The hospitality industry is undergoing a transformational shift, driven by data integration and innovative technology solutions that increase efficiency while improving the guest experiences. During a recent panel discussion at HITEC 2024 in Charlotte, hospitality experts shared insights into how they are leveraging real-time data to differentiate guest experiences and drive loyalty.

The panelists identified data integrations as a top challenge facing the hospitality industry today. By solving the complexity of siloed data from various sources, each organization has been able to create a comprehensive view of their guests, enabling personalized marketing and improved guest experiences.

“For too long, siloed data has prevented us from personalized marketing, really looking at a P&L the proper way, and delivering on guest service and guest personalization,” said Shaun Wood, VP of Enterprise Architecture and Technology at Sonesta International. Wood went on to describe how Sonesta has overcome this challenge by consolidating data from multiple PMSs into an actionable format in a centralized EDW.

Below are areas the panelists identified as critical to the evolution of hotel technology.

CDPs and Open APIs

Wood discussed Sonesta’s recent implementation of a Customer Data Platform (CDP) hosted in the cloud. With normalized PMS data collected via the Hapi Integration Platform feeding Sonesta’s CDP, the company is able to collect and store guest data across their portfolio of more than 1,200 hotels using many different PMS systems. Open APIs facilitate seamless data exchange between different systems, ensuring data is accessible and actionable.

“We created a CDP, which is hosted in the cloud. Basically, all of our members and all of our non-members are stored in this one database so that the whole company can get a 360-degree view of our guests,” Wood said.

Personalized Guest Experiences

Dan Swanson, former Director of Revenue Strategy at Nemacolin Resort, emphasized the importance of using data to personalize guest experiences. By analyzing guest data delivered to Salesforce CRM through Hapi Guest, hotels can anticipate guest needs and preferences, offering tailored services that enhance satisfaction and drive loyalty.

“We created a pre-arrival reservations team that has taken all of the data of what the guest has done before, all of their guest service scores, and then reaching out to create a customized experience for them that really anticipates their needs,” he said.

Differentiated Guest Experiences

Kimberly Choate, Director of Guest Integration & Domain Services at IHG, shared how integrating guest data into IHG’s loyalty ecosystem has streamlined operations. IHG has implemented monitoring systems at the property level and dashboards that provide real-time visibility into system statuses, enabling proactive issue resolution and operational efficiencies, she said.

One notable success is IHG’s innovative new feature that provides One Rewards loyalty members with F&B vouchers based on the guest’s loyalty tier level achievement. Allowing guests to redeem these vouchers for F&B purchases on-property through the IHG One Rewards mobile app required the Hapi Integrations Platform, which centralized on-property and cloud data to provide the framework for the program.

"With our food and beverage reward voucher, we wanted to make that a completely seamless experience that they can select when they reach their milestones,” Choate said. “Utilize your mobile app or your web system once you check into the hotel, have dinner in the restaurant or a drink in the lounge, and then if want to utilize one of your $20 reward vouchers, you can go to your mobile app, click on ‘Use My Reward,’ and it will automatically be applied to your folio.” Hapi Integration Platform is key to orchestrating all of these moving parts to deliver a seamless experience.

Overcoming Technological Challenges

The panelists discussed various challenges, such as managing multiple Property Management Systems and ensuring data security. Solutions like CRM systems, which provide a unified view of guest data, and microservice architectures, which facilitate secure data exchange, were highlighted as effective ways to overcome these challenges.

Wood highlighted the complexity of dealing with multiple PMSs. "We don't have one PMS, we don't have two, we don't have three, we have 16 different. And you can imagine how much fun that is. So we quickly realized that we didn't want to rely on PMSs to hold all of the customer data," he said.

Enhancing Loyalty Programs

Loyalty programs are crucial for retaining guests and driving repeat business, the panelists agreed. They shared insights into how data integration helps identify guest preferences and behaviors, enabling hotels to offer personalized rewards and promotions that encourage loyalty.

"One of our number one goals right now is to get as many new members as we can. And then of course the members we do have, we want them to stay loyal and book with us,” Wood said. “We are seeing that when we look at the booking behavior, our members are four times more likely to book again compared to a non-member."

Future Trends in Technology

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are poised to play significant roles in the future of hotel operations. The panelists discussed how AI can assist in predictive analytics, enhance guest interactions through chatbots, and improve operational processes through automation.

"We're just delving into AI,” IHG’s Choate said. “Some of the initial work we've been doing is identifying and making sure that the fundamental data is accurate, because AI tools are going to pick up different things."

Below are some of the key future trends identified by panelists:

  1. Utilize a CDP. CDPs store guest data in a centralized location, providing a 360-degree view of guest behaviors and preferences.
  2. Leverage Open APIs. Open APIs facilitate seamless data exchange between different systems, ensuring data is accessible and actionable.
  3. Ensure Data Security. Implementing robust data security measures is crucial to protect guest information and maintain trust.
  4. Embrace AI and ML. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning can enhance predictive analytics, improve guest interactions, and automate operational processes.
  5. Data Integration is Essential. Integrating data from various sources helps create a comprehensive view of your data, enabling personalized marketing and improved operational efficiency.

Conclusion: Hospitality’s Data-Driven Future

Leaders across hospitality are relying on real-time data to make informed decisions more than ever before, and by integrating systems to centralize information, hotels can enhance guest experiences, improve operational efficiency, and drive revenue growth.

About HAPI

Hapi is the hospitality industry's leading platform for fast and cost-effective connectivity between technology systems, allowing hotel companies access to critical guest and transactional data. Hapi exposes event streams and transactional APIs from hotel systems at scale, stores normalized hotel system data in a secure and scalable fashion in AWS, and seamlessly integrates hotel data into Salesforce CRM, allowing hotel companies to deliver enhanced, personalized guest journeys. Hapi, an AWS Travel and Hospitality Competency Partner and Salesforce ISVForce partner and certified SI, serves 7,700 hotels globally, including IHG Hotels & Resorts, Sonesta Hotels, Accor, Hyatt Hotels, Rosewood Hotels, Margaritaville and SH Hotels and Resorts. Visit Hapi at www.hapicloud.io

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