by Kimberly Erwin, Principal at Lotus Marketing | Hotel Marketing & Commercial Strategy
What was once a collection of siloed efforts in marketing, sales, and revenue is rapidly evolving into a single, strategic force. The days of fragmented commercial functions are over. The future belongs to those who unify their teams under a cohesive, data-informed, guest-centric commercial strategy.
Convergence is not just an operational adjustment—it’s a philosophical shift. It’s about bringing once-separated disciplines together under one strategic umbrella, with shared goals, shared data, and a shared vision of success. This is the essence of modern commercial strategy.
Positioning: The Strategic Center of Convergence
At the heart of convergence lies a shared understanding of hotel positioning. Positioning isn’t just a branding exercise—it’s a strategic tool that anchors every decision across the commercial ecosystem. By definition, positioning is relative. It asks: “Where does our hotel stand in the market, and how do we differentiate ourselves from alternatives?”
Yet time and again, hotels attempt to define their positioning in a vacuum, ignoring the parent brand’s positioning, dismissing the competitive set, or mistaking a clever tagline for a true strategic identity. That’s a recipe for confusion, both internally and externally.
True positioning is foundational. It informs revenue strategy, guest experience design, culinary programming, sales initiatives, and operational standards. When a wellness-focused hotel contemplates opening a nightclub, for example, it’s not just a programming decision—it’s a positioning crisis. Rather than trying to be everything to everyone, hotels must optimize what they already are, interpreting their brand promise in a localized, contextually relevant way. That’s when alignment takes hold, and that’s when convergence becomes reality.
Shared Goals: One North Star, Multiple Channels
For convergence to succeed, hotels must establish shared business goals. When sales, marketing, and revenue come together with a common objective—whether it’s driving total revenue, reclaiming group business, or elevating brand reputation—they shift from parallel efforts to collaborative execution.
This convergence extends beyond room revenue. Today’s commercial strategy must encompass total guest value—from F&B and spa to parking, meetings, and retail. Marketing cannot exist solely to drive transient bookings. Its role must evolve to support all revenue streams, aligning closely with the segments that move the needle across the property.
When all functions are aligned on the same objectives, decisions get sharper, campaigns get smarter, and results become more predictable.
Shared Metrics: One Source of Truth
Finally, convergence requires a shared language of success, and that language is data. The effectiveness of a hotel’s commercial strategy depends entirely on the quality, consistency, and interpretation of data across all departments.
Every stakeholder must become data literate. Everyone—from marketers and revenue managers to general managers and sales leads—should be looking at the same metrics, drawing insights from the same dashboards, and contributing to the accuracy of those insights. When data is fractured, strategy becomes misaligned. When data is converged, teams act in unison, and performance accelerates.
Commercial convergence isn’t a trend to watch—it’s a discipline to lead.
The organizations that embrace it today won’t just outperform their peers; they’ll redefine what performance looks like. The most transformative strategies aren’t built in the future – they’re operationalized in the now.
