We have all seen how social media and AI have impacted businesses and industries. There’s no denying how crucial these tools are in a business’s strategy, marketing tactics, customer loyalty, and so on. When it comes to the hospitality industry, they have been absolute game changers. From generating buzz, anticipating the needs of guests to increased revenue, this week’s Data Snaps dives into how hospitality-related technologies do exactly that.
Undoubtedly social media and the internet have continuously been making waves through hospitality. For instance, Google has changed how people travel with its search-based content, maps, photos, guest reviews, and is continuing to update its algorithm to further improve its user experience, as mentioned in this article. Not only does Google allow users to search for exact keywords, but it is instead prioritizing intent-based search where users are offered results matching their intent. Hotels are feeling the effects of Google Travel more and more as it becomes a larger player in the industry and can improve their exposure by adjusting their online strategy towards intent-based search. Another major game changer has been image-based social media platforms like Instagram. In this article, hotels are not only changing their marketing strategies by creating eye-catching social media posts to promote the property and its experiences, but they are also allowing guests to add to buzz through their own content. Hotels are shifting their priorities to be design-friendly to match the demands of their guests, while still providing meaningful experiences.
In the past, good hotel experiences were based on a hotel guest having a need and the hotel accommodating these needs to the best of their ability. Now with the introduction of new technologies, hotels need to be able to determine the needs of their guests, before the guests even know what they want given the growing amount of competition in the industry. It sounds nearly as impossible as reading someone’s mind, but thanks to machine learning and AI technologies, this has been made possible within the industry.
For instance, as mentioned in this article, hotels have implemented automation through smart concierge technology to improve response times, collect data on guests and produce customized experiences for them based on their previous activities and preferences. In addition to guest-facing chatbots and recommendation search engines, there is AI technology that is behind-the-scenes in a hotel that guests benefiting from and they aren’t even aware of it. This article highlights how AI technology enables fare forecasting and consumer trends and pricing predictions, which allows hotels to improve their offerings to better satisfy their guests and increase overall revenue through analysis of historical data. That sounds like a win-win situation for everyone and we haven’t even reached the peak of AI technology yet. According to this article, by 2025, AI technology will “explode” and become even more valuable than it is today.
While we are in an industry where the customer comes first and we prioritize the wants and needs of our guests, without profits, it’s pretty difficult to provide them with these experiences. In order to improve the profitability of a hotel, you must understand your demand forecast, as shown here. By using data-driven technology, hotels can better forecast demand through accurate data and powerful tools that turn data into solutions. Proper revenue management cannot be achieved without demand forecasting, which is why data-driven strategies are more important to a business than ever before. Once a hotel builds a data-driven strategy, they can improve not only their revenue management, but also their operations, marketing, and finance plans too, as mentioned in this article. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again and again, data is the way to go in hospitality, and it’s only going to grow bigger.
