In this time of global crisis and uncertainty, we put the call out to leaders, CEOs, strategists and consultants to sit down and tell us, in their own words, what is going on and what is going to happen next in this vital global industry.
Flashback to Rio, March 2020: In a market where international travelers make up more than 70% of visitors annually, the COVID-19 pandemic would undoubtedly have a huge impact, with aftershocks that will be felt for years to come.
But Michael Nagy wasn't waiting for a return to business as usual.
Officially Michael, is Director of Marketing & Sales for the magnificent Fairmont RJ Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro. Unofficially, I think his title should be Rio’s AmbassadorExtraordinaire! Nagy is the quintessential bon vivant, embodying all of the excitement, charm and authenticity inherent in the promise of Rio.
The innovations, partnerships and full-scale realignments that the Accor Fairmont Rio de Janeiro has been able to achieve over the last year are remarkable — listen to the podcast for a deeper dive into some of them. But if I had to pick one key message from the wealth of wisdom that Michael has to share, it would be this: “Stop owning your own content. Stop making it difficult for people to get access to your information.”
He goes on to explain that in the summer of 2020 at the Fairmont Rio, “We took every single piece of writing, picture, video, photo, logos — anything we had in marketing — and, basically, we gave every single travel agent, OTA, operator full access, all over the world."
Think about that for a second...
When I talk to Michael, I am inspired. His head-on approach to accepting the inevitability of change and his focus on getting to work, right now, on building a better future for the Fairmont and for Rio is something we all can learn from.
