About The CGO
(Back to) the future of guest experience.
Like modern medicine, the hospitality industry of today is in a chronic state of treating symptoms, rather than curing the underlying cause. In our never-ending pursuit of efficiency, profit, and constant fire-fighting (OTAs, SEO, and the next problematic acronym surely crossing your desk), the industry is perpetually on the hunt for brilliant innovation, quick-fixes, and everything in between.
But what if we pressed pause? What if we sought a genuinely future-proofed approach to guest experience? It requires that we start with retro- and introspection. Hospitality in its true essence is an industry of people, for people — from its most humble beginnings, it's strangers sharing the same roof. Sharing the same table. Sharing the same moment.
In our increasingly commodotized market, "unique," "boutique," "one-of-a-kind" venues are ironically, a dime a dozen. Difference in product or price, without soul, simply isn't sustainable. Amongst hospitality's growing homogeneity, guest experience is the key to inimitable distinction.
The reality however, is the hospitality industry is now facing a systemic identity crisis. The majority of establishments are working with three very separate sets of “experiences”:
1. The one your property truly wants for your guest to have
2. The one your guest expects, or better yet, dreams about
3. The one that guest is actually having
The glaring problem is these are hardly ever aligned. Enter The CGO (-as-a-Service). “Even better,” your CFO sighed with relief.
ABOUT THE FOUNDER
Alana Witte, Founder
Alana founded The Chief Guest Officer to help restaurants, hotels, and destinations develop a singular "guest-obsessed" ethos across all methods of contact in the customer journey, and realign every part of the business to foster, fuel and champion this indelible point of focus—unlocking the potential for true, palpable reinvention of the guest experience, to create more loyal, profitable guests.
Alana is an established hospitality industry and technology executive whose passion lies in helping hospitality brands deliver on strategy that connects people, data, and devices. Before establishing The CGO, Alana oversaw the Global Key Account program for INTEREL - an award-winning IoT, guest room, and energy management solution - and prior to that, led the accelerated global growth of Revinate (the hospitality industry's leading CRM and guest satisfaction technology) in MEA, launching Revinate's Dubai and Cape Town offices.
Alana holds a master's degree in Arabic Studies from the University of Texas, and began her career in communications and branding advisory for the MEA market, predominately in the hospitality, tourism, and development verticals.
Most importantly, she itinerizes her every travel around breakfast, lunch, and dinner (& likely a few snack breaks in between).