Data platform 101: An overview for hoteliers

Help your business thrive with the right data platform

Big Data. First-party data. Third-party data. Data analytics.

In today’s increasingly digital world, organizations rely more and more on data and technology solutions to get business done. Hotels are no exception, with the amount of data gleaned from multiple hotel systems increasing every day.

But as wonderful as it is to have all this great data, it does you no good if you can’t transform it into actionable insights to improve operations, enhance the guest experience, and increase profits. This is where the magic of a data platform comes in.

What you will see here

What’s a data platform?

A data platform is an independent technology system that collects, combines, and connects various data sets from every area of your business, and organizes it all within a centralized hub.

Imagine it as a sort of “Beauty and the Beast” scenario. “Beauty” — aka the data platform — is what tames a business’ unruly “Data Beast.” It creates a single source of truth that’s easily accessed by users for analysis and application, helping a business live happily ever after.

How a data platform works

Before explaining how this types of technology works, it’s helpful to understand the difference between first- and third-party data.

Let’s start with third-party data. When a company doesn’t have a direct relationship with their customers, they use third-party “cookies” to track people’s online behaviors to inform their marketing initiatives. In 2021, 83% of marketers relied on third-party cookies.

But the third-party cookie is crumbling. Safari and Firefox have already eliminated third-party cookies, and Google will follow suit next year. All of this has boosted the importance of first-party data. This is data customers voluntarily give directly to your business.

In the context of the hotel industry, a data platform pulls together first-party data from your normally siloed systems — your PMS, POS, website, voice and social media channels, outlets, etc. It creates a bridge across your tech stack, synthesizing your guest and performance data so it can be utilized by team members throughout your organization.

How a hotel benefits from a data platform

A data platform simplifies hotel operations and accommodates more impactful ways of marketing, boosting profits, and serving your guests. Here are some specific advantages hotels can expect.

Avoiding data silos

With multiple systems in use across your property or portfolio, guest data is spread out and can even be conflicting. This makes it nearly impossible to get full, accurate pictures of your guests.

A data platform solves this issue by cleaning and consolidating information into a single, comprehensive view of each guest.

Understanding guests better

A new report from Hilton reveals that travelers expect hotel staff to greet them by name. A data platform can help. It delivers a 360-degree customer profile, so team members can not only see guest names, but also how many times they’ve stayed across all your properties, how loyal they are, and what their total value is.

Creating more personalized experiences

The same Hilton study also shows that 86% of guests expect personalized experiences during their stays. However, there’s often a crucial disconnect in this area.

A Merkle study reveals that while 9 out of 10 brands believe they provide personalized customer experiences, only 26% of consumers think they’re delivering on that promise. In fact, 55% of customers feel unseen and nearly as many feel undervalued by brands.

This isn’t an issue when you have the right platform delivering a detailed view of guest preferences in real time and providing access to all guest-facing staff.

Empowering data-driven marketing

Because a data platform merges data from multiple sources, it empowers your marketing team to segment audiences in granular ways. You’ll increase conversions With the ability to customize and automate marketing campaigns to target the right people at the right time, you’ll increase conversions and drive bookings.

For instance, when Spicers Retreats implemented Revinate’s Guest Data Platform, they began sending tailored messages to specific guest segments. Their average email open rate rose to 66% with an average click-through rate of 4%, both well above industry norms.

Boosting revenue through direct bookings

Would you like to avoid paying those high commission rates to OTAs, Google Ads, and social media platforms? A data platform lets you create personalized communications to garner repeat direct bookings from guests.

You can boost revenue still further by nurturing reservation inquiries and reaching out to guests who visited your site but didn’t complete a booking — a rate SaleCycle research shows standing at 88% for the travel sector.

Streamlining operations with automation

With the right solution automatically cleansing and consolidating data, you no longer have team members wasting time doing duplicate work. Your staff also won’t need to worry about attempting to manually integrate conflicting data from multiple sources to collect useful insights.

Instead, a data platform streamlines operations and leaves staff free to engage in high-value interactions with guests.

What to look for in a data platform

To access all these benefits, it’s important to choose the right solution. But with so many options out there, making a decision may feel overwhelming. Consider looking for these key functions to ensure you get the most bang for your buck.

Eliminates dirty data

Choose a solution that eliminates dirty data, actively improving your guest database in real time. Revinate’s Advanced Profile Synthesis offers a sophisticated AI and machine learning-powered process that automatically cleans, deduplicates, synthesizes, and merges your guest data for a single, accurate view of each guest.

Proven to work in the hospitality industry

Hotels have unique needs and uses for their data in comparison to other industries. It’s important to choose a customer-centric platform that’s been purposely built for hotels.

Integrates with hotel systems

For optimal results, you need a cloud-based solution that integrates data from all your different hotel systems. This includes your PMS, POS, booking system, check-in platform, guest surveys, online reviews, website, and mobile app.

Offers audience segmentation

Family visitors are likely not interested in a wine-tasting weekend. And couples looking for romance don’t need information about family-friendly activities in the area. With a robust segmentation function, you can ensure guests only receive content they’re interested in.

The result? More conversions and greater loyalty.

Differentiate your hotel with technology

To connect more deeply with your guests, and provide the memorable experiences that draw them to return again and again, you need to make the most of your first-party data. The right data platform does this — and it can become your secret weapon for differentiation and growing your business.

Eager to find a data platform that can effectively meet your needs? Explore our solution. Or if you’re ready to take the next step, book a demo to see Revinate in action.