Intro/Outro – 00:00:04: Welcome to the Hotel Moment podcast presented by Revinate, the podcast where we discuss how hotel technology shapes every moment of the hotelier’s experience. Tune in as we explore the cutting-edge technology transforming the hospitality industry and hear from experts and visionaries shaping the future of guest experiences. Whether you’re a hotelier or a tech enthusiast, you’re in the right place. Let’s dive in and discover how we can elevate the art of hospitality together.

Karen Stephens – 00:00:35: Hello, and welcome to the Hotel Moment Podcast. I’m your host, Karen Stephens, the Chief Marketing Officer of Revinate. And today on the podcast, we’re really going to be living up to our name because I’ve got a collection of moments that I’d like to share with you. We’ve literally had over 100 guests on the show, all with great insights, and I’ve pulled out a few for you today to talk about data collection and the application of that data in your marketing programs. So let’s start with Adam Mogelonsky, who’s a partner at Hotel Mogel Consulting. And honestly, as Adam states, when he thinks about data, he thinks about it as the gateway to pretty much all good things at your hotel. So in other words, data collection and application is something you absolutely have to get right if you want to do any kind of one-to-one marketing or personalization. So with those ideas in mind, let’s hear from Adam.

Adam Mogelonsky – 00:01:22: Your data has to be of a high caliber. We can use different statistical terms to talk about what we know about our guests and, oh, we can only say this or that. But realistically, when you want to do any sort of one-to-one marketing, or you want to find out who your guests are to inform the future of packages, the future of sales, if you have a bunch of guests where all you know about them is their email and their first and last name or the email is an alias of an OTA for that particular segment, it’s going to skew all the statistics, and it’s going to prevent you from really doing that deep dive on what are the emotional drivers behind why a guest is booking with you, rebooking with you, spending more with you, or recommending to their friends. And that is really the core of the revenue funnel.

Karen Stephens – 00:02:19: So I think Adam sets the stage for a real cause-and-effect situation here. When we’re talking about data collection, poor data leads to poor segmentation and poor personalization. And vice versa is true for good-quality data. So good quality data is obviously what you need when you’re aiming to craft messaging that resonates with guests. But what happens if you don’t have that? So poor data is a reality no matter what standards you have for your hotel, just by virtue of the systems we use in hospitality, the core of which is the Property Management System (PMS). So that gives you a lot of opportunity for duplicate profiles. So if you do have duplicate profiles, if your hotel is using some sort of identity resolution like the one that Revinate provides, your chances of sending the right promo to the right guests are phenomenal. And there are many examples of how to get your data collection in order. But the bottom line is you need good quality data for guest profiles and for guest personas. Speaking of personas, let’s hear from Jason Pirock, who’s the Corporate Director of Marketing for Springboard Hospitality. And in this clip, he’s going to talk about how to identify the right persona of your guests.

Jason Pirock – 00:03:26: Do you know the persona of your ideal guest or what your guest is today? And if you don’t, map that out. And I think there’s ways that you can start to kind of think about that with data that you do have, and then thinking about who you ultimately want to attract. From there, break it down to help you understand how you might wanna lay out some of that mapping. Now, if you’re a brand or you’ve got multiple properties maybe you do that with a few different properties to start to see trends that you would then ultimately figure out what are those tags, or what does that mapping look like?

Karen Stephens – 00:04:05: So what Jason details is a great example of how you can get your data application right. As we talked about earlier, accurate and clean data is what builds your guest profiles. And when it comes time to communicate with these guests, you’ll be able to tell a lot about the kinds of travelers you have in your database, whether they’re leisure or business travelers, children, no children, whatever the case may be, you’ll be able to send them targeted offers you know that they’ll like. And doing that across your portfolio strengthens the guest relationship you’re able to create and build. With that in mind, let’s hear from Andrew Ladd, who is the VP of Marketing at Noble House Hotels and Resorts. Here’s a great example from Andrew detailing data collection and the application of that data while the guest is on property.

Andrew Ladd – 00:04:47: Were in such a really great and unique position as they go through the customer journey to continue collecting information about them as a person, and how we can better service them. Right? From restaurant, to spa, to mini bar, and their preferences on a beverage — like those little touch points. Some people might find it creepy that you know what kind of beverage they like to drink, but other people love it. They show up, and you’ve got a Diet Coke, or you’ve got a Gatorade waiting for them because that’s what they had last time. I mean, those little touch points, I think, “surprise and delight” is a big term as of late. It does provide that next level of service.

Karen Stephens – 00:05:23: So Andrew highlights an important idea about maximizing data collection at every touchpoint on your property and throughout the guest journey. I think that often hoteliers, especially marketers in hotels, can hyper-focus on pre-arrival and post-stay communication, and miss out on all the communication opportunities in between. The more you know about your guests, the more you can encourage them to book directly with you, and leverage that information, and the collection that you can do throughout the guest’s journey to provide a great experience. So remember that you can give your guests what OTAs can’t, and that’s a personalized experience. So keep that in mind when collecting data from your guests on property. In conclusion, I’ll just say that I think it’s easy for hoteliers to get caught up in the grind of securing bookings and getting heads in beds. And oftentimes, when we are stressed or have need, we rely on OTAs because that’s the quote-unquote easy button. But I think if we take a step back and really think about any kind of strategy, whether that’s your direct booking. strategy, your marketing strategy, or your commercial strategy, at the core of that is getting your data collection right. And once you have that, that opens you up to a whole new possibility to drive revenue and personalize the guest experience. So I hope you’ve enjoyed this episode with some nuggets of knowledge from Adam, Jason, and Andrew. Thank you.

Outro – 00:06:40: Thank you for joining us on this episode of Hotel Moment by Revinate. Our community of hoteliers is growing every week, and each guest we speak to is tackling industry challenges with the innovation and flexibility that our industry demands. If you enjoyed today’s episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review. And if you’re listening on YouTube, please like the video and subscribe for more content. For more information, head to revinate.com/hotelmomentpodcast. Until next time, keep innovating.