TECH, PERSONALISATION & THE GUEST EXPERIENCE

The word "personalisation" carries many connotations. Perhaps it's a monogram or engraving to signify ownership of an object. Or maybe it's home décor, what makes the space your own. What may not have made your list of highly personalised experiences is a hotel room - or even a hotel stay. Odd, isn't it? Especially now that the hospitality industry's newest, most popular mission is to provide not just the bed and the bath but the "beyond" - the unique guest experience.

From a historical perspective, hotels have a checkered past as far as "unique" goes. “Standardised expectations don't particularly appeal to younger post-millennial travelers,” confirms Rentia Austin, Hospitality Executive at EOH Infor Service Services, Infor’s Master Partner in Africa, operating as a Gold Partner). “They look for more experiential travel, at times for business but particularly for leisure travel. The rise of private providers, such as Airbnb, speaks to the demand for out-of-the-ordinary travel experiences.”

There is a very significant difference in the twenty-first century version of non-standardised accommodation: the game changer is the technology of sharing. In the past, it generally wasn't practical to get insights, references and reviews before you committed to your stay. Today, it's hard to imagine that you could find fifty square feet of accommodation that haven't been photographed, shared, blogged, rated and reviewed in a myriad of online outlets. It's the age of social media, so there is no excuse for the traveler not to be forewarned and forearmed.

“However, personalisation extends beyond unconventional accommodation by individualising communication with travelers, understanding both who they are and why they travel. It is how major chains could conceivably combat the competitive threat posed by every apartment building ever constructed,” adds Austin.

Armed with something as easily acquired as a postal code, marketing geniuses can assemble what can be a likely description of the traveler in question. “It's a good start when a hotel chain sees each guest as an individual rather than a demographic group member - but it's only a start,” believes Austin. “True personalisation demands more than guest preference retention. Remembering a room type preference is nothing more than table stakes in a competitive market. One very important differentiator that adds value and deepens customer insight is to understand the reason that the guest is in house - be it business, leisure or conference participation.”

Having a sense of a trip's justification allows the hotelier to cater to preferences that apply not just to that particular guest, but to that particular guest's travel "persona." A leisure travel persona can change the accommodation preferences, service levels, assistance requests and additional revenue opportunities. Now consider the business persona: as a demographic group, business travelers may be more inclined to concern themselves with loyalty point earning opportunities but less inclined toward inclusive meals or services, since their bill is a reimbursable business expense. Businesspeople are more likely to take advantage of express check-in and checkout services, and less likely to seek extensive assistance or guidance from the front desk. Applying travel personas is an important preference differentiator that helps tailor a stay and enhance the guest experience. Another favorite way to court guest favor is to integrate social interests into travel opportunities.

In a rapidly evolving technological landscape, let's not lose sight of the original mission. When you think about the word "personalisation" what should first come to mind is "you." Systems and programmes that enable guest recognition, tailor offers and speak to the guest of extraordinary experiences provide the differentiation that separates the good from the outstanding. Thankfully, technologies are available that provide the tools to better know, understand and recognise guests, their needs and their desires.

“In the chain hotel's world of highly standardised options, it is customer relationship management software that provides the best competitive advantage in a marketplace that values the unique above all else. The best approach for a personalisation programme that brings hotel guests into sharper focus, improves the customer relationship, enhances revenue and results in more rewarding guest experiences is always a ‘you first’ proposition,” concludes Austin.

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EOH Infor Services boilerplate:

EOH Infor Services was founded in 1995 as Baan South Africa, becoming Softworx after a management buy-out in 1999. It became a member of the EOH Group in December 2000 and in 2011 was appointed as the only Infor Gold Channel Partner in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2014, it was appointed as Infor Master Partner, one of only a few worldwide. Most recently, as the result of a rebranding, it became EOH Infor Services in 2018. 

The company focuses on providing the right solutions to its customers. It delivers enterprise applications, enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions, and drives extended best of breed solutions including; supply chain planning, extended warehouse management, asset maintenance, hospitality management, product life cycle management, information management (BI, data warehousing and analytics), and enterprise performance management (financial planning, forecasting, budgeting, consolidation and governance).

For more information, please visit www.eohinforservices.com.

EOH Boilerplate:

EOH is a proudly South African business and the largest technology services organisation in Africa. The JSE-listed group has strong empowerment credentials and with its 11 000-strong workforce in South Africa, is characterised by excellent delivery capability, great people and a strong culture.

EOH provides a broad range of technology solutions and innovation to clients in South Africa and internationally, covering many aspects of society and the economy, and geared towards supporting the developmental agenda of our country.

In keeping with its purpose, EOH launched the “EOH Youth Job Creation Initiative” five years ago, which to date, has resulted in the creation of over 35 000 jobs for our youth.

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