Providing relevant adaptive content should be predicated on having an image library of guests experiencing the property — not simply architectural and generic stock photo shots — according to consultant Robert Cole .
Technology : CRM
PeRsonalization : the biggest focus of crm
Mobile start-ups exemplify some of the pathbreaking work in the arena of hyper-personalized offers . Travel-related apps are trying to analyze factors such as time of day and a traveler ’ s location to display customized deals . For instance , a customer with a tendency to check in late at night could be offered a late-night dinner package .
Hotels , too , are attempting to use what they know about guests to create a more personalized experience . Kelly McGuire , executive director of the Hospitality and Travel Global Practice at SAS Institute in North Carolina , says there is a massive amount of data available today about guests , and the ability to leverage that data in real time is the goal . By tracking guests ’ current browsing behavior and comparing that with guest profiles , hotels can find content that is relevant to the guest and guides them to conversion .
But this kind of personalized interaction is not possible using business rules alone , McGuire says . “ Real-time offers or messaging during a face-to-face interaction require different technology plus staff training ,” she notes .
adaptive content
Robert Cole , founder of Menomonee Falls , Wisconsin-based consulting firm RockCheetah , says presenting adaptive content on the brand website is the most common method to make the shopping experience more relevant . This may be relatively simple customization based on location , frequent-guest tier , destination selection and party composition .
Cole says providing relevant adaptive content should be predicated on an image library of guests experiencing the property — not simply architectural and generic stock photos . Guests want to see imagery of people like them doing what they would enjoy doing at the property .
Cole also says hotel groups are not using big data as effectively as the OTAs , so providing personalization based on the behavior of other previous website visitors is less common . companies are in control of the channels they own , but the situation gets tricky when a hotelier needs to act on guest data that encompasses third-party channels .
Kurien Jacob , chief revenue officer at Highgate Hotels , Irving , Texas , says OTAs are spending heavily on building their own customer base , so hotels must do everything to create customer loyalty for guests who book with them . “ Weigh the cost of ensuring the guest books directly with you on their next visit versus paying a huge commission cost to get the same guest back through an expensive distribution channel ,” Jacob adds .
CRM is all about aggregating data from guest interactions , and hotels also need to analyze new technology such as wearable devices . Plus , there is a need to understand management issues and how to tackle privacy concerns upfront .
Hotels must get smarter about data and analytics as well . They need to extract data from silos such as mobile click streams to craft a unified profile of guests .
“ There is more data available about consumers and their buying behavior that can drive recommendation through merchandising engines for hotels ,” says Cindy Estis Green , co-founder of consulting firm Kalibri Labs , Rockville , Maryland . “ As this data can be
Providing relevant adaptive content should be predicated on having an image library of guests experiencing the property — not simply architectural and generic stock photo shots — according to consultant Robert Cole .
incorporated into real-time operational systems such as reservations and PMS as well as online booking engines , this will make the intelligence more dynamic at the point of sale .”
Current CRM challenges Jacob says hotel organizations , while trying to have an omnichannel experience , are failing “ miserably .” He says the one standard they try to maintain is the same rates through all channels .
“ We know , however , this is not the case ,” Jacob adds . “ The other problem is different databases exist for various channels , and this does not result in a true seamless customer experience .”
Jacob cites hotels with a much higher rate on their own direct channel than on a mobile app , which creates a disparity in pricing .
Cole says it needs to be understood that the monetization of loyalty programs is based on increasing customer lifetime value through greater frequency , higher spend and influenced referrals .
As a result , Cole notes , hotels desperately need to start measuring performance based on gross operating profit per available room ( or comparable metrics ) to understand the return from their CRM efforts inclusive of channel , distribution and brandrelated costs .
48 HOTELS December 2014 www . hotelsmag . com