.jpg?tr=w-270%2Ch-270%2Cfo-auto "maud bailly phocuswright europe")
Maud Baily, CDO, AccorHotels
Maud Bailly will take part in a Keynote/Interview at Phocuswright Europe.
Here she outlines the need for "responsible personalization," what the role of a CDO entails and AccorHotels' plans for the future.
What topic should we be discussing right now, and why?
I’d say: "responsible personalization." As a chief digital officer (CDO), one of my biggest challenge is to deal with the paradox of, on the one hand, meeting higher and higher customer expectations in terms of personalization and recognition and, on the other hand, maintaining a high‐level of privacy respect and data protection.
I am deeply convinced that personalization is the cornerstone of customer stickiness, not only online or through communications but also and even more in real life, when our guests walk into the lobby of our hotels and are welcomed by a passionate staff.
The "in real life anticipated personalization" is now possible thanks to the power of the shared database we have built between more than 2,000 of our hotels, empowering the staff to better serve and surprise our guests, by better knowing their preferences.
But a great power implies also great responsibilities. This is why we take very seriously the collect, treatment and storage of customer data, applying the principle of Privacy by Design and following the Global Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). To me, GDPR is not a constraint, but the opportunity to affirm our commitment to a “responsible personalization.” Because there is no customer stickiness without trust, we want our customers to know that the datas they give us are as safe as they are themselves when they visit one of the more than 4,700 AccorHotels propertites. Personalization is respect.
What is the most misunderstood element of your role?
The CDO scope can waver a lot from a company to another. I have the chance to be in charge of AccorHotels’ IT, hotels services (e.g. revenue management), guests services (e.g. loyalty, CRM, customer care, social media strategy), global sales, digital products and innovation (e.g. mobile app, chatbot) and data teams … which is quite a lot!
Subscribe to our newsletter below
The main mistake is to constrain the CDO perimeter to the techie part. I am not javascript fluent. You must have noticed I can’t code in Python, R, Pig, Impala, SQL … neither conceive from scratch the artificial intelligence brick of our revenue management system.
But I actually don’t see my role as “techie only”; as a CDO, my main mission is to educate, to share - at each level ‐ what is at stake behind digital transformation, and to make sure this major change becomes everyone’s one in our non‐digital native organizations…
At the end of the day, the most important thing is to be able to rely on the best experts to build a common vision ‐ with our customers, as well as with hotels ‐ of where we want to go: How we can build synergies thanks to digital and use all its levers to enhance and dramatically empower our business in the field. I often say digital is a mean, never an end; therefore, a CDO has to be focused on listening, co‐designing, creating value for others.
In a nutshell, a real digital transformation can never be done alone. At AccorHotels, Sébastien Bazin precisely asked me to lead this technological and cultural transformation amongst my department: taking 1,500 people on a new path, setting up a new organization, a new mindset as we became assetlight, relying on new ways of working … leveraging digital as a powerful enabler of growth. Not only "techie," a CDO has to be "humanie."
If you could change one thing about how the travel industry functions, what would it be?
I guess I wouldn’t change the way it functions, but the rhythm at which it does; we need to get faster and faster if we want to stay in the race. Disruptors of today are the disrupted of tomorrow. Therefore, we need to keep on thinking, making relevant decisions, not rushing, but for sure accelerating.
What is the biggest opportunity in online travel in 2018?
Artifical intelligence opens up to tremendous opportunities in online travel as connected devices are bound to play a central role at every stage of the future customer journey. Take for example the pre‐stay experience: It is very likely that, before long, customers won’t type a request for a travel experience but might instead be suggested proactively an offer by connected devices that know their preferences and habits.
To position AccorHotels firmly into the conversational era, we’ve launched a baby chatbot, Phil Welcome, that customers can call upon for practical information about any given hotel. This is the interactive stage, which, tomorrow, will be completed with the proactive stage as we aim for Phil to be able to assist clients in other aspects of their journey and to suggest services proactively, based on the information collected through its interactions with guests. Therefore, AI will make, in the future, our chatbot almost become a “personal assistant.”
Our final objective if for everyone to maximize the experience in our hotels with a high level of fluidity and personalization.
What single piece of advice would you give a new business entering the travel industry?
