Last Thursday, November 28th, 2024, the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin once again opened its doors to future focused hoteliers for Guestline’s Connect Ireland event.
With the theme of ‘Empowering Connections: The Key to Success in Hospitality,’ this year’s event focused on what really matters in our industry, the people who make it thrive. From the buzz of the morning coffee chats to the thought-provoking discussions throughout the day, it was clear that connection remains at the heart of hospitality, whether it’s with your guests, your teams, or with industry peers.
The day, masterfully MC’d by the skilled Orlaith Carmody, a coaching and consulting facilitator, kicked off with a warm welcome from Clio O’Gara, Guestline’s Country Manager for Ireland. Clio spoke about the challenges the industry is facing including rising operational costs (the VAT nightmare), staff shortages and the pressures of competition within the hospitality market, whilst also celebrating the resilience and creativity that’s abundant within the industry. She reminded everyone that connection is what keeps hospitality thriving and that it’s our ability to build and sustain relationships that will help to carry us through.
Next up and one of the highlights of the morning was the introduction of Access Accommodation by Champa Magesh, the Managing Director of Access Hospitality. With extensive experience in travel technology and a passion for the hospitality industry, Champa shared her thoughts on how technology can empower hoteliers to enhance their guest’s experiences without sacrificing on that human connection, “Technology isn’t here to replace us; it’s here to support us in doing what we do best, delighting our guests.”
The first panel discussion of the day brought together Daragh O’Neill, President of IHI, Jennifer McKenna of McKenna Hospitality, Cyril McAree from Hotel & Restaurant Times and Christopher Kenny of the Great National Group to discuss the key trends in Irish hospitality. Sustainability, empowering your workforce and the rising demand for personalisation led the conversation, with all three panellists emphasising that mutual collaboration and innovation are crucial for navigating the ongoing challenges faced by the industry. The discussion also focused on the urgency of addressing the generational shift of hospitality staff and the priorities and values of Gen Z employees which includes, work-life balance, inclusivity, and the pursuit of meaningful careers.
This year’s discussion on AI didn’t disappoint thanks to Brian Clarke, Co-Founder of Convio AI, who led a fascinating and thought-provoking fireside chat which encouraged attendees to rethink how they approach AI in their hospitality business. Brian discussed the intended use of AI, far from replacing staff, AI is to be positioned as a powerful tool that helps hoteliers to streamline their operations, to assist with guest personalisation, and to give teams more time to focus on what truly matters, their guests. Brian’s engaging examples of AI in action sparked plenty of ideas about how it could be used to tackle everything from repetitive tasks to guest communication.
Personalisation remained a recurring theme, especially during the panel discussion on creating a single guest view. Chaired by Clio, this panel featured Nicola Rhone and Steve Collins from SHR, alongside William Barry from ResDiary. Together, they delved into how integrating technology solutions can empower hotel teams. The message was clear: today’s guests expect more. They want their stay to feel tailored, effortless, and memorable and it’s up to hoteliers to deliver on those expectations.
The afternoon sessions began with a dynamic panel on unlocking hidden revenue streams, featuring Sonia Merena (The Hotels Network), Ciara Crossan (Wedding Dates), and Adrienne Hanna (Right Revenue). Sonia discussed some creative approaches such as using AI as a guest service agent to handle common queries i.e., ‘Is there parking at the hotel? or ‘What time is breakfast?’. Ciara talked about exceeding expectations for wedding clients from that first inquiry to the wedding day itself, highlighting those individual touches that can drive loyalty and an increase in revenue. Adrienne stressed the importance of aligning your pricing strategies with the quality of your service and advised against hiking rates in response to a shortfall in revenue, as she says, “it’s all in the data!”
Cameron Thomas, Solutions Architect at the Access Group, closed out the day as he addressed the critical issue of revenue leaks in hotels. He shared practical strategies for managing rising wage costs and offered guidance on how to optimise tools like rota systems and EPoS for better workflow. He also showed attendees how they can boost efficiency, keep GM’s out of the back office and improve the guest experience, all whilst staying within budget.
As the day wound down, there was time for one last pint of Guinness and networking, a fitting close to an event that celebrated the very best of what hospitality has to offer: its people.
Here’s to another year of empowering connections and to seeing everyone again at Connect Ireland 2025.
Cheers!
