More than 600 hospitality professionals gathered in Houston in late June for the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International’s (HSMAI) Revenue Optimization Conference (ROC) Americas.

The day officially kicked off with an opening general session, emceed by Dr. Kelly McGuire, SVP of revenue management for MGM Resorts International. Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist for the Economic Outlook Group, shared his geopolitical and economic forecast for the coming year, citing tariffs imposed recently by the United States, increased cyberattacks, and the high likelihood of a recession in the near future as some of the biggest concerns for the travel industry. He urged hoteliers in attendance to be proactive about pricing and to have game plans in place for plausible unfavorable scenarios such as company-wide technical disruptions, and a decreased number of internationaltravelers to the United States.

The opening general session also featured a “Think Like an Owner” panel, in which hotel executives shared their perspective on revenue management.
Another highlight of conference was the two-part interactive session, “No Bull: The Great Debate,” in which presenters debated two timely topics for the hospitality industry: the role of AI and the effectiveness of loyalty programs, respectively. Live polling and candid comments from audience members made for engaging discussions of both subjects.

Throughout the day, a host of breakout sessions delved into AI, loyalty, and other key issues for hotels and revenue optimization, including personalizing paid advertising, leveraging social media, harnessing metrics and analytics, and maximizing non-room revenue opportunities.

For the third year in a row HSMAI’s ROC Americas drew more 600 attendees. In addition to plentiful education and networking opportunities, the conference showcased 42 partner companies serving the revenue management industry, including consultants, technology vendors and companies providing products and services in revenue management, execution, and reporting.

The day ended on a high note with an entertaining game of “Revenue Feud,” inspired by the television gameshow Family Feud.