How can hotels make the most of business intelligence?

Hotels generate enormous data on a daily basis which can be used to derive a good amount of business intelligence that can be further utilized in various departments. This data can also be helpful in improving the hotel’s marketing strategy and revenue management.

Business intelligence, if consumed in the right manner can help hotels increase profits and online visits, gain customers and turn customers into loyal patrons. The data gathered can help improve the online marketing strategies for the hotel.

The data is collected on the basis of the guest behavior in the past like favourite packages and other parameters like geography, market, traffic sources and so on. This data can be used to generate business intelligence that will help to understand the predictability of online behavior.

Marketing – Intelligent data makes it easier to generate accurate forecasting reports and also present a more personalized approach on the hotel website and other online marketing and distribution channels.

Price Optimization & Forecasting – These are two other areas where hotels can again gain maximum out of business intelligence because there is usually massive volatility and fluctuations in deciding the price of room nights. Many products today generate business intelligence on room rates of competitors in the same area by integrating information collected at myriad data points. Hotels can analyze this data and provide unparalleled agility in enabling real time pricing suggestions. (Also read: Why is a Revenue Management System important for Hotels?)

Business Operations – Business intelligence has also helped hoteliers in improving operations by identifying problem areas that may otherwise have gone unnoticed. With proactive tools like reports on various aspects of hotel operations collected through the transactional data of PMS and other systems, it is possible for managers to increase performance by eliminating or adjusting business processes that are showing poor performance.

Guest Satisfaction – Based on data, hotels can offer the right services and products to keep their guests happy. Business intelligence can also be used by hotels in upselling or in deciding which service can be targeted to a certain guest profile for maximum conversion, which would increase revenues.

Enhanced guest experience is another area where business intelligence has made its mark. Consolidating the information on a guest not just through the hotel’s in-house systems but also through external data points allows for targeting appropriate guests for promotions and offers. Guest experience can be improved before guest arrival by targeted promotions and offers.

 Once the guest checks in, there is a lot of data that can be captured like the housekeeping preferences, buying patterns and F&B preferences. This data intelligence when presented in an actionable way can lead to a personalized approach that will delight and impress your guest. For instance, the guest’s preference of wine, cuisines or aversions to certain food will help the hotelier prepare for the next visit by the guest. Hoteliers can create exemplary guest service which will ensure they gain another loyal customer. (Also read: E-book on Simple Ways to Enhance Guest Experience)

Armed with business intelligence, hoteliers can move away from perceived market demand and rely on more accurate market analysis. Most hotels are now realizing the importance of using business intelligence for increasing efficiency and profits.