On International Women’s Day every year, the voices and stories of women across the world are celebrated, as we address the issues that cause gender inequality and diversity. But despite these issues remaining, such voices and stories take a backseat once the day is done.
We think it’s worth doing the opposite and actively challenging the issues that create these gaps in our industry. So, we’ve launched this weekly series, Wednesday Women, where we’ll profile the stories of the inspiring women in this great and wide industry.
Today we speak with Marianne Mewett, Chief Experience Officer at Australian Venue Co (AVC).
If you speak to Mewett about hospitality, and what it means to her, she’ll share her excitement about creating amazing experiences, and rightly so, being Chief Experience Officer for one of Australia’s leading hospitality groups.
Around 22 years ago, while she was studying PR and Political Science at university in Geelong and managing a bistro at a pub, it was the buzz of hospitality that she fell in love with.
“At the end of my degree, I remember thinking, I don’t want to sit in a tower block office, how do I stay in hospo, but not work every weekend?” she told Australian Hotelier.
That’s when she shifted to sales and marketing. She could see early on that technology and digital were going to play a big role in the industry, and so she dove headfirst into that path, absorbing everything she could and pathing the way for a career that would evolve with the industry.
Of course, technology and digital marketing have progressed massively since then, and the hospitality industry has shown its resilience.
“When I started, technology for hospitality revolved around sending mass emails to a database. So much has changed, with Covid really accelerating mobile ordering uptake for example,” she reflects.
“On the marketing side, layering in key tech pieces like a Customer Data Platform (CDP) has been critical to move beyond the fragmented systems and have a solid view of what’s happening, who’s buying what, where and when.”
“With the launch of our loyalty app, The Pass, we now have a way to deliver more relevant offers and promotions, direct to consumers. As an industry, I think hospitality is one of the most dynamic and resilient industries in history, so it’s evolved, adapted and will continue to do so.”
Now, as Chief Experience Officer for AVC, Mewett’s values are still driven by a focus on the customer. In the hospitality industry, customer experience looks different to everybody, but Mewett shares a few of the simpler elements that are crucial in creating positive experiences.
“Exceptional customer experience means going above and beyond the standard expectations. This doesn’t always mean grand gestures, but it can be the little things that surprise and delight. I’ve learnt you need to find team members who find joy in delivering these experiences, you can’t buy this.
“On the digital side, we’re always working out ways to remove or reduce friction for customers.”
Speaking about her current role with AVC and what that entails, Mewett said: “My role is incredibly varied and dynamic, I have a superstar team who look after mobile ordering, loyalty, web and customer experience.
“Then, we work on a number of innovation projects, always with an eye on exceptional customer experience and growth. AVC has an amazing test and learn culture and there’s never a dull moment. As a company, we’re always striving to be bold and go first, which really drives me to think about the world a bit differently, what could be possible?”
Reflecting on some of the ways in which she has helped AVC to advance its digital, loyalty and technology projects, Mewett said: “As a team, we’ve done a huge amount of work creating an ecosystem for data, digital and tools.
“At our size and scale with over 200 brands, this ecosystem infrastructure is incredibly important. Some examples are our loyalty engine that drives offers at scale, and central platforms and data that can be leveraged at a group or individual venue level.”
Looking to the future of the sector, Mewett expects to see a continued push for a more sustainable industry, with healthier and more sustainably-sourced and -created food and drinks. She sees younger consumer and employee cohorts driving this demand.
“Businesses and hospitality platforms will be continuing to test and build out capability around AI and machine learning. We’re working on a number of projects, testing and learning how to leverage this tech to support growth and operational efficiencies,” she added.
“With generative AI exploding, we will also see consumers demanding a higher level of frictionless digital experiences when it comes to bookings, ordering and so forth.”
The thought of implementing AI and machine learning can be a daunting prospect for many hospitality operators, especially those working on a smaller scale, but Mewett says that in order to succeed in the industry, it is crucial to adapt to the digital age.
“Consumers are constantly evolving, which means we have to as well. In hospitality, we have Gen Z coming to our pubs, as a general rule, they are a very different consumer to Baby Boomers and demand different experiences. Gen Alpha is coming next, what will their needs be, what will make a good pub experience for this cohort?
“My advice is to not do innovation in a silo. Bring the whole team, company and customers along for the journey. Test and learn and have fun along the way. Don’t be afraid to try things, even the ideas that fail come with incredible learnings,” she concluded.