John Seaton speaks with Travel-Preneur on the state of Cendyn and the hospitality technology landscape

John Seaton, Chief Evangelist & Managing Director, International, at Cendyn recently was a guest on the Travel-Preneur podcast. Here’s what he had to say about the current challenges and opportunities for Cendyn and the hospitality industry:  

Regional expansion at Cendyn 

When asked about the strategies he’s worked on to expand Cendyn’s reach and impact across the globe, John focused on Asia Pacific, explaining that one of Cendyn’s biggest initiatives is expanding the company’s prescence in this valuable region. Cendyn currently has teams in Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo, Macau and Sydney, along with recently expanded operations in India, both in Hyderabad and Delhi. As a global organization, Cendyn is investing heavily in ensuring each geographic region can support our customers operationally while also working with customers to identify areas where Cendyn can support their growth and improve efficiencies. 

Hoteliers around the globe see success with Cendyn 

With thousands of hotel customers around the globe, John highlighted some recent notable success stories from different regions of the world. 

• The Set Collection sees success with Cendyn’s CRM 
• Arlo Hotels launches a successful multi-channel campaign to promote their grand opening 
• SkyCity leverages Guestrev and Revintel to drive gaming & revenue growth

Emerging trends   

When asked “How do you perceive the evolving landscape of hospitality technology, and what emerging trends do you anticipate will shape the future,” John addressed the overwelming trend of Artificial Intelligence (AI).  

At Cendyn, one way we are utilizing AI is with our Digital Ads Management Platform. This platform empowers hotels to efficiently manage their metasearch campaigns and Google network advertising initiatives by seamlessly integrating with Google’s Performance Max for Travel Goals. Essentially, this integration enables hotels to harness the power of AI for the streamlined management of their advertising campaigns across the Google network, resulting in enhanced campaign performance with minimal manual effort.

Cendyn also leverages AI through their CRS & booking engine product, including the recent roll out of a new call center application through our partner, Poly AI. Even in a short period of time, Cendyn has already seen positive results. Initially rolled out to gaming customers, the AI app is handling 90% of non-reservation calls and 12% of reservation calls. By incorporating AI, customers are enjoying a more efficient booking experience. Simple reservations and questions are taken care of by the AI app, allowing the human call center agents to focus on more complex reservations and personalized engagement. 

Future enhancements 

To wrap up the session, John was asked about any upcoming innovations or developments that Cendyn is working on to further enhance guest loyalty and profitability for hoteliers. Aside from continuous development work, he highlighted some exciting future integrations that are in the works – specifically a CRM & CMS integration, which will allow for a more personalized digital experience for guests, fostering a highly engaging interaction for all individuals visiting a hotel website, and boosting conversion rates.

Cendyn’s central focus is continuing to integrate various products into a singular platform solution, with the ultimate goal of offering the hospitality industry everything from CRS, Booking engine, RMS, CMS, and CRM to Digital Marketing solutions from one platform. This strategy is what determines the product roadmap as well as M&A initiatives.