Data silos: The unraveling of the hotel guest journey

Op-Ed: Tina Markowitz, Cendyn: Different systems for different functions, all doing their job. But is it time to ask: what’s the cost?

Data silos are spoken about often in the hotel industry. Different systems for different functions–all doing their respective jobs. But what’s the harm?

In a world where efficiency is paramount for commercial success and guests expect seamless, hyper-personalised experiences–an effective Find, Book and Grow strategy simply cannot co-exist with data silos.

We bend over backwards to make the guest journey exceptional. We splash out on jaw-dropping photography across marketing channels, making sure future guests Find us and click to discover more. We painstakingly craft tempting offers so they Book. And we go all-in with our on-property service – embracing the hyper-personalisation trend–nurturing loyalty to Grow revenue and the business as a whole.

But in terms of the technology that powers this all-important customer journey, hotels are still falling short.

Fragmented data directly reduces a hotel’s ability to maximise the impact of the customer journey. Despite this, 25 percent of hotel executives say their data is fragmented in different systems, and 31 percent say IT infrastructure challenges are a problem–limiting their ability to use data more effectively.

Savvy consumers know the power of their data. In fact, 61 percent are willing to spend more with businesses if they are offered a customised experience. But only 23 percent of consumers report experiencing high levels of personalisation after recent hotel stays.

The source of sickly silos

Hotels find themselves in silos due to traditional departmental-level incentive structures. F&B teams are incentivised by true cost, sales departments by volume, marketing teams assessed on return on ad spend (ROAS), and so on. This negates a focus on common targets across the hotel. Therefore, each department has its own systems which don’t interact, preventing different teams from seeing how their activity impacts other parts of the business.

Guest experience is affected by these data silos–and so is operational efficiency. Hotel staff take longer to access data from different systems, invoicing and billing is more difficult, and the understanding of guest personas is diluted–impacting the implementation and effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

There are also risks that one department makes decisions that negatively impact another department – and thus the hotel overall. This is commonly seen when marketing runs a promotion when revenue management has already put measures in place to improve demand through forecasting and optimising pricing.

Centralised data: breaking down the silos

It’s understandable that hotels want to squeeze the most value from existing systems, and integrating systems takes time, effort and money–something hoteliers are constantly juggling in a fast-paced landscape.

But unifying guest data really is the only way to deliver a seamless experience–for both guests and employees. Smarter data management that brings together a customer relationship management (CRM) system with a customer data platform (CDP) and analytics is a game-changer in an antiquated tech environment.

This gives a holistic view of guests and operations in a single, comprehensive view–a ‘customer 360.’

The customer journey can quickly unravel due to data silos, with guest needs not being adequately met or targeted at multiple touchpoints. Centralising data means guests are better understood. This enables deeply personalised interactions, and much-improved guest engagement.

Real-life impact:

The lack of data integration prevented Acta Hotels from optimising the guest experience. After implementing Cendyn CRM, the hotel group was able to efficiently capture guest profiles at each establishment, resulting in a complete and robust database. Capturing 143,000 unique customer profiles, Acta Hotels was able to create more targeted marketing campaigns and generate 600,000 euros in revenue in one year. Read more.

Get to grips with guests

Data silos cause multiple guest profiles to exist. Hotels therefore struggle to get a full view of their guests’ interactions and behaviors across different touchpoints, including the website, mobile apps, emails, and in-person at the hotel.

Identity resolution is a key step in centralising data and understanding customers better. ‘Deduplicating’ guest profiles means identifying duplicate guest profiles sitting in multiple systems and consolidating them into one single profile. This leads to marketing precision.  With this elevated knowledge about your guests, you can tailor targeted and personalised campaigns that resonate–and convert into bookings and revenue.

Use case:

A hotel has multiple databases across the business, on legacy systems that aren’t integrated. Through the implementation of Cendyn CRM with CDP and analytics, the hotel goes through a de-duplication process.

The result is one centralised database with consolidated guest profiles, capturing everything the hotel has historically learned about each individual guest. This paves the way towards a strengthened, personalised, and more targeted marketing strategy ripe for increasing conversions and revenue.

True guest identities

In hotel marketing – emails, offers, social posts and more – inevitably speak to ‘you’. But how do you know who your prospective guests are, and what are those golden nuggets that really appeal to them? Skin-deep personalisation doesn’t drive bookings, engagement, or guest satisfaction.

Interrogating analytics on centralised guest profiles completely shifts this. This data means communication can be customised, the ‘right’ amenities can be showcased to guests, and offers can be created based on the high-quality information your system holds. personalised experiences increase loyalty, retention, and the lifetime value of guests.

Real-life impact:

Sircle Collection was struggling to leverage guest data held across different departments. After implementing Cendyn CRM, the hospitality group expanded its information-gathering capabilities and increased unique profiles in the database by 95 percent in two years. Sircle subsequently implemented strategies to deliver more personalised guest experiences, which increased email open rates by 45 percent and led to a 73 percent growth in the Sircle Club loyalty program. Read more.

Towards hyper-personalisation

Centralising guest data to create unified profiles already strengthens your knowledge of their preferences, plus their preferred services and amenities. But a unified and advanced CDP can take this understanding a step further, helping segment audiences to drive in-depth personalisation.

With the trend of hyper-personalisation being hyper-relevant in travel and hospitality, it’s becoming necessary to define very niche audiences and segments. Identify that segment of die-hard foodies, and you’ll sell out a weekend package featuring an exclusive menu designed by a top-name chef – no-problem. Discover those guests who used concierge services to book a local boat trip, and you’ll craft a package that incorporates an elevated water-themed experience to tempt them back another time.

Real-life impact:

Port Hotels faced challenges in streamlining processes and effectively segmenting its audience based on preferences and buyer personas. After implementing Cendyn CRM, the hotel group automated Welcome campaigns with integrated forms to collect valuable information about guest preferences. Enabling enhanced segmentation, Port Hotels increased its email open rate, and 60 percent of the campaigns sent generated a booking. Read more.

Remove mystery with AI

Having centralised guest profiles and systems – managed by an integrated CDP and analytics – takes a lot of mystery out of guest needs and preferences. But it doesn’t necessarily answer ‘why?’ Why does a guest have particular stay preferences? Why does one communication channel perform better than another one?

This is where AI-powered analytics comes in. Once you start consolidating data and therefore developing very robust guest profiles, there’s some work that needs to be done to interpret it all.

AI-powered analytics can help answer these ‘why?’ questions, while automatically identifying trends and business drivers. This gets to the heart of data instantly, saving time and resources, while feeding into strengthened marketing campaigns.

Use case:

A hotel is on a positive path towards improving the customer journey, by centralising guest information through Cendyn CRM with CDP and analytics. Marketing campaigns are now more personalised and targeted and are driving bookings and revenue. To improve performance further, the hotel implements AI-powered analytics. Flagging trends in real-time, marketing campaigns become even more nuanced and relevant, taking bookings and revenue to the next level.

The power of a unified CRM + CDP solution

Data silos are becoming an increasing problem for hoteliers operating in a world where hyper-personalisation is the expectation. A dated and sluggish tech landscape is holding hotels back.

But shifting towards a future of centralised guest profiles holds a lot of potential. Combining CRM and CDP capabilities with advanced analytics transforms hoteliers’ ability to enhance their marketing, operations and revenue.

It’s a crucial way to Find the right guests based on deep knowledge, entice them to Book, and for a hotel to Grow the customer experience, loyalty and revenue.