Listen. Observe. Go to the field. Spend time in the hotels. Don’t try to change everything from scratch. You never really change something if you ignore its past or its legacy. And focus on usage: I truly believe the hospitality leaders of tomorrow will be the ones able to stick to customers’ behaviors and expectations.
What threats do companies like Google and Airbnb - which are making inroads in the hotel space - pose for Accor?
Google and Airbnb aren’t posing any threat in particular. Google is a key strategic partner for us. As for Airbnb, I would not say they play in the exact same field as we do.
To me, GDPR is not a constraint, but the opportunity to affirm our commitment to a “responsible personalization.”
Maud Bailly - AccorHotels
Truth should be told though that the multiple digital players that emerged in the past few years sparked a revolution of customers’ habits. Travel and tourism became one of the most impacted as customers’ turned their backs at standardized products, searching for more personalized and surprising deals and offers, and as their expectations in terms of fluidity, user experience and proactivity of the offers got more and more important.
Now, in the rapidly changing context, far from standing still, the group has adapted and transformed itself dramatically to meet the expectations: creation of the millennial‐minded brand Jo&Joe, diversification of our services with Private Rental, co‐working (Nextdoor) and even local services (AccorLocal) and an enriched, often‐praised loyalty program: Le Club AccorHotels. Long story short, those disruptors are just in the continuum of a very classical “Darwin selection”: pushing us to become better. Which is quite healthy. And also exciting I must say.
When it comes to customer experience, what are Accor’s major initiatives for 2018?
Personalization will be the hallmark of all our 2018 initiatives. Today’s guests expect a smoother, simpler and tailor‐made experience at every stage of their journey. And at every stage of this journey you’ll find digital tools – from booking channel to mobile apps to connected devices – which can highly contribute to magnify guests’ experience.
That is why we’re putting our efforts into the improvement of every dimension of the user experience, starting with a booking experience that should be simpler and more appealing (fewer clicks, more fluidity and clarity online). Then comes the personalization of the in‐hotel experience, which is key to create attachment to our brands and secure loyalty.
The worldwide deployment of ACDC (AccorHotels Customer Digital Card), a database that allows hoteliers to access our guests’ preferences and personalize their service accordingly, will be one of the key advances of 2018. This initiative will also have a positive impact on employee satisfaction, as the latter will have the opportunity to create a more personalized experience thanks to the data at hand.
In 2018, we’ll also continue to expand the realm of services we offer, thereby addressing a greater scope of customers. The hotel experience is poised to be completely remodeled by such services as AccorLocal, which is now giving people in neighboring communities’ access to services provided by our establishments and local retailers. This initiative enables us to act as a lifestyle and sociability companion for people in city centers and represents very promising potential business for our 4,300 establishments and their employees.
Last but not least, we’ll also keep on enriching our loyalty program, Le Club AccorHotels. Our more than 40 million members currently have numerous ways to burn points, and 2018 will offer new great experiences - and trust me, this is only the beginning!
How is in‐room technology advancing, and how do hotels capitalize on the trend?
I would like to showcase one pilot initiative in particular. We recently revealed our "Smart Room," a room concept that revolutionizes accessibility standards. With this concept, our goal is to inspire the hotel market by introducing a new approach to the PRM room, which is often unoccupied, not very welcoming and stigmatizing.
We have envisioned a room for everyone, with design and creativity adhering to PRM standards and practices to the point that they disappear to the benefit of emotion and sensorial experience.
Innovations and digital are central in this concept room, among which:
- A connected tablet to adjust the light and music (Devialet Phantom loudspeaker) to create the perfect atmosphere, close curtains, tilt the headboard and control audiovisual equipment
- LED lighting with footboard motion sensor facilitating movement at night
- Sleep aids, including Dodow, a luminous metronome that promotes both concentration and sleep, or Dreem, a headband with integrated brain energy sensors and a relaxation system
- Customizable olfactory atmospheres with Sensorwake, for a gentle awakening to the aromas of either coffee, tea, sea breeze, as well as shower capsules perfumed with essential oils created by Skinjay
This innovation can be tailored to all our brands in all segments. And means a lot to highlight digital DNA: to be at the service of a better experience for the people.