Zsuzsa Deli-Gray (ed.)

Cases in Tourism Marketing III

The Organisational Metamorphosis: The Era of the Digital Creators

This technological renaissance naturally did not leave the hotel's internal organisation untouched. The old, familiar positions suddenly became painfully obsolete. In their stead emerged new, majestically sounding titles: "Digital Creator" and, inevitably, the "Digital Creator Director" (for one must always have a Director).

This "Digital Creator" wasn't a traditional sales manager or a copywriter. This individual worked with Krasner to use generative AI to draft hyper-personalised outreach content at scale. The sales team, initially sceptical, was now receiving targeted, data-backed briefs. Instead of a generic "Dear Meeting Planner," the AI could help draft an email:

"Dear $$Planner Name$$,

Congratulations on $$Company's$$ recent $$specific achievement from press release$$. As you plan your upcoming $$sales retreat$$, have you considered that our hotel's courtyard offers the exact $$local-specific amenity$$ that would be perfect for your awards dinner?"

The same principle was applied to marketing content. AI was used to generate blog posts, improve guest service score responses, and analyse market research to define new guest personas, all faster and more targeted than ever before.

While the marketing experiment was proving its value in "securing occupancy", Krasner, the IT strategist, turned the tool inward. His second front was his own department. IT in a hotel group is a complex beast, managing everything from the PMS, Point-of-Sale (POS) systems, guest Wi-Fi, and server architecture. The knowledge to run it all is often siloed in vendor manuals, old support tickets (like in their Autotask system), and the brains of senior engineers.

Krasner began using AI as a "super knowledge base". He fed it technical manuals, past project notes, and support ticket histories. Now, a junior IT tech didn't have to spend hours searching for a fix. They could simply ask the AI, "What is the standard procedure for configuring a new POS terminal for the lobby bar?" or "What was the resolution for the Wi-Fi outage in the West tower last quarter?" This, he found, was the key to "project maximisation." Instead of "reinventing the wheel" for each new PMS configuration or network upgrade, the AI provided a baseline of best practices, dramatically cutting down on research and development time. It allowed his team to stop being reactive firefighters and start becoming proactive optimisers. A 'proactive optimiser' could then ask the AI to analyse the last six months of support tickets, identify that 70% of all Wi-Fi complaints originated from the West tower, and cross-reference that with the network's technical manuals to pinpoint a specific, ageing hardware component before it failed during a high-occupancy weekend. This is the difference between dousing a fire and installing a sprinkler system.

The human resources had to learn to dance with the algorithm. Krasner emphasised the importance of internal training, for what use is the most modern magic wand if no one knows the correct incantation (i.e., how to "prompt"). The change was not merely instrumental but conceptual: a traditional hospitality business was transformed into a data-driven, intelligent enterprise. The focus shifted from "what do you know?" to "what can you learn?" The most valuable employees were not those who had memorised the old procedures, but those who could ask the AI the most insightful questions to invent new ones.

Krasner's approach demonstrates a crucial lesson that transcends hospitality: the introduction of AI didn't lead to a reduction in staff. Instead, it triggered a necessary re-skilling. The sales team, once focused on relationships and cold calls, had to learn to become data analysts. The marketing team, once focused on broad campaigns, had to become deft prompt engineers. As Krasner noted, the real differentiator for new hires is no longer just their technical skill, but their "subject matter expertise" – their deep, nuanced understanding of the hospitality industry itself. The AI can provide the what (a list of 100 leads), but the human provides the why (which 10 of those leads are truly the right fit for the hotel's brand and current need).

The "Ghost in the Machine" was not, therefore, a replacement for the hotelier. It was, as the full title suggests, a "Deus Ex Machina" – a new force arriving to solve a seemingly intractable problem. In Mr. Krasner's New Orleans office, the "ghost" had, in two short years, become a trusted confidant, one that never complained, always had an answer, and was quietly, intelligently, and relentlessly helping to put more "heads in beds" than ever before.

Tartalomjegyzék

Kiadó: Akadémiai Kiadó

Online megjelenés éve: 2026

ISBN: 978 963 664 217 4

Marketing Turizmus

The publication of the third volume of Cases in Tourism Marketing is truly welcome news from both an educational and a professional perspective. Through real-world, timely, and thought-provoking cases, this collection helps readers – students and practitioners alike – gain a deeper understanding of the complex world of decision-making in tourism marketing. The case studies not only convey professional knowledge but also develop analytical skills, problem-solving abilities, and critical thinking. One of the volume’s key strengths is its focus on issues that define contemporary tourism, including the role of digitalization, artificial intelligence, destination branding, and stakeholder collaboration in tourism marketing. Long-awaited and highly relevant, this third volume is a worthy continuation of the previous collections and will undoubtedly serve as a valuable resource in higher education in tourism, while also being highly recommended to professionals who enjoy reflecting on challenges and opportunities beyond their own immediate field of expertise.

Tamara Ratz PhD

Director, Centre for International Relations, Kodolányi János University

Head of Tourism Department, Professor of Tourism

It is an honor for me to recommend this volume to everyone who wishes to understand tourism marketing not only in theory, but also through its real business and human dimensions. The worlds of tourism and hospitality have undergone fundamental changes in recent years, which makes case studies based on real market situations, decision-making dilemmas and current challenges especially valuable in supporting both learning and critical thinking. This book provides not only professional knowledge, but also encourages a complex mindset, creative problem-solving and the ability to think in connections — exactly the skills today’s tourism professionals need most. I wholeheartedly recommend this volume to students, educators and tourism professionals alike.

Judit Fodor (Liptai)

Group Director of Sales and Marketing, Danubius Hotels

Hivatkozás: https://mersz.hu/deli-gray-cases-in-toursim-marketing-iii//

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