Ready. Set. Actionable Guest Data.

Bookings are at stake. 

Today, messy or inaccessible data is the number one thing standing between you and the revenue you hope to generate from your guests. A strong direct marketing plan requires a robust and clean guest database. 

For most hoteliers, organizing your guest database (especially across multiple properties and PMSes) is like flossing your teeth. You know it’s the right thing to do and has long term benefits, and yet you rarely (if ever) make it a priority. In today’s market, this will need to change. 

Without actionable data, your results are almost guaranteed to fall flat in this ultra competitive landscape as you’ll be forced to send impersonal messages to a broad list of guests. 

(Additionally, you’ll be limiting the size of your list as dirty data will include emails masked by OTAs, which means you’ll miss out on the opportunity to reach the actual guest.)

If you plan to commit to standing out in this market, your guest data must become a priority.

There are two approaches to getting this done: 

1) Manual: 

Realistically, true guest data management requires tools with smart algorithms that process large databases with lots of guest profiles. If you’re not yet ready to invest in a tool that helps you easily clean and manage your data, something is still better than nothing. 

Consider the following manual steps to get your guest data into a more actionable place: 

Clean your contact list: 

1. Collect all of your guest profiles into a single file
2. Review missing fields and fill in additional data you may have collected via check-in cards
3. Dedupe rows with repeat email addresses 

Gather specific list segments: 

Define segments of your database that you want to focus your marketing efforts on so that you can personalize your communications to address their interests specifically. In doing so, you’ll see higher booking rates than you would if you were to broadcast promotions to your entire database. 

2) Automatic: 

Let’s face it, if you have thousands of guest profiles on file, then truly getting your data in order and actioning on it requires tools that automate the process for you.

If you have a Guest Data Platform like Revinate in place, now is the time to ensure it is actively importing your PMS guest profiles, deduping those profiles and intelligently collecting contact info that might otherwise have been masked by OTAs. Many platforms don’t have the functionality to do all of these things effectively, so start asking questions to understand how your data is currently being organized. 

If you’re looking for ideas on how to segment your data in order to run effective nurture and promotional campaigns over the coming months, download our Covid-19 recovery guide.