{"id":79338,"date":"2024-08-29T05:57:32","date_gmt":"2024-08-29T03:57:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/intellias.com\/?post_type=blog&p=79338"},"modified":"2024-11-25T15:07:08","modified_gmt":"2024-11-25T13:07:08","slug":"personalization-in-hospitality-best-practices-key-components-and-real-life-examples","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/intellias.com\/personalization-in-hospitality-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Personalization in Hospitality: Best Practices, Key Components, and Real-Life Examples"},"content":{"rendered":"

Customers want to feel special. They expect a personalized experience, and 76% become frustrated when they don\u2019t get it<\/a>. To grant this wish, businesses across customer-facing industries are transforming their service and marketing strategies.<\/p>\n

Failure to offer personalization may have financial consequences. According to Boston Consulting Group<\/a>, companies that practice personalization see 3% to 6% higher compound annual revenue growth than those that don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Demand for personalization in the tourism and hospitality industry is probably among the highest. Lots of consumers are looking for leisure and vacation experiences, and they want to be pampered and catered to, leading hospitality businesses to design new personalization techniques. And with 61% of customers willing to pay more for personalized experiences<\/a>, this approach seems justified.<\/p>\n

The changing landscape of hospitality<\/h2>\n

While the hospitality industry is one of the oldest, dating back to ancient Rome, it eagerly absorbs new trends to meet evolving customer needs. Today, people are no longer just looking for a bed and, maybe, breakfast. They want unique, authentic, and extremely personalized experiences<\/a>, expecting hotels to treat them as individuals and offer tailored services.<\/p>\n

While designing innovative personalization techniques, hotels and resorts need to consider the main factors affecting the hospitality industry today.<\/p>\n

Rising demand for online booking<\/h3>\n

Do you remember the last time you had to call or email a hotel to reserve a room? Today, you can complete your entire booking journey through a website or mobile app, from choosing the room through paying. In 2023, 850 million people used a travel app<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While online bookings are convenient for travelers, they present certain challenges for hotels. As their direct contact with guests is minimized, hotels need to make an extra effort to personalize experiences using website functions and communication channels. Another challenge is presented by booking platforms, which can limit personalization potential.<\/p>\n

Popularity of social media<\/h3>\n

People tend to believe reviews by other customers more than claims by companies or service providers. In choosing a place to stay, travelers are more likely to rely on reviews on social media and other platforms rather than on hotel websites. Statista<\/a> observed that in 2022, for European customers, online reviews were more important than a hotel\u2019s star rating.<\/p>\n

For guests, online hotel reviews have a stronger influence than star classification<\/strong><\/p>\n

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This trend requires hotel management to be more active and engaging on social media, posting informative content and holding authentic conversations with users to address their personal concerns. After all, great social media content is the first business card presented to any hotel guest.<\/p>\n

Sustainability and environmental awareness<\/h3>\n

Environmental protection is a hot issue, with companies across industries striving to minimize their environmental impact. Hospitality is no exception, with customers expecting hotels to pursue eco-friendly policies. Moreover, the European Climate Law<\/a> and other measures aimed at monitoring emissions and reducing our CO2 footprint promise to set standards for all industries across the globe.<\/p>\n

Hotels and resorts can make each person\u2019s stay comfortable and eco-friendly at the same time by taking steps such as lettings guests decide how often to change their towels and creating smart rooms that control lights, heating, and AC based on occupancy and guests\u2019 preferences.<\/p>\n

\"Technology<\/p>\n

Technology integration<\/h3>\n

Advanced technology is steadily expanding its influence on our lives, making multiple processes simpler, faster, and more convenient. For the hospitality industry, technology opens lots of opportunities to create outstanding experiences and tailor services to guests\u2019 preferences.<\/p>\n

Contactless check-in and keyless locks are already the norm, while smart and voice-operated room controls are not yet widespread but are gaining traction. Assisted by high-tech solutions, hotels provide personalized recommendations, set custom routines for each guest, and adjust maintenance flows to accommodate travelers. Behind the scenes, artificial intelligence and big data are helping hotel management to analyze guest behavior and better anticipate requests.<\/p>\n

Key elements of personalization in the hospitality industry<\/h2>\n
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Know what your customers want most and what your company does best. Focus on where those two meet.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tKevin Stirtz, <\/span> web marketing expert, author of \u201cMore Loyal Customers\u201d<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t<\/section>\n

Data collection and analysis<\/h3>\n

Today, personalization is mostly about collecting and processing data. Luckily, modern technology helps greatly in this area.<\/p>\n

In the hospitality industry, businesses can benefit both from personal guest data collected during reservations and other interactions with the hotel and anonymous data harvested from room preferences, amenity settings, website and mobile app visits, and social media mentions.<\/p>\n

Today, there are many ways to collect hotel guests\u2019 data, from website analytics to smart devices installed across hotel premises. Every visitor\u2019s step both online and offline can yield valuable information that can later be translated into unique insights, helping hotels to better target customers.<\/p>\n

Personalized booking experiences<\/h3>\n

Personalization begins long before guests set foot inside the hotel. You can start at the booking stage by configuring your website to provide tailored experiences with a focus on micro-segmentation, which requires the necessary IT components helping hotels to identify precise segments in the customer base. Afterwards, personalization continues throughout a guest\u2019s entire stay \u2013 and even further. Using artificial intelligence integrated in a property management system, a hotel can offer targeted recommendations based either on data of past stays or a guest\u2019s preferences selected while booking the room.<\/p>\n

For example, the booking process may include prompts to provide room preferences, the purpose of the visit, dietary specifics, and specify group members (adults, young people, or children). Based on this information, the hotel can offer custom services during their guests\u2019 stay.<\/p>\n

Customized in-stay experiences<\/h3>\n

Using information about guest preferences, hotels can provide curated services during the stay to take personalization even further.<\/p>\n

To enable tailored services, hospitality businesses need to maintain a comprehensive guest database with all information that might be relevant. This can be achieved with effective integration of all hotel systems \u2013 booking, property management, maintenance, smart room, mobile application \u2013 into a coherent CRM that forms complete guest profiles.<\/p>\n

7 ways to introduce personalization in the hospitality industry<\/h2>\n

You can use several techniques to enhance personalization in a hospitality business. Let\u2019s look at the most popular.<\/p>\n

Guest profiles<\/h3>\n

Modern technology allows for collecting various types of information about guests and their preferences, allowing hotels to form complete guest profiles that help them to provide curated services.<\/p>\n

For example, a room reservation already tells the hotel whether guests are using their venue for business or leisure, whether they prefer to dine on-premises or elsewhere, and whether they have children with them. Another batch of useful information comes from room settings \u2013 temperature, bed types, routines, etc.<\/p>\n

Curated services<\/h3>\n

Based on guest profiles, hotels can tailor the services they provide, including:<\/p>\n