2022 Technology Rock Stars
Monica Xuereb
Chief Revenue Officer, Loews Hotels
Monica Xuereb is chief revenue officer for Loews Hotels where she is responsible for guiding all sales and revenue processes, including leading the strategy for generating more efficient, predictable and profitable revenue. She joined Loews in 2013 after running her own consultancy, providing assistance with revenue management, pricing and distribution strategies to independent hoteliers and small hotel groups. She also spent 17 years with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company and Marriott International, where she held several senior revenue management positions. She is a member of AHLA's Forward: Women Advancing Hospitality.
One of Xuereb’s major accomplishments at Loews has been to take a revenue optimization approach to function space. The company was already using the IDeaS revenue management solution to maximize transient revenue, but they were missing opportunities to yield and price function space revenue, which amounts to more than $200 million a year. She and her team worked with IDeaS to develop capabilities that allowed sales and catering teams to review and predict demand and enable strategic decisions about which pieces of business to take and when to take them.
Over a two-year period, the solution was rolled out to Loews’ 26 properties and is now a pillar of the company’s corporate revenue optimization strategy. According to Xuereb, it has been especially helpful during the pandemic. “Even though the last two years have been tough, our tools and analytics have allowed us to manage through the cancellation and rebooking process and have helped position us for the future.”
Another achievement has been building a business intelligence solution, a multi-year joint project between the revenue management and IT departments. Xuereb wanted to expand the information ecosystem to include data from every department and system throughout the organization. The company now uses Microsoft Power BI to enable team members to easily access information and expedite decision making. “We’ve standardized and democratized the data, which has been an enormous help to us, especially at the hotel level,” she said.
General managers no longer have to log in to several systems to gather the information they need; instead, a dashboard provides an overview of key metrics at a glance. Additionally, sales teams routinely use the intelligence when prospecting and evaluating business. Loews even has an in-house business intelligence team that constantly builds new tools, which contributed to its continued market share growth during the pandemic. “BI is a way of life for us now,” she said.
In fact, technology is at the heart of the company’s success. “Since I’ve joined Loews, we’ve upgraded every single system and have made some exceptionally good investments in technology infrastructure,” she concluded. “We hold a strong belief that team members need the proper tools if they are to deliver outstanding service to guests.”
MONICA’S BEST:
- Family: Married, with a Miniature Schnauzer named Max.
- Hobbies: Cooking, gardening and hiking.
- Go-To Periodical or Website: The New York Times and the BBC website. “They are my go-to sources for news.”
- Book: The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle. “I read it every year just to get a renewed perspective on life.”
- Music: Anything from the 70s and 80s.
- Favorite Travel Destination: Western Australia. “It has everything I enjoy, including great food and wine, beautiful golf courses and incredible beaches.”
- Advice to Young People: “Ask questions and try new things. Many skills are learned through experience and not through school.”
- Dinner With: Chef José Andrés, founder of World Kitchen, a non-profit organization that provides meals in the wake of natural disasters. “He’s not only a famous chef but a great humanitarian. I love his restaurants and his approach to using food in times of crisis.”
