Andrew Rubinacci
Aligning Culture With the Bottom Line: How to Create a Commercial Mindset That Will Drive Revenue and Service
Andrew Rubinacci | June 11, 2024
By Andrew Rubinacci “We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.” Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon. Almost every person in your hotel should be aware of how sales truly impact your property. Whether at reception, working in payroll, or drawing up employee onboarding SOPs, they need to know that every day is a sales day. Selling can be a human trait, and great things start to happen when your hotel company is tuned into the commerce side of your business. It makes me think of a famous quote that...
AI and Human Input: Hospitality Leader Andrew Rubinacci Shares His Recipe for Revenue Management Success
Alan Young | May 15, 2024
By Alan Young When I asked Andrew Rubinacci to describe the early days of his illustrious hospitality career, his answer was one you might not expect—“I was a guinea pig,” he’ll say with a smile. “I was, quite literally, the first revenue manager at InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG).” Today, Rubinacci is a well-known name in an industry of hotel revenue and technology experts, bringing over 25 years of commercial leadership experience to the table and a resume that includes a number of executive positions ranging from Chief Commercial Officer at Omni Hotels & Resorts to Senior Vice President of Distribution & Reve...
The Top 5 Advantages of AI-First Platforms Over Legacy System Upgrades
Andrew Rubinacci | May 2, 2024
By Andrew Rubinacci, Chief Advisory Officer of FLYR for Hospitality If I had a dollar for every time I heard artificial intelligence or “AI” mentioned over the last year, well, you know the rest of that saying. And much like when you repeat a word so many times, it starts to lose its meaning – the discussions surrounding the blistering proliferation of artificial intelligence technology have begun to lose some of their impact. Working within the realm of hospitality technology, I understand – rather intimately – the transformative effect of digital tools that leverage the power of AI and machine learning (ML). But I am also ...
Will AI Replace Hotel Revenue Managers? Answering the Million Dollar Question
Andrew Rubinacci | April 17, 2024
By Andrew Rubinacci, Chief Advisory Officer of FLYR for Hospitality Never in human history have we had access to as much data as we do today. In recent years, the tools and strategies we use to process and understand insights derived from this data have become one of the hottest commodities – and with good reason. Organizations are able to harness the power of data to gain a deeper understanding of their operations, customer behaviors, and market trends, unlocking competitive advantages. Data-driven decision-making is the new normal. And while the hospitality industry has always used data in its revenue management strategies, AI can...
10 Booking Trends & Stats That Every Hotelier Should Know to Drive Guest Experience and Revenue in 2024 and Beyond
Andrew Rubinacci | April 3, 2024
By Andrew Rubinacci Many of us grew up on the precipice of a new digital era, an inflection point after which innovations seemed to multiply to uncover possibilities that our younger selves might have dismissed as fit for a more distant future—if we imagined them at all. In 2024, innovation seems to be waiting around every corner, and no industry is exempt from its influence and subsequent transformation. The hospitality industry is now in an undeniably important state of flux: a widespread upheaval of legacy processes and platforms to make room for big tech and big ideas. Although hotel service will always have traditional roots and ...
Why Democratizing Data Is the First Step to Successful Revenue Performance
Andrew Rubinacci | March 21, 2024
By Andrew Rubinacci Today, most hotels possess more data than they know what to do with. And like most businesses that have jumped on the “data-driven” bandwagon, they quickly find themselves overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of data they end up with (to the point that some of what’s collected may fly under the radar). Case in point: 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are generated every single day. And roughly 90% of all the data ever created was developed in the last two years. So, there’s definitely no shortage of data. When such a plentiful supply of data is available, why are over half of the hospitality industry’s busine...
HSMAI Americas Announces 2024 Executive Committee and Board of Directors, Led by Chair Andrew Rubinacci
HSMAI | February 7, 2024
McLean, VA (Feb. 7, 2024) – The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) is proud to announce the members of its 2024 Americas Board of Directors and Executive Committee, led by new chair, Andrew Rubinacci, who begins a two-year term. HSMAI America’s leaders represent a cross section of the industry’s most respected hotel and hospitality brands, academics, and suppliers. The board is composed of senior travel and hospitality executives from a representative selection of HSMAI members. “I’m honored to step into the role as chair of HSMAI Americas and to have the opportunity to give back to the hospitality i...
AI-Augmented Decision Intelligence: The Next Paradigm Shift in Hospitality Revenue Management
Andrew Rubinacci | January 25, 2024
By Andrew Rubinacci Artificial intelligence is everywhere. It’s making inroads into practically every field of human activity. It’s integrated into search engines, word processors, and various apps likely installed on your smartphone in your pocket. And there’s a reason for the tech’s proliferation: it is incredibly adept at analyzing data much faster and at a much larger scale. In the hospitality realm, most people consider revenue management to be something that only humans can do effectively. Now, with the advent of AI, that’s no longer the case. As technology continues to advance, there is a growing trend toward enhancin...
