Contracted by the National Park Service to provide lodging and other services, the company also owns and operates several hotels and tour companies as well as the Windstar cruise line.

Rabinoff has been with Xanterra for more than 20 years and oversees all strategic planning and operations for information technology, including infrastructure, security, operations, project management, application and service delivery. Prior to his current position, he served as director of enterprise architecture and director of
hospitality technology for the organization. He also spent more than a decade at Club Med, where he served as a developer and regional information technology manager.

When Rabinoff arrived at Xanterra, the company was using a variety of platforms, systems and applications. “It wasn’t sustainable; nor was it a pathway to growth,” he said. As a result, one of his biggest technology initiatives has been a push for consistency. “From architecture review and project management to implementation
and service delivery, we want to provide consistency from one end of the lifecycle to the other. We want to know a lot about a little rather than a little about a lot.” That mindset helps the technology team provide a common delivery across all of its business verticals and the many places in which the company operates.

Security and privacy are also top of mind for Rabinoff. “The security landscape is incredibly complicated and risks are constantly evolving and increasing,” he said. Data and analytics are key components of his strategy. “Being able to provide better, smarter, faster and more actionable data is paramount to a successful operation. And it increases demands on security, compliance and governance even more.”

Additionally, Rabinoff is looking at ways in which artificial intelligence can help the company. He has targeted several areas, including customer service operations and marketing content generation, that he believes will benefit most from the efficiencies AI can bring. “We don’t plan for AI to eliminate jobs but rather to empower staff to do more with their limited time,” he said.

He is also looking to move more systems to the cloud, although the company has been hindered in the past by some of the remote locations in which it operates, including ships at sea and a hotel at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. But innovative solutions like Starlink low Earth orbiting satellite technology and other, similar emerging technologies are changing all that. “We’re now thinking differently about how to reach staff members and guests, even in the most out-of-the-way locations.”

Looking ahead, Rabinoff is working with the company’s enterprise commercial marketing team to rebuild and modernize their technology stack. “We’re focusing on how we collect and aggregate consumer data across multiple verticals and how we can communicate with guests in more timely, targeted and relevant ways,” he said.

“This initiative will create a more positive experience for our customers, which in turn will lead to loyalty and repeat business.”

RICHARD’S INDUSTRY PREDICTIONS:

AI USE WILL CONTINUE TO GROW. “IN OUR WORLD, IT WILL BE USED PRIMARILY AS A WAY TO EMPOWER STAFF, NOT AS A WAY TO ELIMINATE THEM.”

SECURITY AND PRIVACY WILL MOVE TO THE FOREFRONT. “THE SECURITY LANDSCAPE WILL CONTINUE TO EVOLVE RAPIDLY,” HE SAID. “AND AS CONSUMERS BECOME INCREASINGLY AWARE OF THEIR RIGHTS, THEY WILL DEMAND THAT HOTELIERS AND TRAVEL OPERATORS DO WHAT IT TAKES TO PROTECT THEIR DATA AND PRIVACY.”

AUTOMATION WILL INCREASE. “WHETHER IT’S ROBOTICS OR OTHER KINDS OF AUTOMATION, HOTELS WILL DEPLOY SOLUTIONS THAT ELIMINATE REPETITIVE TASKS, SO THAT STAFF CAN FOCUS ON THE PEOPLE AND THINGS THAT MATTER.”