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Big data plus good service equals repeat business
Even as widebodied 787s roll off the assembly line and free wifi comes to hotels across the world, the travel industry is falling behind in the use of technology. Still, though, a study released yesterday takes a look at some of the innovative things travel companies are doing with the data they have.
Hilton Hotels, for example, used its data to find significant correlations between customer satisfaction and loyal customer behaviors.
An analysis of data from 42 Hilton hotels over five years showed that a 5% increase in customer loyalty in a given year leads to a 1.1% average increase the next year at a typical property.
"These sorts of measures and relationships can be very helpful to managers in planning ways to increase financial performance over time," the study says.
MGM Resorts has made extensive use of Facebook ad services; it established Facebook Pages, made targeted offers to its friends, used Custom Audiences and Facebook Exchange, and employed Sponsored Stories in the News Feed of friends of users who had accepted offers.
Scrappy Frontier Airlines uses the data in its revenue management system to create small niches of pricing advantage for short periods based on its knowledge of competitors’ disinterest.
It cuts prices for short periods before competitors notice and respond.
Marriott uses data to analyze the offers it makes to frequent customers, and to understand their likelihood of staying with Marriott or defecting to competitors.
The hotel company also has been analyzing big data from its web site to try to understand which sales and marketing activities really drive customers.
So what innovative things are you doing with your customer data?
Get some ideas by reading the 26-page report, "At the Big Data Crossroads: turning towards a smarter travel experience," by Harvard Business School professor Tom Davenport.
The full study is available from Amadeus at http://www.amadeus.com/blog/26/06/big-data.
By Cheryl Rosen
Cheryl
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