How can data-driven personalisation and direct booking strategies help hotels navigate structural change? with Bryson Koehler

As the hospitality industry faces a confluence of rising operational costs, shifting consumer expectations, and growing OTA dependency, how can hotels use data and personalisation to protect profitability and rebuild direct guest relationships? In this episode of Setting the PACE, Tim Davis speaks with Bryson Koehler, CEO of Revinate, to explore how hotels can move beyond broad segmentation towards truly one-to-one marketing, and why the stakes for doing so have never been higher. Bryson shares insights on Revinate's evolution from a guest feedback platform to a direct booking powerhouse driving over $5 billion in annual revenue for hotels worldwide, and what it takes to build a 360-degree view of the guest that powers personalisation across every channel. The conversation examines the structural shifts redefining hotel economics post-COVID, from cost inflation to OTA commissions, and why simply waiting for conditions to revert is no longer a viable strategy. Bryson also offers a candid assessment of where the hotel industry sits on the marketing maturity curve, the mounting pressure on traditional loyalty programmes, and how AI can augment rather than replace the human connections that lie at the heart of hospitality. Drawing on experience at IHG, IBM, The Weather Company and Equifax, he brings a distinctly data-led lens to some of the industry's most pressing commercial challenges.