From Guesswork to Growth: Data Science and AI to grow B2B sales
Marketing to travel advisors has long been where the quiet wins live, yet so many hotels continued to depend on manual spreadsheets, generic blasts, and a bit of luck. The consequence was predictable: missed opportunities with the very agents who shape perception, storytelling, and sales in luxury travel.
On November 18th in Boston, Advant stepped in to challenge that familiar pattern at the Relais & Châteaux Annual Congress. Across four back-to-back sessions led by CEO Matthew Lo and COO Pooja Bhaskar, the team peeled back the curtain on how luxury marketing had already begun to evolve—shifting from service to identity, and from intuition to scalable, data-driven growth.
Key takeaways from the session
Using real examples from Advant’s work with independent hotels and global brands, Matt and Pooja demonstrated how hotels can:
Turn agent relationships into measurable growth systems
Use off-the-shelf tools and AI automation to scale personalization
Build data-driven funnels that move agents from low awareness to high intent
Framed through the journey of a fictional luxury travel advisor named “Jessica,” the session unfolded like a classroom narrative, illustrating how hotels had the power to weave data, storytelling, and human touch into a single, high-performance sales journey.
Stage 1: Discovery — Why Hotels Still Get Lost in the Noise
For many independent hotels, the biggest challenge isn’t competition, it’s visibility. Travel advisors are inundated with options, and without targeted outreach, even standout properties never make it into the right circles. This “old way” of discovery leaves hotels relying on random outreach and hoping the right advisors stumble upon them, while advisors themselves admit: “I’ve never come across this property before.”
Stage 1 highlights this gap so we can fix it. By understanding where visibility breaks down, hotels can move away from guesswork and toward smarter, more intentional discovery. The next stages show how AI flips this model by revealing which advisors matter and where your brand should show up, turning invisibility into opportunity.
Stage 2: Awareness — From Forgettable PDFs to Stand-Out Touchpoints
Once advisors discover a property, the next hurdle is earning their attention long enough to matter. Traditional follow-ups—heavy PDFs, generic decks, long email attachments often collapse under their own weight. Even when the content is good, advisors rarely have time to dig through it, and promising properties get forgotten within a day. The intent is there, but the format fails.
Stage 2 demonstrate how AI transforms this moment. Instead of static files, AI generates polished, visual, and pitch-ready touchpoints that instantly communicate a property’s value. Advisors like Jessica immediately grasp why the experience fits their clients, and the hotel stays memorable rather than lost in an inbox. This shift turns awareness into genuine interest fast.
Stage 3: Consideration — Remove Friction Before Interest Fades
Once an advisor is genuinely interested, the smallest delays can undo all the momentum. In the old way, hotels scramble through scattered emails, outdated PDFs, and slow back-and-forth responses—leaving advisors waiting and unsure if the property is truly reliable. Even when the property feels like the right fit, advisors need fast, clear answers to build confidence and move a client forward.
Stage 3 shows how AI eliminates that friction. With instant, intelligent chat responses built directly into the platforms advisors already use, every answer—from rates to availability—appears in one place, instantly. No tabs, no delays, no searching. Advisors can learn, validate, and act with confidence, making the property feel seamless, premium, and trustworthy from the first interaction.
Stage 4: Intent — Turning Interest Into Action With Instant, Intelligent Follow-Ups
When an advisor is ready to recommend your property, momentum becomes everything. In the old way, deals slow down because advisors drown in long threads, scattered links, outdated quotes, and unclear commissions. Even when a hotel is the perfect fit, the lack of clarity causes hesitation and the deal stalls right at the finish line.
Stage 4 modeled how AI keeps that momentum alive. With one unified workflow, AI recalls past conversations, pulls the right assets, drafts proposals, and sends polished follow-ups before the advisor even asks. Instead of waiting on details, advisors receive exactly what they need—fast quotes, clear commissions, and pitch-ready assets—allowing them to say “yes” with confidence and move straight to closing.
Stage 5: Advocacy — Turning One Great Stay Into Lasting Loyalty
The final stage is where long-term value is won or lost. In the old way, hotels reconnect with advisors only when they need something—long after the guest has returned home. Even if the experience was incredible, the relationship fades without updates, exclusives, or reasons to stay engaged. Advisors love the property, but the connection weakens, and advocacy never fully forms.
Stage 5 transforms that dynamic. AI creates a living ecosystem that keeps advisors close—through exclusive stories, early offers, intelligent portals, and community-driven moments that signal, “You’re part of this.” Every interaction feeds into a shared identity and strengthens trust. Instead of sporadic check-ins, advisors experience a continuous loop of value that turns them from partners into true advocates.
An Invitation for the Relais & Châteaux Community
If today’s session sparked ideas or raised questions, we’d love to continue the conversation. This invitation is reserved for members of the Relais & Châteaux community who joined us in Boston.
Fill out the short form below to receive:
The complete playbook and slides from From Guesswork to Growth: Data Science and AI to Grow B2B Sales — including visuals and practical takeaways from the session.
Limited-time access to the live presentation deck, with screenshots and guidance on applying the featured tools and workflows in your own context.
A complimentary enrichment and segmentation review, where our team will run a sample of your data to reveal patterns and opportunities tailored to your brand.
Direct access to Advant’s strategy and AI team, for follow-up questions about any demo, workflow, or use case we explored together.
You’ll receive everything in one concise, thoughtful follow-up — designed to be useful, not noisy.
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