Convenience Matters Releases 100th Podcast

Hospitality industry visionary Chip Conley talks about disruption and strategy.

December 19, 2017

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Being nimble is key to staying on top of your game, which is one of the reasons NACS launched its Convenience Matters podcast in February 2016 to release timely information and cover popular industry topics in a short, digestible audio format. This week, the podcast series released its 100th episode, Pardon the Disruption, featuring Chip Conley, strategic advisor for hospitality and leadership at Airbnb and keynote speaker at the recent NACS Show in Chicago.

Conley shares his thoughts on disruption and differentiation with NACS co-hosts Jeff Lenard and Stephanie Sikorski. Disruption is a trendy word in the business sector, and has quickly become a “household” term in relation to technology, especially as new advancements become faster and more scalable to businesses and users.

What’s cool and hip today could be irrelevant tomorrow, said Lenard, who asked Conley, “What’s the difference between a fad and a trend?” and which one should retailers focus on? Conley suggests that retailers know their community better than disruptors like Amazon Go, which largely relies on algorithms based on past purchases.

When it comes to their communities, retailers should work to keep people happy, including their employees, advised Conley. “People want to feel pride in where they work, and that their business is positive to their community,” he says.

During his NACS Show keynote, the hospitality expert likened the interruptive shift of business with the sport of surfing. Much like you can’t control the waves in the ocean, you cannot stop disruption from happening. Instead, you can learn how to navigate the waves and create positive outcomes.

“Someone who understands disruption can look at multiple waves and know which one to choose,” he said. Conley pointed to several times in history that industries refused to accept marketplace disruption, such as the invention of the ATM, the advancement of buying books online and the creation of Uber.

Each week a new Convenience Matters episode is released. Episodes have been downloaded by listeners in more than 91 countries more than 34,000 times.

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