Is the sharing of data in travel a good thing or the equivalent of someone rifling through your bedroom closet?
Quote from Clayton Reid, CEO of MMGY Global, in an article on PhocusWire this week.
Travel, data security and false narratives around Facebook
Numerous studies have proclaimed that consumers - especially those of the Millennial variety - are happy to trade some of their personal information in return for discounts.
Seeing how some people will freely share their every (often mundane - who cares about your morning bagel or how well-read you are?!) move on social media, marketers and digital behavior specialists who argue about such laissez-faire attitudes to privacy are probably right.
Yet the behaviour of people on social media is one thing - the gradual collection and manipulation of personal data, gained through years of travel behaviour is another matter entirely.
It remains to be seen if the recent outpouring of angst against social networks such as Facebook casts a shadow on the desire of travelers to be so open about their likes and dislikes - behavior that informs the marketing tactics of brands the world over.
Smart brands will understand that perhaps there now is a certain level of expectation and nervousness associated with consumers and what they are willing to trade in terms of their personal information.
Expectation being that timely and relevant offers for additional products that chime with the existing travel plans can be actually good thing.
Any such nervousness will probably fall around areas reassuring the consumer that a brand is sensible with how much a traveler's data is shared within an organization, let alone with partners.
GDPR is helping with the latter, and will no doubt crack down on the perhaps more frivolous attitudes and tactics of old.
"Delighting the customer" is a phrase that is used a lot in the travel industry - quite rightly, in some respects, because brands have the opportunity to show that they not only care about the experience of their customers but also ensure they can be clever with how they push additional products and services to the end user.
Data and the slicing and dicing of it, when done well, can allow brands to hit that high note.