What Hotels Can Learn from Airlines, Retail, and Apps

How to apply winning strategies from other industries to boost the guest experience and your bottom line

Hotels don’t just compete with other hotels anymore. They’re up against every experience a guest has — from the frictionless rebooking on their airline app, to the personalized attention from their favorite store, to the instant service and sleek design of the apps they use every day.

The smartest hotel operators are looking beyond hospitality to find their next big ideas. Here’s what hotels can learn from three industries that have mastered the art of guest engagement, operational efficiency, and revenue growth.

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🛍️ 1. Retail: Make Every Interaction a Revenue Opportunity

Retailers obsess over the customer journey — not just to sell, but to convert, cross-sell, and build loyalty. Every shelf, banner, and checkout screen is designed to guide decisions.

What hotels can borrow:

• Smart merchandising of upgrades, services, and add-ons — from digital signage to mobile app offers.
• Dynamic pricing and packaging based on time of day, guest type, or booking behavior.
• Targeted promotions that are timely and relevant — not one-size-fits-all discounts.

Retail understands that the path to purchase isn’t a straight line. Hotels that treat every touchpoint as a chance to enhance the stay — and drive incremental revenue — are the ones outperforming expectations.

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✈️ 2. Airlines: Monetize the Margin Moments

No industry is better at turning micro-decisions into macro-revenue than airlines. You don’t just book a flight — you choose your seat, pay for early boarding, add bags, and maybe even get upsold to a higher class of service.

What hotels can borrow:

• Smarter upsells at key moments — think early check-in, late checkout, or preferred room type.
• Post-booking offers that surface between reservation and arrival.
• Clear communication when there are delays, limited availability, or upgrade opportunities.

Guests are used to being offered more — as long as it feels optional and valuable. Hotels can tap into that mindset without compromising the core experience.

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📱 3. Apps: Be Frictionless, Fast, and Personal

Apps win when they’re intuitive, helpful, and always one step ahead. They personalize the experience, make it easy to take action, and never leave the user wondering what to do next.

What hotels can borrow:

• Guest-facing tools that behave like an app — mobile-optimized, clean, and fast.
• Instant messaging or automation for common service requests and FAQ-style responses.
• Thoughtful reminders or nudges that drive service use and upsells during the stay.

The modern guest expects your hotel to work the way their favorite apps do — efficient, responsive, and personalized.

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The Takeaway

When hotels look beyond their own industry, they unlock entirely new ways to serve guests, grow revenue, and streamline operations. Retail teaches us how to guide behavior and frame value. Airlines show how to monetize choice. And apps raise the bar for convenience and clarity.

Your guests aren’t just comparing you to the hotel down the street. They’re comparing you to the best experiences they have anywhere.

And if your operation still feels stuck in 2015 — it might be time to think like an airline, a retailer, or an app.