10 FOGHORN Over the past two decades, I’ve had the privilege of work- ing with ferry operators, sightseeing and dining cruises, museums, aquariums, zoos, and visitor attractions around the world. While every organization has its own mission and operational challenges, they’ve all experienced the same shift: today’s guests arrive with expectations shaped by experiences far beyond our industry. Guests no longer compare a ferry operator to another ferry operator or a museum to another museum. They compare every experience to the best digital experience they’ve had anywhere. That’s an incredibly high standard—but it’s also one of the greatest opportunities our industry has ever had. Think about the companies we interact with every day. Ap- ple has made technology intuitive and effortless. Amazon has redefined convenience. Uber has taught us to expect real-time visibility and complete control over our journey, while platforms like Facebook have conditioned us to ex- pect personalized, relevant information delivered instantly. Whether we’re aware of it or not, those interactions influ- ence what we expect from every organization we visit. What I’ve learned is that guests rarely remember the tech- nology itself. They remember whether the experience felt effortless. They remember whether planning their visit was simple, whether they spent more time enjoying the attraction than waiting in line, and whether everything worked the way they expected it to. The most successful organizations aren’t necessarily those with the newest tech- nology—they’re the ones that use technology to quietly support every stage of the guest journey. That realization has fundamentally changed how I think about innovation. It’s no longer about adding more digital features. It’s about creating connected experiences that feel intuitive from the first online search to the journey home. When technology works seamlessly in the back- ground, guests are free to focus on what matters most: the experience itself. If guests expect every experience to feel as seamless as the best digital products they use every day, the question for our industry becomes: how do we deliver that consistently across every stage of the journey? One of the biggest shifts I’ve witnessed is the growing expectation that guests should be in control of their ex- perience. They can change a flight, modify a hotel reser- vation, or reroute a rideshare in seconds. It’s only natural that they expect the same flexibility when booking a ferry crossing, purchasing museum tickets, or planning a visit to a cultural attraction. That expectation has fundamentally changed the role of technology. It’s no longer enough to simply digitize ex- isting processes. Every interaction should feel intuitive, connected, and designed around the guest rather than the organization. Capabilities like Manage My Booking are a perfect exam- ple. What was once considered a convenience has quickly become an expectation. Guests want the flexibility to update a reservation, change a travel date, add an experi- ence, retrieve tickets, or resend confirmations whenever it’s convenient for them. More importantly, they expect those changes to happen instantly, without needing to call cus- tomer service or stand in line at a ticket window. FOGHORN FOCUS What I’ve learned is that guests rarely remember the technology itself ... The most successful organizations aren’t necessarily those with the newest technology— they’re the ones that use technology to quietly support every stage of the guest journey.
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