Travel Tech Essentialist #135: Perseverance
"You have to be arrogant enough to believe you can do it and stupid enough to keep trying when you fail." — Michael Birch
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0. The most clicked link in the previous newsletter
The most clicked link in Travel Tech Essentialist #134 was the Digital Hotel Operations Report.
1. Persevere or abandon?
In this interview, Michael Birch, founder of several startups, shared his one piece of advice for entrepreneurs: be arrogant and stupid. Read his full quote in the intro of this newsletter.
In another interview, when further questioned on how entrepreneurs should decide between persevering, pivoting, or giving up, Birch defined this as the most difficult question for any entrepreneur, adding that it was impossible to give good advice because the answer is deeply unique, personal, and situational (clip). For every one story you hear of a success story that kept going after 12 months even when there was no sign of life, hundreds did exactly that and failed. That’s survivorship bias at play.
The line that separates the bold, who succeeded without paying attention to naysayers, from the reckless, who failed because they didn’t want to listen to the warnings, can only be seen with 20/20 hindsight glasses.
2. Passion is the foundation of perseverance
More about perseverance, this time from Steve Jobs: “About half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.” While it is true that perseverance could lead down the wrong path, it's also true that perseverance is fundamentally necessary to succeed. So, how can we effectively fuel our perseverance? Jobs argued that passion is the foundation of perseverance:
You gotta have an idea, or a problem, or a wrong that you want to right, that you’re passionate about. Otherwise, you won’t have the perseverance to stick it through. That’s half the battle right there — Steve Jobs (clip)
This ties smoothly with what I highlighted in my previous newsletter about the critical period of going from “-1 to 0” when an entrepreneur needs to figure out what and why they want to build before trying to build it. Getting to Founder-Market Fit requires finding an idea that deeply resonates.
3. Founder superpowers
Basis Set Builders asked early-stage investors with $40 billion in AUM to evaluate over 60 founders on a number of dimensions to understand what distinguishes successful founders (e.g., IPO, raised substantial capital, large exit) from those who struggle (e.g., shut down, stagnant, small exit). Founders were evaluated based on agile thinking, confidence, day-to-day effectiveness, founder-market fit, humility, results-driven, quick learner, scrappy, compelling storytelling. Their research offers insights into the critical founder superpowers and archetypes. Read +.
On the subject of persistence, or stubbornness, they found it to be a double-edged trait. Coupled with “not scrappy,” “indecisive,” or “unable to face realities,” it typically leads to struggles. Conversely, when paired with “true visionary,” “effective day-to-day,” “results-driven,” “learns fast,” and “builds strong teams,” persistence becomes a formidable strength. So, persistence is a superpower when combined with complementary traits.
4. High on High Agency
Successful founders generally over-index on the high-agency spectrum. High agency combines resourcefulness, skepticism of the status quo, and taking control of one’s fate. High-agency individuals push through despite adverse conditions, reversing them to achieve goals. George Mack aggregated the 19 best examples of high agency he’s found in 4 years. Highly worth a look.
5. A new business model for hospitality loyalty
In The Future of Loyalty Is Wrapped Up in the Guest, Not in Occupancy, Richard Valtr, founder and CEO of Mews, writes about the need for hospitality loyalty programs to emphasize hyper-personalized long-term connections instead of traditional, transaction-based models. He suggests hotels can create deeper bonds by integrating their services into guests’ everyday lives, supported by technology and strategic partnerships. Hospitality companies are better positioned to offer this than many other consumer brands due to the personal interaction inherent in their services. Examples include Marriott and Hilton's partnerships with Uber and Disney's strategy of engaging customers beyond content consumption. The key message is to promote a lifelong customer engagement that values continuous, daily interaction with the brand beyond the occasional stay. Richard argues that taking this more integrated view may also serve to help hospitality brands realize the value of ancillary revenues in their many forms. Those add-ons, he says, should be at the core of the business model.
It would be a shift for the brand away from the asset and onto the consumer, but it would also be a shift for the consumer away from collecting points and toward utilizing elements of the brand in their everyday life. — Richard Valtr
6. No travel brands in the top 100 Most Valuable Brands
There is no hospitality brand (excluding Disney, which includes many other businesses beyond hospitality) among Interbrand’s recently released ranking of the 100 Best Global Brands. In this opinion piece, Daniel Langer argues that the hospitality sector’s focus of overinvesting in the tangible and neglecting the intangible is a key reason for its absence on this list year after year. He criticizes the hospitality industry for its inward focus, prioritizing operational efficiency over creating memorable, personalized guest experiences. This approach dilutes the brand narrative, making it less about the guest and more about themselves.
Claiming that the client is at the core means nothing if they are not truly at the core. A dramatic shift is needed for hospitality players to claim their rightful place among the world's most valuable brands — Daniel Langer
This argument resonates with the previous story that called for hospitality brands to create more meaningful, regular and long-term relationships with guests
7. Global Hospitality Data Story
Lighthouse released an animated visual analyzing data from hotels, short-term rentals, and flights to highlight the latest trends in supply, demand, rates, and ratings across various destinations.
8. Hospitality drones
Robots are expected to deliver 1 billion items to guests in hospitality environments by 2034 (source: Zipdo). But you got to start with one. Below, you have what could be the first beer delivered by drone.
9. The mystery of a hotel hallway carpet
I came across a funny post by my friend Stuart Greif (Forbes Travel Guide) about a hotel in Germany with an unconventional hallway carpet that seems engineered to discourage running in the hallways.
This sent me down a rabbit hole, ultimately leading me to the Euronova Arthotel in Cologne, Germany. We can now safely lay to rest the theory that the carpet's pattern was a clever tactic to slow down hallway racers. It turns out that this distinctive design isn't limited to the hallways but is also proudly displayed in the bar, restaurant, bedrooms, and even the conference spaces. Kudos to the Euronova Arthotel for going bold and everywhere. A far cry from those drab designs that have been described as resembling 'someone dragging a dead body down the hall.' (as seen on Reddit)
10. Only weird behavior survives
Here’s a great tweet by George Mack that reminds us of what it takes to be memorable, whether we are talking about a hallway carpet, a friend or a brand: normal behavior is forgotten, only weird behavior survives.
Nobody tells stories of when you did the expected — they only tell stories when you did the unexpected. Normal behavior costs nothing in the short term — but it disappears into the abyss. Unconventional behavior costs a social price in the short term — but the actions live on as story assets in the future. — George Mack
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Mauricio Prieto