Data is your best asset in any business, and hospitality is not the exception. Your data is not only your source of truth, but also the entrance to your guests’ world.
Your guest data is key not only to understanding your guests but also your brand and your revenue. However, it’s more and more common for hoteliers to face ‘data problems’ related to the number of systems in use, the amount of data or even security vulnerabilities.
Solving these issues is key to running a successful hotel in 2026. That’s why in this article, we will talk about three of the most common data problems in the industry and the best way to fix them.
It's common for hotels to use different tools and platforms for each department. The reception might use one system, the housekeeping team another, and the restaurant uses a separate tool for meal orders.
And more often than not, these systems don’t interact with each other. This creates data silos that don’t allow you to have a general overview of what is going on in your business.
What’s more, data silos affect the way AI works. Because AI needs to centralised data to function effectively. For example, AI can predict guest preferences, cancellation risk, and upsell opportunities, but only if it can see the full guest journey across all systems.
This means, without unified data, hotels miss out on the revenue-driving capabilities that AI offers today.
Ideally, you should have one source of truth. This means all your data should go into one system that can give you an overview of everything, allowing you to make data-driven decisions.
That’s the role of a Customer Data Platform (CDP). A CDP acts exactly as a central hub that integrates data from various sources. This means all your data from PMS, CRM, online review platforms, and others, will be stored in one single place.
No need to manually import or export, or chase data around for hours. In other words, there is less manual work.
The data is in one place without having to chase it or import it, and you get a holistic view of your guests and a master profile, where all information is consolidated.
Let’s say one of your guests has stayed at your hotel multiple times, but each time, they booked through a different channel.
With a CDP, you can now see not only all their reservations under the same profile but also the services they used on every occasion, the reviews they left, the marketing campaigns they received, and even the messages they exchanged with the reception.
When data is stored in different systems, it’s easier to have discrepancies, either from duplicates, grammatical mistakes or incomplete information.
For example, instead of having one Michael Miles, you have 10 Michael Miles with the home address but different emails and phone numbers.
Inaccurate, out-of-date, or irrelevant data can create a 'dirty' database. This can have a significant influence on your relationship with your guests as well as on your marketing efforts. How do you know if your campaign is reaching the right people if all the profiles are messed up?
On the other hand, a dirty guest database could play tricks on you.
It might mix the guest preferences, and you offer a lavish honeymoon suite for an elderly person who would be content with a cosy, small room. In conclusion, you get more clarity and peace of mind when you know your data is clean, free of duplicates and up to date.
What’s more, clean data is crucial for training AI effectively. Studies show that AI models trained on clean data can be 30-40% more accurate than those working with dirty data.
Dirty data teaches the wrong patterns, creates blind spots and slows AI because more correction is needed. With a clean and accurate guest database, though, AI training is easier and more straightforward.
The same CDP can automatically validate and correct guest data, ensuring accuracy and integrity. It can also enrich the database by appending missing information from various sources, such as contact details or preferences.
The practice of matching the right profile with the correct information is done thanks to the match & merge algorithm, which allows you to get rid of any duplicates and to have a master guest profile.
Do you want to know more about how match & merge works for your hotel? Read this article.
In recent years, data breaches have increased, and these can cost millions to hotels, without mentioning the damage to their reputation.
With hotels storing everything from passport scans to credit card details to travel patterns, you're managing some of the most sensitive personal data that exists, and security should be one of your main concerns.
AI-powered attacks and phishing attacks targeting hotel staff to access guest data are more common than before, and hotels need to make sure their guest data is protected.
Built into your CDP are security features such as data encryption, access controls, and regular audits. They ensure that guest data is safely stored and only accessible to authorised personnel.
Furthermore, a CDP helps hotels comply with data regulations by providing features like data deletion, consent management, and data subject access requests.
There's much more that a CDP can help you with: optimise your revenue, improve your operational efficiency, build guest loyalty, etc. Get to know more in this article.
In the hotel industry, data isn’t just a tool; it’s a vital part of the guest experience and the heart of efficient operations.
Every guest interaction, preference, and detail collected is a chance to build loyalty and fine-tune your services.
When data is well-organised, accessible, and secure, it becomes an asset that can drive everything from smoother operations to more engaging guest experiences.
Investing in high-quality data management isn’t only about staying competitive—it’s about creating a hotel that truly understands and responds to its guests.
In a digital world where trust and personalisation are key, taking good care of your data is essential for long-term success.
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