The importance of increasing digitization By Nicola Graham, Vice President of Marketing, Cendyn
Ever since the first hotel reservation system was established by Westin in 1947, technology has increasingly become a centrepiece of hotel operations.
The majority of hotels have yet to fully unleash their full digitization potential. It’s not for a lack of trying: AI marketing is supported by 75 percent of hotel chain’s top executives, and yet only 36 percent of all chains deploy automated personalization strategies. So where do the gaps lie? And how can we build bridges to a fully realized digital future for hotels? H2C’s latest Global Automated Personalization Study surveyed a global sample of hoteliers across categories to explore these questions, and illuminate pathways towards delivering digitization in a meaningful, impactful way.
Opportunities When it comes to AI-driven automation, there’s an inherent tension between operational efficiency and individual relevance.
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The pace of change continues to accelerate, with strides in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies expanding the capabilities of automated personalization. But that doesn’t mean that hospitality technology has kept up with the times.
But achieving automated personalization without sacrificing guest individuality is incredibly difficult due to competing priorities and lack of knowledge.
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40 percent of hotels don’t seek to apply personalized automation due to lack of knowledge, while 39 percent lack the knowledge to leverage the technology. Even with these glaring challenges, the opportunities are numerous if automation is embraced: •
Elevate the guest experience: From more relevant marketing offers to a more personalized experience on-property, AI-driven technologies can elevate each guest interaction.
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Increase profitability:
Hotels want to benefit from automatically personalizing each touchpoint on a one-to-one basis, but that precision can’t sacrifice guest individuality. Even if they accept the necessity of automation for today’s businesses, guests still want
Matching guests to their ideal offers has a positive effect on conversion rate and better alignment of price to segment makes each booking more profitable.
relevant communications that feel authentic and genuine.
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Reduce operational cost: Automation saves money in a variety of ways. From self-service tools that reduce front desk labour to implementing text messaging so guests can communicate with staff more efficiently, automated tools can not only personalize the experience but streamline operations. Boost retention: Staff are more productive and happier when they don’t have to do tedious tasks like manual data entry. Automated tools illuminate those types of tasks so that staff can focus on guest-facing interactions.
TECHNOLOGY
Challenges The normalization of AI technologies in hospitality isn’t without its challenges. These include: •
Data collection: 83 percent of hotels struggle with collecting data that’s both accurate and clean. Without clean, organized data, there are real limitations to successful AI.
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Systems integration: With limited data provided by 3rd parties, and internal systems that don’t always work well together, data remains siloed.
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Cross-channel communications: With guests communicating across more than one channel, it’s increasingly difficult to manage and personalization can be less reliable unless data is captured across all touchpoints. AccomNews - Winter 2022
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