[Conference ▶️] Data to anticipate guest preferences in the hospitality industry
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Conference speakers:
- Véronique Siegel, President, UMIH
- Mélanie Le Livec, Marketing and Communications Director, Best Western France
- Grégoire Mialet, Founder and CEO, Happening Now
- Mathieu Pollet, Co-founder, LoungeUp by D-EDGE
- Guilain Denisselle, Founder, Tendances Hôtellerie (Moderator)
Introduction
In the hotel industry, personalising the guest experience has become a major challenge for attracting and retaining guests. Today, thanks to the evolution of technology, data plays a central role in this personalisation. Hotels collect a vast amount of information on guest preferences, their behaviour and expectations. Using this data, it's possible to anticipate their needs and offer them tailored services, while optimising the establishment's operations.
The challenge is to effectively explore and exploit this data to meet guest demands while complying with stringent requirements, such as the GDPR. Artificial intelligence (AI) and data processing technologies enable hoteliers to better understand guest preferences, optimise their services and, ultimately, create a richer, more personalised experience. This approach opens up new opportunities for the entire hotel industry.
Key points of the conference:
- Data is fundamental to understanding and personalisation
- GDPR compliance is non-negotiable
- Pre-stay communication is a critical contact point
- Personalisation requires balance and purpose
- Technology (including AI) enhances human capabilities
- Loyalty goes beyond repeat stays
1. AI as a tool for humans
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a tool that compliments the human touch. It can simplify and improve hotel service, but should not replace the human touch in areas where it is essential.
AI in the hotel industry is a real challenge for teams, but it also represents a great opportunity. It's important for teams to be able to adapt and receive the necessary training.
- Mathieu Pollet, LoungeUp
Data must remain a means to an end, not an end goal in and of itself. It allows us to personalise the guest experience and boost sales.
Data is a means of improving the guest experience and increasing sales, but it must always be at the service of human and the guest experience. Technology is there to help our teams, not to replace them. It's by supporting our teams that we can create real added value.
- Véronique Siegel, UMIH
Technology (including AI) enhances human capabilities. Tools like CRM and AI are powerful assistants for managing data, automating tasks and providing information, but they enhance rather than entirely replace the essential human element of hospitality.
AI is well-suited to carrying out simple, tedious tasks. Doing so automatically saves enormous amounts of time and frees up teams for more valuable tasks.
- Mathieu Pollet, LoungeUp
2. The use of AI in the hotel industry
At Best Western, AI is used at various levels:
- Automated stay assistants: bots via chat, call and voice that answer the most frequently asked questions (e.g. check-in times or available services).
- Pre-stay emails: Email campaigns are sent out a few days before arrival to highlight additional services.
A pre-stay email is an essential method for promoting additional services at this key stage of the stay.
- Mélanie Le Livec, Best Western
The automated use of data can propose additional services before guests arrive, and this works very well. This period, from 1 to 5 days before arrival, is very important for proposing relevant services. The aim is not to be intrusive, but to offer services that really interest the guest. This improves the guest 's experience while also increasing the hotel's sales.
- Mathieu Pollet, LoungeUp
AI is used to anticipate occupancy, as it is often the reason for the trip that creates the hotel reservation.
It's crucial for hoteliers to understand the reasons why guests book (tourism, trade fairs, concerts...). Many local events that influence demand are unknown or poorly anticipated by hoteliers.
- Grégoire Mialet, Happening Now
It's essential to anticipate these periods of higher occupancy, not only for revenue management purposes, but also to adapt services and the guest experience.
Many hoteliers don't know why they're fully booked on a given date, or haven't anticipated an event that would have optimised prices and margins. As a result, the bar or restaurant is overwhelmed and the guest experience is worsened.
- Grégoire Mialet, Happening Now
With so much information available about guests, it can be difficult for an operator to find the essential information quickly. We are currently working on the creation of summaries with the essential guest information, visible at a glance.
- Mathieu Pollet, LoungeUp
3. The challenges and opportunities of AI
AI represents a huge opportunity for the hotel industry, but it also poses challenges, particularly for teams. AI could become a key player, particularly with the personalisation of services. If an automated service offers better service than that received by a human, guests will quickly make their choice...
If tomorrow, an AI assistant provides a better service than a human reception, guests will quickly make their choice. This represents both a challenge and a huge opportunity for hoteliers.
- Mathieu Pollet, LoungeUp
The future of AI assistants is promising, but there are some important limitations, notably linked to GDPR and guest data management.
