Augie Ray, research director for customer experience at Gartner, is an authoritative and opinionated resource for marketing leaders. We went back and forth with Ray on both the definition and the state of customer experience.

Suspend your political beliefs for a moment. This is a column about the use of play and interactivity in the Hillary for America presidential campaign.

I’ve been on a run of business trips lately and Airbnb has become my lodging of choice — less expensive, more personal and located in many up-and-coming neighborhoods you might otherwise never know about. I’ve been lucky to have positive experiences and part of that is the authenticity of the photos in listings and specific communication between the host and the guest before, during and after the visit.  At the recent Skift Global Travel Forum in New York, Chip Conley, Airbnb head of global hospitality and strategy, defined hospitality using restaurateur Danny Meyer’s description of “generosity …

When Marriott International finalized its $13 billion merger with Starwood Hotels & Resorts recently, the company immediately linked the respective rewards programs allowing customers to transfer points back and forth and earn the highest status of any program.

Can a bot treat you better than a human being can? Customer service is veering into the realm of attendants who get to know you better through artificial intelligence than any individual ever could. The challenge is to execute so customer experience is enhanced rather than devalued.