AT&T and Hilton Worldwide share insights for moving fast amid complexity Expert panel featured at Setili & Associates Strategic Agility® Think Tank breakfast ATLANTA, Georgia (December 6, 2012)
On November 7, 2012, Atlanta strategy consulting firm Setili & Associates hosted its fourth Strategic Agility® Think Tank breakfast. Executives from some of America's premier brands, including Arby's, Cisco, Coca-Cola, Costco, Cox Enterprises, Georgia-Pacific, IBM, and UPS were in attendance.
The think tank featured an expert panel with two executives who have deep experience with complex technology implementations: Hilton Worldwide's Josh Weiss, vice president, brand and guest technology; and AT&T's Linda Rogers, vice president of sales.
Setili & Associates managing partner, Amanda Setili, commented, "The topic we chose for the event, 'Moving Fast Amid Complexity,' is critical to the success of our client organizations.
Hilton and AT&T met this challenge as they rolled out AT&T Wi-Fi in more than 450,000 hotel rooms across North America, spanning 10 brands, from Waldorf-Astoria to Hampton Inn & Suites."
AT&T and Hilton Worldwide faced a common problem: How to keep up with the exploding demand for internet connectivity on mobile devices. While both companies were thrilled about the partnership—Hilton wanted a better guest experience, with a single Wi-Fi provider across all locations, and AT&T sought to expand Wi-Fi coverage in public spaces—the transition was complex.
Weiss and Rogers stressed that effective communication was crucial to the success of the project, which spanned a two year period. "AT&T worked with four to five different Hilton stakeholder groups, over a period of two years, to complete the project," Rogers said, "these included corporate decision makers, general managers who run the hotels, franchise owners, and leaders of each of the Hilton Worldwide brands, such as Hampton, Doubletree and Embassy Suites."
"We want property owners to open their next hotel with us," Weiss said. Therefore, Hilton Worldwide needs to be easy to work with, to improve the guest experience, to create more efficient hotel operations, and to drive hotel stays.
The collaboration with AT&T helped Hilton Worldwide to address the hospitality industry's number one driver of guest satisfaction, internet service. "The 'hospitality mindset' is hardwired in our company's culture," Weiss said, "Therefore, property owners are very passionate about the guest experience."
The collaboration also offers benefits to AT&T, adding approximately 3000 Wi-Fi hotspots to the company's base of 30,000 hotspots at popular locations including Barnes & Noble, FedEx Kinko's, McDonalds, Sam's Club, Starbucks, and other establishments.
About Setili & Associates:
Setili & Associates (www.setili.com) provides The Coca-Cola Company, Delta Air Lines, The Home Depot, Wal-Mart and other organizations with unbiased advice about strategic direction. If you are a senior leader who is interested in learning more about the principles of Strategic Agility®, please contact Amanda Setili at
amanda@setili.com, or call (404) 378-0400.
Contact: Amanda Setili
Tel: (404)378-0400
Email:
amanda@setili.com ###