Hospitality Is Missing the CX Mark Despite Having Data

Few industries create as much data as hotels and hospitality.

Accommodation and food and beverage data are only the tip of the iceberg on data collected on customer behavior. At the same time, internally, there is data on staffing and procuring all aspects of the supply chain, from towels to bar fridge contents to cleaning products.

Into this mix throw call center and messaging interactions, guest surveys and polls and reviews from travel and hospitality sites and there is a potentially bewildering data swamp waiting to be cleaned and explored.

Also essential is data on guest demographics. Do older customers spend more? Do customers from a particular demographic area book more nights, and do they prefer beef or seafood?

With so much investment and so many moving parts, it is not surprising that the hospitality industry has been a hotbed of digital transformation.

The goal, of course, is to have this data crunched and analyzed and also measured against peers and industry standards to deliver insights on how even minor changes to the business can be tweaked to create a different outcome.

Revenue management is one example. During the holiday season, rooms get filled up faster, so it makes sense that higher demand means higher prices.

Less demand means that it’s time to roll out the special deals.

Digital is also helpful in scouting the competition and getting a clear idea of what competitors are up to.

Call it trolling, call it what you like, but there are many internet destinations where this competitive analysis can be done.

All players in the hospitality sector are out there, touting their wares to potential customers online and checking it out is free for anybody.

Insights, but are they being actioned?

Two areas where technology should be making more of a positive difference are in the customer experience and targeted marketing.

With the pandemic as a catalyst, QR code technology came from the fringes to the mainstream. In Australia, around 92% of venues took up QR code systems for ordering at tables.

While ordering directly from the table is convenient and a tick for the customer experience in some restaurants, overall, it must be asked if all this digital transformation is succeeding in delivering for the customer.

That hi-tech hotel room, with the curtains and lighting that adjusts to your preferences, aren't they still the stuff of fantasy even though we have the technology to create them today?

There’s certainly a lot of data being collected and analyzed, but is it creating insights that are being used to delight customers, or is it simply being retained and held as knowledge?

"For all the data and all the investment, 41% of users are disappointed by technical bugs and bad site design."

According to research by analytics vendor Contentsquare, four out of ten visitors to travel and hospitality industry websites are left frustrated by the experience.

According to the 2023 Travel and Hospitality Digital Experiences Benchmark report, after analyzing 20.6 billion page views and 3.8 billion sessions on 106 sites, the main takeaway is that for all the data and investment, 41% of users are disappointed by things like technical bugs and bad site design.

These are sophisticated and affluent people who are used to digital tools and expect a frictionless digital experience that gives them what they want and fast. They are also people who get better digital experiences as consumers elsewhere.

The research also found that users increasingly bounce around across sites. While overall traffic to travel and hospitals was up 77% in 2022, sales conversions were down by 1.4%.

So, the pattern is for consumers to 'graze' on websites and move on to another site without purchasing.

Underdelivering

Part of the answer to this could be the industry's underperformance in targeted marketing.

With all the data they have collected, personalized and aggregated anonymously, the industry consistently delivers when it comes to finding and recommending suitable accommodations and experiences.

This is anecdotal and personal, but our family has had several experiences where we have made bookings only to be offered the same flight, hotel, or experience at a lower cost after we have already made our purchase.

It is like rubbing our noses in it. Then there is the underwhelming experience with the poorly trained chatbots, which waste your time before you either move on to another site or wait it out to speak with a human.

Hospitality industry offerings and suggestions on social media feeds also lag behind other sectors of the retail and entertainment industries for hitting the right mark in personalization.

We constantly receive suggestions for concerts, exhibitions, clothing, and apparel, which are appropriate and often acted on. Still, when it comes to hospitality, we receive nothing or what we get is irrelevant.

This suggests that digital transformation might be delivering internally and creating better systems and processes. Still, it has yet to translate into anything close to a significantly better customer experience for most users.

It is also likely to mean wasted investment and failed projects.

All this is a shame because digital should be being used by smart brands as part of their brand identity as a competitive differentiator.

We might get there one day, but—to use the data lake analogy—the swamps need to be cleaned and plumbing installed so the right data can be harnessed and used dynamically.

Right now, it all seems very static and not delightful, according to this underwhelmed customer.

Lachlan Colquhoun is the Australia and New Zealand correspondent for CDOTrends and the NextGenConnectivity editor. He remains fascinated with how businesses reinvent themselves through digital technology to solve existing issues and change their business models. You can reach him at [email protected].

Image credit: iStockphoto/leolintang