Personalisation Revolution: How to use a hotel CRM to elevate the guest experience

As a hotel marketer, you know that the hospitality industry is in the midst of a personalisation revolution. Guests now expect personalised experiences tailored to their individual needs and desires, and they have come to rely on technology as an enabler for those experiences. 

To meet this growing demand, customer relationship management (CRM) systems have proved to be a great tool to help hoteliers to better understand their guests' preferences and provide them with more meaningful interactions. A CRM system can also help hoteliers to optimise their marketing strategies and increase their revenue by segmenting their customers and targeting them with personalised offers and promotions. 

Through data-driven insights into past guest behaviours, CRM allows marketers to anticipate what guests need before they even realise it themselves.

Hotels that are adopting CRM to drive personalised experiences are the ones winning big in today’s hospitality industry. According to a recent survey, 79% of customers believe that their loyalty should be rewarded with personalised offers and experiences, reflecting the demand for more personalisation.

Why a CRM helps to drive personalised experiences? 

CRM gives hotel marketers valuable insight into past guest behaviours, enabling them to build and maintain long-term relationships with their customers. By collecting data from various sources (email, website activity, social media interactions etc.), hotels can gain a better understanding of the guest’s needs and provide targeted offers that meet those needs. This allows hotels to create personalised campaigns that appeal to different types of customers and increase their satisfaction and retention rates. 

This data-driven approach ensures that hotels are sending out the right message at the right time in order to build loyalty and drive repeat business. For example, a hotel can send a special offer to guests who frequently book spa treatments or a complimentary upgrade to guests who are members of their loyalty program.

CRMs also make it easier for hotels to stay up-to-date with the latest trends in hospitality. Through predictive analytics and automation, these systems are able to provide real-time insights into customer behaviours so that marketers can quickly adjust their approach as needed.

The role of personalisation in the guest experience

Personalisation is transforming the guest experience in various ways, leading to higher satisfaction, loyalty, and revenue. But why is this? Why do customers like so much anything that is personalised?

It is in human nature to want to feel recognised and valued. A brand that makes users feel unique and cared for starts to win a space in their minds (and sometimes in their hearts too). 

By understanding a customer’s preferences and behaviour with a CRM, hotels can provide them with tailored services and experiences that meet their individual needs, appealing to them as a person with unique preferences. 

Personalisation can help hotels stand out from the competition and create a memorable impression on their guests. By offering something different and relevant to each customer, hotels can show that they are attentive to details and willing to go the extra mile to make their stay enjoyable.

When personalised experiences are offered to guests, they can help to build a sense of connection and trust, leading to greater satisfaction. For example, sending personalised emails or targeted offers based on past guest preferences or on special occasions can make them feel valued as an individual rather than as a "booking number". This can go a long way towards securing loyalty and repeated visits. 

How to use your guest data for personalisation?

Guests don’t just want a comfortable bed and quality service; they want to be treated as valued customers with unique needs that are addressed by individualised solutions. According to the data collected by Startup Bonsai, 70% of consumers say that how well a company understands their individual needs impacts their loyalty. 

In that sense, guest data can be the greatest asset to deliver personalised experiences. If you understand who are your guests, what are their preferences, and why they choose your hotel, you can create the right messages and use a multi-channel CRM to send them via the right channel. 

If you spend some time extracting insights from your guest data, you will have all the necessary information to empower your offering and your communications. For example, if a spa session is the most sold service in your hotel for leisure guests, why not offer it in a special campaign targeted at that audience? 

Hotel marketers can also use personalisation to create more upsell opportunities. For example, by sending personalised offers for room upgrades based on past activity, hotels can generate additional revenue from guests that are already likely to return.

The bottom line is that personalisation is no longer an option. It’s a necessity for hotels to remain competitive in today’s hospitality industry. Using guest preferences, past bookings, and behavioural data to create targeted and relevant offers can help hotels maximize their ROI and provide a more enjoyable customer experience that leads to greater satisfaction and loyalty.

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Download this guide to learn more about how to use your guest data to grow your numbers, guest loyalty and satisfaction.

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Crafting Personalised Communication

Crafting personalised communication is essential for hotel marketers to provide guests with a great experience and build long-term loyalty. By using customer data collected through a hospitality CRM, hotels can create tailored messages across multiple channels that meet individual needs and preferences. 

Segmenting the customer base and personalising subject lines and email content helps grab customers' attention and makes them feel valued as individuals. Personalisation on websites, social media channels, SMS and WhatsApp messaging can further enhance the tailored user experience and drive engagement.

Based on the booking behaviour, travel purpose, and feedback. This allows hotels to send relevant offers and recommendations that match each guest's profile and interests. For example, a business traveller might appreciate a late check-out option, while a leisure traveller might enjoy a local tour package.

Here are some tips on how hotel marketers can deliver personalised communication to their guests:

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First, it’s important to understand your customer base and segment them accordingly. By collecting and analysing customer data from a variety of sources, you  can create segmented audiences based on gender, age, interests, past purchases and other preferences. Doing so allows hotels to craft tailored messages that speak directly to their target groups. 

Second, use personalisation in the subject line and body of emails. This helps grab customers’ attention and make them feel valued as an individual rather than just a booking number. For example, personalised email subject lines such as “Welcome back to our hotel, John” or “Enjoy 10% off your next stay with us” can make a great impression and drive engagement. 

Third, use personalisation on their websites and social media channels. For example, by displaying relevant content based on a customer’s past visits and interests, hotels can create a more tailored user experience that drives engagement and loyalty. Additionally, personalising images and texts on social media posts can help differentiate your hotel from competitors. 

Forth, you can use instant messaging (SMS and WhatsApp) to deliver special offers or promotions for loyal customers. When done correctly, SMS messages can be a powerful tool for driving engagement and customer loyalty. 

Finally, personalised email marketing is a powerful tool for driving engagement and loyalty. Through tailored emails, you can send targeted offers and messages to your customers based on their past activity, interests, preferences, etc. 

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In short, personalisation is essential for hotels to remain competitive in today's hospitality industry. By implementing hotel CRM, marketers can provide guests with meaningful experiences that lead to loyalty and repeat visits. Through data-driven insights and targeted communication, hotels can create unique and tailored guest experiences that drive engagement and revenue. 

Therefore, a hotel CRM is not only a tool for marketing but also a strategic investment for hotels that want to stay ahead of the curve. By personalising every touchpoint of the guest journey, hotels can build lasting relationships with their customers and increase their satisfaction and retention. 

Embracing personalisation revolutionises the guest experience, elevating satisfaction, and setting hotels apart from the competition.

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