How Hotels Can Utilize Data For Personalization More Wisely

Guest personalization is frequently being referred to as the new loyalty in our space. 

Our guests expect to be recognized and want their experiences personalized.

Customers crave personalization and according to research that was revealed by Epsilon, 87% of those who participated in their research said they are more likely to do business with travel and leisure websites offering personalized experiences. That was a little over a year ago. This year we’ve seen the need for hyper-personalization increasing even more.

Although we understand the importance and value of making personalization a core marketing strategy, there remains a gap between the level of personalization our guests want and what they actually receive.

In addition to this, the growing concerns over data security make it hard to create a blanket solution across the board because different guest demographics are willing to play ball at different levels. 

This culminates into some hurdles that I think every hotelier is currently trying to overcome.

Speaking for myself, I think each year has brought a growing need for me to dig deeper into the understanding of the right approach. 

On the one hand, I know personalization is the key to enhanced guest experience especially for the luxury guests I serve. On the other hand, as technology enables us to have the tools and processes to effectively carry out hyper-personalization and data gathering, I need to ensure the legacy trust we build with our customers remains intact no matter what.

That’s not an easy task but it can be accomplished especially once we realize that personalization and privacy are not meant to be conflicting efforts. They can be symbiotic opportunities when approached the right way under the right leadership.

Here's what I know for sure:

Our best chance to create unforgettable guest experiences hinges on our ability to leverage technology the right way, bring more value to our guests and keep data use in context. In other words, we must learn to use data wisely and make it relevant to the different demographics we serve.

How can we reach this objective?

The elephant in the room that everyone is wary of:

No business wants to experience the blows that large organizations like Facebook, Wyndham Worldwide Group and others have had to endure.

A data breach is a real and serious threat with severe consequences. Business revenue, customer loyalty and brand reputation all get affected when things go wrong.

It’s no wonder more and more hotel leaders are expressing concern over finding that balance between data collection and personalization.

Traditionally, data gathering was more manual. It included daily recording of likes and dislikes where the staff goes out of their way to understand and note down the needs of the guests (especially the V.I.P guest).

Today, however, we can leverage technology and automate much of that process but this doesn’t eliminate the need to be responsible for the way we gather, store and utilize this information.

So here’s how you can take the preliminary steps to ensure that you are responsibly utilizing the information your guest shares with you:

? Have a clear understanding of the type of data you need and what you need it for. Don’t just gather as much information as you can from a guest for the sake of having it.

? Have a secure system in place to collect, process and store the relevant data. Streamline and regularly update this system. Make sure there are proper protocols for team members who have access to this data.

 ? Train your staff on the importance of protecting all data shared by the guest including cardholder information. That also means that under no circumstance should your hotel store card verification numbers or any other sensitive information.

? Be transparent with your guests about how you use their data. This is how you will build trust and receive the necessary permission to effectively use this data to help enhance the guest experience.

If your guests feel like you’re invading their privacy or exploiting their information, that’s when personalization attempts start to fail. Most people are quite happy to share their information and allow you to delight their travel experience as long as you are open and upfront about it.

Conclusion:

Thanks to technology our ability to personalize and enhance the guest experience has exponentially grown. We know that today, personalization is becoming a necessity but at the same time, we must be mindful and respectful of the process.

Privacy is still a priority for us as luxury hoteliers and I hope that after reading this your attitude and approach toward data usage has positively shifted. 

Speak soon.

Franck Droin.