Hospitality Analytics

Big Data Analytics: Opportunities and risks

Data analytics makes it possible to evaluate huge amounts of information in a highly user-friendly way and promotes company decision-making and research insight. Effective use of massive data is related to revenue management (e.g., using and combining internal data, like occupancy rates and current bookings, with external data, like information about local events, school holidays, and flight information to forecast demand and maximise revenues); marketing research and strategic marketing purposes (e.g., identifying customer trends to best cater marketing opportunities); customer experience and reputation management (e.g., managing online reviews); and customer experience and loyalty programmes. Airbnb is a good illustration of a company using big data analytics to gain a competitive edge.

Marriott International, one of the most significant hospitality organisations, has been impacted by one of the most effective cases of data breaches of the twenty-first century. 500 million customers worldwide were impacted by a data breach that started in 2014 on systems supporting Starwood hotel brands, which Marriott purchased in 2016. The data leak was first detected in September 2018. 100 million MasterCard numbers and expiry dates belonging to consumers were taken, along with data on names, contact details, passport numbers, travel details, and other sensitive information.

Tourism and hospitality businesses must choose analytics solutions that address the growing privacy and security issues surrounding customer data by establishing sound data governance frameworks that can produce high-quality data and efficient frameworks for information security and protection for all stakeholders. Future organisations will quickly transition towards becoming more futuristic, even automated, data-driven, making this even more crucial.

Because audience identification helps establish sensible marketing and logistics strategies, effective analytics may do the same. This strategy has shown to be quite important in the hotel industry. Hospitality services must at least occasionally pay close attention to their guests' moods. Hospitality services must at least occasionally pay close attention to their guests' moods. Here are some of the most crucial hotel news stories to keep an eye on.

1.Identification of guests

           To become more successful in service delivery, the hotel business should identify its guests who are important frequent customers. They're more likely to share a regeneration for a hotel that tends to their needs and preferences. this method of identifying the target market considers certain criteria, like age, family background, income, hobbies, and former purchases. The hotel industry can use this technology to serve current guests by personalizing services to their specific requirements, while still as target new customers. 

2. Report on transactions

Small hotels must be able to track key metrics that provide them an understanding of how well their operations are doing.

The total number of check-ins 

The total number of check-outs 

The number of unpaid check-outs 

Occupied and unoccupied rooms on the average 

Method of payment

3. Forecasting

           Every organization has a sales forecast for planning with strategy, using customer data, and conducting regular reporting. Predictive analytics have proven to be useful tools within the data arsenal. Forecasting is employed to estimate future demand for products and services and further sales. The utilization of analytics to forecast consumer behavior, improve inventory, and merchandise availability is thought of as revenue management. The target is to supply good products to the consumers at the correct time.

4.Report on statistics

           Small hotel businesses must be able to measure specific indicators that provide them with an insight into how well the business is performing. Here are the important factors that you simply have to consider for analysis:

           The entire number of nights spent (Closed, occupied, and vacant rooms) 

Canceled reservations 

The average occupancy 

Length of stay 

Lead time 

Revenue per booking 

Daily pricing 

Some of the challenges are as mentioned below in the Hospitality industry

• The alerts come in real-time
• Identifying the right data to use for analysis
• They provide in one view, a comparison of room rates with competitors
• Access to unlimited rate shopping
• Exportable reports
• Rule creation for rate strategy

Uses of Data Analytics in the hospitality industry:

• Data analytics can improve the effectiveness of your marketing

  The hotel sector may innovate and simplify its marketing by understanding precisely what to offer to potential clients with effective data analysis. This enables advertisers to create more distinctive segments that will help them pinpoint important customer groups that commonly attend hotels or other pertinent sites. Information analytics may be used to promote the family activities that are offered by the hotel if a guest rents the space for their full family. If one often travels for business, they will demonstrate business-related activities, which might persuade them to stay at the hotel again. Additionally, you'll be able to use target marketing to promote to a certain demographic to outperform your rivals.

• Can assist in improving revenue management

  Data analytics within the hospitality industry can help hoteliers to develop a method for managing revenue by using the information gathered from various sources just like the information found on the web. Through analysis of those data, they'll make predictions that will help owners with forecasting.

  They would learn about: 

  a. Expectation in terms of demand for accommodation within the hotel

  b. The best price-value ratio for his or her guests

  c. Revenue management professionals are in search of opportunities for marketing services to the proper buyer through an appropriate marketing channel at a good price. 

  Various measurements are monitored by experts for determining how competitive a property is, compared to its composite. Different sorts of data are beneficial in improving revenue management, like current bookings, past occupancy levels, and other key performance statistics.

• Helps in improvisation of services and guest experience

  You may learn things like what the guests thought of the hotel's staff members' abilities and services by employing hotel data analytics. Social networking platforms, magazine and hotel websites, and possibly notes left at the hotel all have instant access to this information. However, you'll also employ a traditional survey technique for evaluations, which is more thorough and offers insight into the elements that affect visitors' booking choices. Hotel owners and managers may understand the advantages and disadvantages of their establishment with the use of this information. Additionally, hoteliers may enhance their offerings and give visitors greater experiences. The hotel business will get fresh views thanks to the use of data analytics.

• Helps to scout the business environment and competition

  To stay ahead within the industry, hotels must keep an eye fixed out for the competition, and there's no better way of doing so than with the employment of information analytics. Competitor rates will be determined using real-time data analytics that compares your hotel’s current pricing strategy to your complete. This assists in determining the correct price for every room using competitive pricing that operates 24/7, leading to increased hotel bookings. The information collected can facilitate your determination of what others within the hotel industry do, and the way to become better than them in terms of services and skill.

• Aids in providing additional services

  Hotels may collect a lot of information by communicating with both current and future visitors in a variety of ways. When data is properly collected and analysed, it will reveal a great deal about both the services that visitors utilise and the programmes that they use. Hotel owners are prepared to decide on new services and products to provide in addition to the present. If the hotel receives frequent requests for gym equipment that it does not have, this may help them upgrade their facility. Making judgements on developing alliances with other businesses, such as taxi services, bars, restaurants, and travel agencies, may also be aided by data analytics. Making judgements on developing alliances with other businesses, such as taxi services, bars, restaurants, and travel agencies, may also be aided by data analytics. For the hotel sector to become more productive, efficient, and profitable, knowledge analytics must be used. The results of information analysis help a firm decide where to optimise, if processes need to be improved, where tasks may be done more efficiently, and other things. The most effective tools for interacting with and connecting with audiences throughout the world are social media platforms.