Take the Hospitality Daily Artificial Intelligence in Hospitality survey to get exclusive insights into how other hospitality providers are using AI now.
Today, we’re learning from Ben Rafter, President and CEO of Springboard Hospitality.
The Big Idea: When you put “everything on the table,” you can create a radically different approach that sets you apart and helps you win in hospitality.
The future is unpredictable, but Ben Rafter’s strategy—combining the mindset of a tech CEO with the thoughtfulness of a great hospitality leader—works in any environment. While others struggled during the 2008 financial crisis, Ben’s hotel company flourished with an innovative approach. He ignored traditional, confusing metrics like return on ad spend and created custom reports to show the owners he was serving what was really working, comparing results to simple baselines like Expedia bookings. What won in the end? Mixing deep care for people with a fresh, honest, and data-driven perspective.
Want more? Listen to Ben talk more about this today on the Hospitality Daily Podcast (available on Spotify or Apple Podcasts)
Try This Today:
Show you care by doing something meaningful, like Ben putting his phone number in every guest room.
Ditch complicated, confusing metrics—try looking at results with a new lens, like comparing marketing campaigns to your baseline performance on Expedia.
Think Ahead:
Reflect on how you can integrate more transparency into your operations. What processes or data could you share with your team or guests to build trust and improve performance?
Consider the potential opportunities that current or upcoming challenges might present. How can you position your business to not just survive but thrive during these times?
Scroll down for more resources to help you with this…
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A MESSAGE FROM JOSIAH
Discover How AI is Being Used in Hospitality Today
AI has quickly become one of the most transformative forces in our world. But what does that mean for you and your work in hospitality?
To answer that question, I’m gathering input from professionals across the hospitality industry and would really appreciate your participation. In exchange, I’ll send you an exclusive summary of what I find in the study. These insights will enable you to compare your experiences with others in hospitality and uncover practical ways to use AI in your work and business in 2025.
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A few final things:
If you have any thoughts, ideas, questions, or suggestions for Hospitality Daily, please reply to this email. I’d love to hear from you!
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Thank you for reading.
-Josiah
