business Review will report on some of these issues and strategies, and examine how some sales and marketing professionals are integrating them into their operations.

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