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Jim Abramson

Vice President, Mobile/Digital Technology
Marriott International

Jim Abramson joined Marriott in January 2012 and is Vice President of Mobile/Digital Technology, responsible for both Marriott.com and Marriott’s mobile technology strategy and planning. With over 10 years of mobile experience, Jim has defined and delivered new apps, mobile web sites, mobile messaging, mobile advertising, mobile payments, and location-based solutions. He provides leadership to help Marriott innovate and bring new mobile experiences to the marketplace, including the recent launch of mobile check-in to 329 Marriott hotels in North America.

Check out the incredible speaker line-up to see who will be joining Jim.

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Day Two - Tuesday, April 28: The Customer Journey: Preparation, Experience & Building Customer Loyalty

Tuesday, April 4th, 2017

13:50 Roundtables (Choose Two – One Hour In Duration)

1.Addressing Customers In The Midst Of Irregular Operations – Facilitated by Jeff Ulrich, Senior Manager, Emerging Technology, United Airlines

2. How Does Where You're Coming From Influence Where You're Going: The Role Of Geography And Analytics Reporting In Destination Travel - Facilitated by Norman Brauns, CEO, PACIFIC

3.Delivering For The Millennial-Generation Business Traveler: Fast And Free Wi-Fi, Grab And Go Food & Other Tailored Offerings – Facilitated by Devin Sung, Vice President, Digital Personalization, Marriott International

4.What Does The Future Connected Traveler Look Like? How Will Emerging Technologies Impact Service Delivery? – Facilitated by Jim Abramson, Vice President, Mobile/Digital Technology, Marriott International and Ian Ramcheran, Director, IT Business Partnership & Planning, Marriott International

5.Balancing In-House Capabilities With Solution Providers – What Are Your Core Competencies? – Facilitated by Steven Toy, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Fareportal Media Group

6.Beacons: Transforming The Travel Experience – Facilitated by Francisco Trejo, Senior Director, eCommerce, Hilton Worldwide

7.Optimize Your Path To Purchase: Understanding The Opportunity Of Ancillary Products In Digital Channels – Facilitated by Bob DuFour , President, Fusion

8.Using Customer Information To Deliver A Better Experience And Increase Value – Facilitated by Matt Naeger, Executive Vice President, Digital Strategy, Merkle

9.The Future of Digital Travel Marketing Is Contextual – Facilitated by Dave Frankland, Chief Strategy Officer, Strongview

10.Enhancing Website Accessibility – Facilitated by Brooke Brooks, Lead Information Architect, Southwest Airlines

11.How To Incorporate Programmatic Into Your Overall Marketing Program – Facilitated by Bill Guild, Vice President, Marketing, ChoiceStream

12. Optimizing The Booking Journey - Facilitated by Michael Wilson, Senior Director of Product Management, Webtrends
13. Data Means Nothing! Information Is Power! – Facilitated by Charlie Calabrese, Vice President of Operations, Performance Horizon
14. Maximizing Mobile Moments: Make It Easy, Make It Fun, Make It For Me - Facilitated by Alyssa Meritt, Head of Strategic Consulting, Urban Airship

Smartphones are the entertainment and helpmate of an on the go traveler. They are also 1:1 insights engines. This roundtable discussion will address how mobile is enhancing travel while providing a richer view into the interests and needs of travelers. Learn tips to start or accelerate your mobile program.

16:50 Increasing The Effectiveness Of Your Loyalty Programs

Your ability to increase the effectiveness of your loyalty program will depend on how you adapt to

the new travel landscape. The customers we are serving are changing and the way we describe

customer loyalty needs to change. Loyalty programs need to look at the problem differently.

In order to increase the effectiveness of your loyalty program, you need to:

Understand next generation travelers
Ask what loyalty means to them
Not just think about points
Provide a customer experience they love
Realize that their loyalty will drive future business to you, not just from their repeat business, but from their network of friends/peers/colleagues when they share these great experiences

Companies that are tech savvy, act more like a friend and anticipate guests’ needs will prevail.