2. Understand best guest value &
target look-a-likes
Integrated CRM/RMS not only
tracks what a customer spends on
rooms, but on non-room sources
as well, including restaurant, bar,
spa, golf course, retail shops,
and excursions. This lets you
accurately calculate total guest
value and identify those who
are truly your most profitable
customers. You can then leverage
insights gleaned from this data to
develop more efficient customer
acquisitions by identifying and
targeting new customers who
match the profile of your current
high-value guests.
3. Targeted & cost-effective
marketing
By consolidating RMS and
CRM data into one centralized
warehouse, you can optimize your
marketing spend by creating highly
targeted interest-based marketing
campaigns. The system can collate
guest segment shopping patterns
and behaviors with data analyzing
the dates, seasons, segments, and
channels that are performing best
at any given point in time, as well
as determine the price level that
optimizes your profitability while
considering the guests’ willingness
to pay.
So, instead of simply sending
out a monthly newsletter to
every customer and hoping for
a response, you can automate
relevant marketing messages
based on where guests fall in your
different audience segmentation
buckets. You’ll be providing
the right message, at the right
time, to the right customer,
through the right channel, at
the right price – sending less
marketing emails while driving
higher conversions and greater
profitability for your hotel.
Properties using targeted digital
32 ILHA
marketing strategies typically see
a 20 percent average increase in
sales over properties that don’t.
A further benefit is that you can
analyze the effectiveness and
cost of campaigns, allowing you
to continuously improve each
initiative.
4. Optimize loyalty program
strategy
According to Kalibri Labs’ report,
Book Direct Campaigns 2.0: The
Costs and Benefits of Loyalty
2018, loyalty members represent
the largest customer base for
branded hotels in the U.S. And
research compiled by Invesp show
that it costs five times as much
to attract a new customer versus
keeping an existing one. Plus,
existing customers are more likely
to spend 31 percent more when
compared to new customers.
With today’s loyalty programs
becoming less about transactional
point accruals, and more about
member-only experiences, it’s
crucial for your hotel success to
ensure your loyalty program is
delivering the results you need.
When CRM and RMS information
is combined into a single guest
profile, it empowers your team to
deliver stellar customer service in
ways that result in guests feeling
special and unique.
Say for example that a guest
profile reveals they fall into a
foodie segmentation. Upon arrival,
you could send a text message
welcoming them as a returning
loyalty member and mention
that the chef is running a special
that evening which they may
be interested in. Furthermore,
a consolidated system lets you
monitor and evaluate the success,
revenues, and costs generated
by your program, ensuring it’s
producing results that truly benefit
your bottom line.
It’s important to note that loyalty
member benefits in the form
of personalized touches, add-
ons, and upgrade offers solve
the problem of dilution that
can occur when a hotel focuses
solely on offering free rooms and
discounted accommodations.
While typical road warriors may be
looking for those benefits, top-
tier loyalty program members are
often willing to pay full price for a
room. And if managed correctly,
hoteliers can drive higher revenues
while keeping loyalty program
costs down.
5. Demand forecasting
Predicting how many customers
will stay at your resort on a
given night, anticipating sales
of non-room products and
services, and understanding how
those bookings break down by
guest segments and respective
profitability, help resort owners
develop effective growth
strategies and maximize revenue
opportunities.
A good RMS uses science-based
demand forecasting, utilizing
historic, real-time, and future
data to improve inventory
allocation and lift revenues by
establishing higher average rates
per customer. During low-
demand periods, an RMS can
zero in on guest segments likely
to generate optimal revenue,
while your marketing can draw
from CRM data to selectively
target those high-value
customers with promotions that
inspire bookings. An integrated
system also ensures that you
always have rooms available for
your highest-value guests.
6. Strategic pricing for transients &
groups
A unified CRM/RM system
provides hotel owners with