Despite years of work across the hospitality industry, hotels are still struggling to connect guest data across multiple systems, inhibiting their ability to provide an optimal guest experience. That was one of the key messages during a panel last week at the Highgate Tech Ventures and Independent Lodging Conference’s Indie Cultivate event in New York City.
And at a time when competition for bookings and loyalty - both between properties and between hotels and online travel agencies - is high, fixing these issues is a top priority.
“I think where our frustrations come from is the tug of war between customer journey and customer data,” said Kerry Mack, chief revenue officer of hospitality investment company Highgate.
Mack continued: “A lot of the boxes are truly boxes, everyone brings us these great ideas of technology, but they still don’t talk to each other.”
Panelists also discussed specific problems created by data silos that exist as a result of disjointed systems - such as an inability to see details about preferences or other personalization elements that could prompt a return visit or higher revenue long term if noted and attended to by the hotel.
“The best way to foster repeat business or make more money - or doing what these systems are supposed to help us do - starts with that data,” Mack said.
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The root of the problem is “selfishness,” said Rod Jimenez, CEO of SHR Group, provider of a hotel technology platform. Jimenez said his company has shifted from operating as a central reservation system provider to offering a complete suite of solutions that includes an internet booking engine, revenue management system and customer relationship management provider as a result of the disconnect.
“We want it to be able to control the ability to have interoperability between the systems and be able to give the hotel the data that they need and to serve the guests,” said Jimenez. “Because frankly … after that guest checks in, that's where the competition with the OTAs ends, the OTAs don't check in again.”
Jimenez continued: “Right now, it's a mess,” he said, noting the mess that exists is “actually detrimental to innovation.”
Mack said at Highgate they wouldn’t be opposed to an all-in-one system but have stayed away from that in favor of expert-type systems for each function. It should be intuitive, she added, noting, “everything should just be seamless and perfect.”
Panelists see this as within reach.
“I just think the APIs are just a modern version of serial cable, [connecting] some on-premise technology to another system,” said Adam Harris, CEO and co-founder of Cloudbeds.
Cloudbeds, Harris said, has already entered beneficial partnerships, including one with Jiminez’s SHR and with IDeaS.
“We actually want to further connectivity so that that data gets to you … but it can't just be data - it actually needs to be the action and the recommendation as well,” Harris said.
“And I think that's what we're most excited about.”
But to complete a task like interconnectivity requires resources, which can be challenging.
“So the way we deal with it is we try to gauge all of those factors as far as scalability … how many hotels could be interested in this, how easy the integration is … where in their development is this particular provider because sometimes if it's super early, then you're just running a pilot and putting resources into something that's not going to be there a few months down the road,” Jimenez said.