Big data in hospitality sector is utilizing technology to streamline customer experience

Ever been on a tour and felt that everything is happening your way, starting from the appearance of the room to the travel arrangements? If so, you have been one of those lucky people who have already experienced the sophistication of Big Data in hospitality industry. Businesses around the world are already waking up to the importance of Big Data analytics. Getting the right insights gives you an advantage in a competitive business environment, and hospitality industry is no different from it. Data in hospitality sector is utilizing technology to streamline the customer experience.

The term 'Big Data' was coined in 1990. But the technology got its recognition only when social media platforms like Facebook arrived on the scene in 2005. With people generating infinite amount of data every day, big data applications are invading everything from product management to fraud detection. It defines the collection of information from both online and offline sources to support the ongoing development and operations of a company or an organization. In hospitality industry, big data solutions are mostly associated with customer behavior and interactions. Hotels and other facilities functioning under the hospitality industry fence are getting a grip with the concept of data analytics to increase its performance and revenue.

From a broad perspective, travel and hospitality firms are the accelerators of mood. They blow up people with extraordinary content to make them joyful during their trips. A hotel's performance highly depends on how well they help people carry precious movements. Customers too expect a lot from the companies. They want hospitality industry to do more than cater to their needs, they look forward to their needs being anticipated. Data is one way to unlock a better, more tailored experience. Hotels use data analytics to optimally price and manage their customers. Its applications also help hoteliers to tune in to customers' wants and deliver them with the right content. Henceforth, let's look at some of the applications of big data in hospitality industry.

Hotel revenue management 

Anticipating the needs of consumers is very important in hospitality industry. Especially, mandatory things like the number of rooms needed should always be taken into account to boost the hotel performance. Fortunately, hospitality industry is gaining insight by utilizing the available  data and collecting more data from online platforms and third parties. Big data content like the information on occupancy rates, current bookings, key performance metrics, school holidays, local events, etc will contribute to better hotel performance. They carry out data analytics to more accurately anticipate the level of demands. This will directly impact the hotels revenue management strategy.

Personalized marketing and advertising

Marketing and advertising sector is one of the loyal users of Big Data solutions, almost in all industries. They place data at the center of their strategies and use it to improve efficiency, reduce wasted ad spending and create a more engaging advertising experience for consumers. It is no different in hospitality industry. Data leverages a more detailed understanding of guest performances, the way they book, and other vital metrics. Data analytics provide the marketing team with a special focus to concentrate on a detailed understanding of customers' behavior. This allows marketers to create a more specific segment of ads that focuses on a particular or a group of people.

Addresses the internal pain points

Hospitality industry is also a hub of confusion and chaos at times. Everything doesn't go well always. Restaurants might sometimes find themselves in the void of fewer sales and rational customers. However, there could always be a reason behind the sudden plummet in the routine. Fortunately, data can help restaurants find where they lack behind. With the help of Big Data applications restaurants can perform analysis and see which item has made the void and ask the chef to redo it. Besides, data collected from hospitality industry can be used for the front-of-house operations as well.

How to bring Big Data into the hotel's culture?

Even though data plays a massive role in enriching the performance of hospitality industry, not all data are considered valuable. Driving the right data will enhance business profit. However, to begin with, implying its applications in the hospitality industry, the organizations should initially be open to fund the motive. Moving forward, they should train the employees to embrace data analytics in every decision they make.

For example, Marriott International is one of the greatest facilitators of data solutions. The company uses data to track competitors' brands and hotels, identify new revenue streams outside of rooms such as new facilities and services, and make sure they are satisfying both guests and people in the local community. Marriott especially utilizes data to enhance revenue management and customer satisfaction.