Ovolo Hotels Group Director of Marketing, Stephen Howard, said after being part of an amazing team of people and collaborators across QT and Ovolo, it really disappoints me to see the larger chain brands bastardising the term lifestyle hotels and homogenising brands which they buy.
This movement which was started by amazing visionaries like Ian Schrager, André Balazs, Alex Calderwood, David Seargeant and Girish Jhunjhnuwala, all had one thing in common to create unique hospitality with a sense of community and belonging. This is getting lost with the abundance of brands with zero substance or people with true passion behind them – it’s the people with the passion who join our businesses making the experience more emotional and connecting with guests and diners.
Find out what else he had to say in this week’s Talking Travel.
What does your job involve?
I am responsible for providing strategic direction, guidance and leadership within the senior leadership team, marketing team and General Managers at Ovolo. Working closely we create effective and efficient strategies on how we can continue to creatively grow Ovolo as a brand. With travel commencing again we are trying to really focus on how we can best understand our guests which is always our first priority, we try and do this through working out the trends by observing the market and creatively and emotionally engaging our guests and key stakeholders.
How have you tackled the difficulties caused by COVID-19?
Ovolo is all about its people and connecting with our guests emotionally was something we couldn’t do effectively throughout COVID. Instead, we took this opportunity to learn how to creatively connect with them through new initiatives. Now we are actively ensuring our guests have more confidence around travelling and providing support to take away that fear.
With Australia being so heavily affected and reliant on tourism we have tried to really provide guests with support by making meaningful contributions to people and society and reflect that in our business model too.
What do you enjoy most about your profession?
I am so blessed to be in a profession and industry where we can positively and emotionally connect with people from all walks of life and provide them with the gift of travel. Additionally, Ovolo and marketing in general demands creativity with purpose, I love constantly being challenged to look at things through a new lense. Particularly over COVID, this was challenged more so than ever and I was so proud of our team and Ovolo, we never gave up we never turned off like many other hotel companies and we kept innovating and staying relevant.
What are the biggest challenges for you in your profession (outside of COVID-19)?
The biggest challenge is staying relevant and innovative both creatively and with technology. In the past Ovolo has been known for this but now many hotel brands and groups consider themselves to be lifestyle hotels. This has ultimately bastardised this positioning, Ovolo needs to set itself apart from the rest to remain relevant and innovative in everything we do which is not always easy!
What do you think are the biggest challenges the industry faces?
I think coming back from the pandemic in Australia, particularly in travel and hospitality has been extremely challenging. A common issue throughout the country is having a lack of staff and managing the fear of travel coming back – people are still reluctant to make travel plans and tourism as a whole has struggled tremendously.
What do you think will be the biggest game changer in the travel industry in the next 12 months’?
Travel with purpose. It’s less about ticking off boxes but more about seeking destinations thoughtfully, with intelligence. We want to go somewhere where we are considering our surroundings through sustainability; somewhere we can expand our mind and learn; somewhere we know is helping make the world a better place.
What destination/travel trend do you think is the next big thing?
I truly believe that the solo travel trend will continue, more and more people are opting to travel alone. New research reveals 58% of all travellers would plan a solo trip this year so it is important we look at how we communicate with them and what brand experiences they are looking for both in accommodation and F&B.
What are your thoughts on responsible travel and how do you try to implement this in your workplace?
Everyone has a responsibility to do their part for responsible travel and the environment in general. I love the quote from Jochen Zeitz, President, Chairman and CEO of Harley Davidson Inc. “Sustainability is no longer about doing less harm. It’s about doing more good.” At Ovolo we also live by this mantra, “Do good, feel good.”
That’s why we’re focusing on setting new standards across each of our environmental, social, and governance goals, with greater transparency, ethical action, and a genuine sense of responsibility – doing things differently for the right reasons. Ultimately, the consumer is looking for these accreditations and promises from businesses regardless of how they chose to stay.
Who inspires you most and why?
I have been inspired by a few people in life and also on a daily basis, however there are a few people who have had a positive impact on my life.
David Seargeant, former Managing Director and CEO Event Hospitality & Entertainment, was a major influence on my life, growing my career but also growing my business acumen.
Currently, our leaders of Ovolo inspire me every day and I am lucky to be working for a company where we can truly evolve and be creative. Girish Jhunjhnuwala our Founder & Executive Chairman and Dave Baswal, our Chief Executive Officer are continuously inspiring me to think differently and embrace the creativity and progression.
Ultimately though, and I know this is somewhat cliché, my father inspires me and guides me. I am constantly amazed at his achievements in life both personally and professionally, the opportunities he has afforded me both as a child and through to today encourage me to aspire to be as great. I hope with this I can emulate this and provide my daughter with the same opportunities and guidance he gave me!
What is your must pack travel item(s)?
I love travelling and I don’t like the notion of travelling lightly, it’s important to always be prepared, so if you have the baggage allowance, use it! However, I always take a spare set of clothes onboard and always have a medical kit with medicines for all sorts of issues, a spare bow tie (you never know if you might get called up for a formal event), sports clothes (exercise is a must) and a travel pack which has all the information I might need whilst travelling, particularly overseas.
Who would you invite on your next holiday if you could choose anyone and where would you go?
I would take my family! We have a modern family where my co-parent and I are great friends, it would be nice to go away all together with my daughter and both of our parents to all enjoy some time together.
Also my girlfriend, we have a long-distance relationship, she lives in London and I live in Sydney and we only get to see each other on the rare occasion so I would also love her to be there too – we both share the love of travel and experiences.
Contact Email: stephen.howard@ovologroup.com