Personalised AI assistants, which could replace a travel guide, are still in the exploration phase. It will be necessary to collect relevant data, but all the while respecting GDPR constraints.
- Mélanie Le Livec, Best Western
4. Data collection and usage
Data collection is essential, but it must always be relevant and in compliance with regulations, particularly the GDPR. Hoteliers need to consult with specialists to ensure that data is handled ethically and efficiently.
Collect relevant data, comply with the GDPR, surround yourself with specialists, personalise and above all... test. The guest always has the final say.
- Mélanie Le Livec, Best Western
One of the major requirements of the GDPR is to know where the data is and therefore to map it: which data is collected, and why.
Beware of excessive data harvesting: you first need to know what you want to do with it. Harvesting data without a clear purpose worsens the guest experience and raises GDPR issues.
- Grégoire Mialet, Happening Now
Data quality and maintenance are crucial. Ensuring that data is accurate, up-to-date and unduplicated is essential for effective use, but requires continuous effort that is impossible without technology.
The challenge of duplicate entries in a database requires a technological solution. Computers are more efficient than humans in this respect; there are all kinds of algorithms to detect and merge guest records.
- Mathieu Pollet, LoungeUp
Although data enables highly personalised offers and experiences (this is ultra-personalisation), it must be done with care to avoid being intrusive. Data collection must always have a clear objective.
Ultra-personalisation is every marketer's dream, but it can only work if the data has been properly collected, with a very good segmentation system, to offer the right service or product to the right guest at the right time. A large proportion of customers will find ultra-personalisation very positive, but some won't want to give away some of their data.
- Mélanie Le Livec, Best Western
You first need to understand what you want to do with the data before harvesting it, otherwise you're going to have a guest experience that's going to drop, not to mention GDPR issues. You need to explain to the guest why you're asking this question, initiate further communication behind it, with a selection of activities to do on site if they've been asked about their interests.
- Mathieu Pollet, LoungeUp
The challenge today is not simply having more data, but to know which data is truly useful for enriching the guest relationship.
- Véronique Siegel, UMIH
Data is not an all-encompassing solution.
Data should be a tool for saving time and maximising revenue, but it can't predict individual guest behaviour. What it can do is increase the proportion of customers convinced by the offer, by optimising price and service.
- Grégoire Mialet, Happening Now
5. Personalising the guest experience
A CRM is an essential tool in the hotel industry for managing guest data efficiently and professionally. This controlled data can automate all interactions between the hotel and its guests.
The more we interact with guests, the more data we have, and the more we can personalise the guest experience.
- Mathieu Pollet, LoungeUp
Pre-stay communication is key to engagement and upselling. The period just before arrival is a key opportunity to engage guestss, offer relevant services and gather additional information for personalisation, often showing high rates of engagement.
We have a pre-stay email campaign a few days before arrival with our partner LoungeUp, with an open rate of over 65%. The pre-stay period is really an essential time to highlight additional services.
- Mélanie Le Livec, Best Western
In fact, the phase from 1 to 5 days before arrival attracts a great deal of attention from guests, so we can offer them additional sales that increase satisfaction, because they make the stay happier and more comfortable.
- Mathieu Pollet, LoungeUp
AI is likely to evolve into personalised assistants capable of adapting to guest behaviour and preferences. It could replace traditional tools such as travel guides, offering services tailored to the specific expectations of each guest.
In the near future, AI assistants will be able to adapt to guest behaviour and offer a hyper-personalised experience. This could replace traditional guides.
- Mélanie Le Livec, Best Western
6. Loyalty goes beyond repeat stays
Guest loyalty can be demonstrated through return bookings, but also through referrals. Guests who may not return can be valuable ambassadors.
As far as I'm concerned, all guests are loyal. Loyalty is the power of recommendation: if a guest who doesn't come back speaks positively about your establishment, it's as if they've been loyal.
- Mélanie Le Livec, Best Western
Loyalty can no longer be dictated. It is built stay after stay, thanks to a human, personalised relationship, made possible by the effective use of data. What builds guest loyalty is not just a promotion or a points programme, it's the quality of the bond we forge with them.
- Véronique Siegel, UMIH
The key is to identify guests who may become loyal. If we know how often they stay, we can adjust our loyalty-building efforts. This can involve targeted marketing actions, but also a personalised welcome to strengthen the relationship.
- Mathieu Pollet, LoungeUp
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