5 Ways AI Is Transforming Hotel Marketing
Artificial intelligence is enabling the hotel industry to do incredible things. From creating hyper personalized guest experiences to identifying unrecognized revenue opportunities, AI empowers innovation and growth by distilling information and deducing patterns into actionable insights.
At Cendyn, we help hotels apply this technology to the far corners of their organizations. With an AI foundation, hotel marketers can make better decisions, faster, even automatically, for the betterment of guests and the business. As such, here are seven ways we’re seeing AI transform hotel marketing:
Data-driven marketing
Data has shifted the foundation of the hotel industry. Managers can now segment guest profiles to infinite degrees, creating a comprehensive picture of who’s staying at their properties. Managers can also track guest habits, interests, preferences and any unrecognized revenue opportunities or paths to stronger brand loyalty –– it’s all in the data.
Adaptive upsell offerings
Understanding a guest’s preferences and buying patterns is not unlike predicting a stock price. Artificial intelligence engines not only unlock the future with past data, but create feedback loops so those improvements always build on themselves.
No more courting attention with shotgun-approach emails, ads and commercials. Marketers are shifting from a pattern of interruption to weaving offers and touchpoints into the guest’s life on and off property.
Constantly evolving segmentation
Each step of the guest lifecycle contains finely-tuned datapoints; reason for travel, booking date, date of last stay, amenity preferences, activity preferences, dining habits, total spend, not to mention personal datapoints like email, address, birthdate, education, income, job title, primary language and marital status –– even listing them all feels overwhelming. But these pieces fit into one constantly changing puzzle that intelligence algorithms analyze with ease.
Enhanced guest profiles
Guest data must go far beyond email, age and address. Central data intelligence warehouses can weave disparate databases and create a “Single Version of Truth,” which includes guest history, value, preferences, behavior, satisfaction, and intent.
Hotel systems for property management (PMS), point of sale (POS), central reservations (CRS), call center, food & beverage, and spa all contain the data to improve guest experiences and build loyalty.
Customization across the guest experience
Take the confirmation email, a baseline practice for any hotel. Customization is key. “Thanks for your reservation, John. We look forward to seeing you.” But with artificial intelligence engines understanding John’s history, the next time he makes a reservation –– without human intervention –– that email can read, “Thanks for staying with us again, John. We reserved you a room facing the pool. Click here if you’d like to book a discounted massage at the spa,” and contain images most relevant to John’s lifestyle.
