Sales and Marketing in the Hotel/Resort Business 21st Century

An old dog loves a new trick someone once said, and at this age, I tire of catching on to fast trains, the spin of the earth, dumb kids, machines that think for me, and children in suits that form personal relationships with green globes glowing in the corners of sales offices, easier than they do with me.
     As a fledgling salesman in my early 20's I learned by watching, listening and emulating those older, better than me and soon crafted a professional attitude that fed, clothed a wife, two daughters and myself through adulthood, and on, out of the house. The younger generation of sales and marketing people detached from any kind of personable connection to people attached themselves to techno babble, computers, gadgets, and roamed the world with eyes searching the world like bright, cole shiny headlights on oversized Buicks.
    In hotels, the difference was more obvious in that the more mature sales people were more expensive, higher salaries, commissions, bonuses, perks, and since they had been in the chairs longer, had earned respect not yet achieved by the yearlings.
    The youngers were mostly female, very good looking, cheaply bought, caught the eyes of management, knew little and were assigned for training to guys like me. Lots of guys like me.
    As the world turns, computers in, children love the gadgets, the technology of the new world began a new era in sales and marketing and the art of sales and marketing - personal contact, a connection with the customers of the hotel or resort - faded away.
    Comes the new change in our society - the Obama generation, he of the walking on water, things are going to change - and indeed they did. The economy tanks, corporate world recedes, sales staffs everywhere in everything get eviscerated (in hospitality especially) and the kids are back in restaurants serving pizza and spaghetti on shift work.
     Today, most of those glamorous hi-rise hotels, spiffy, tony resorts in the foothills are runny empty, missing their mortgage payments, having their "debts" re-organized, or out in the market looking for someone to buy them before they get re-possessed. They are ALL in trouble. Working in sales and marketing in the hospitality industry is as dead and/or dying as being in sales for the Airline industry. You can read about it in the history books.
     It was fun while it lasted. It's over
###