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Now arriving: Big data in the hospitality, travel, and tourism sector

May 21, 2013 | Hotel Marketing

We are the sum total of millions of small and not-so-small choices that define our individual experience. More so than ever before, that experience can be captured, aggregated and analyzed. Doing so stands to improve each transaction as it occurs - to improve the customer experience.

The hospitality, travel, and tourism (HTT) sector is an inherent data generator, creating millions of records about travel behavior on a daily basis. In the past, HTT data has largely been transaction based: Booking reservations, recording account balances, tracking points in loyalty programs. Customer engagement took place on these well- defined but fairly proscribed fields of play. Big Data elevates the HTT sector to new dimensions of customer care by not just managing transactions but by shaping the potential for interactions.

In this white paper, SOCAP International, the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals, looks at the real opportunity of Big Data and how Big Data is changing the HTT sector. SOCAP represents over 100 brand name companies, many offering hospitality, travel and tourism services. This discussion begins with the big picture. How are Big Data and data analytics causing a paradigm shift in the HTT experience, and how are companies seeking to remain on the right side of business success adapting their operations to be competitive?

Next, the white paper focuses on the importance of personalization in HTT and how Big Data helps shape the type of interactions that foster customer satisfaction while allowing the company to learn and grow. Part of personalization is providing the consumer with the right information, in the right format, via the right channel. Attention will be paid to the burgeoning sources of data, how these must be gathered from both inside and outside the enterprise, and the need to harmonize disparate data types to create global views of customer care threats and opportunities. In this new world of hospitality, travel and tourism, contact centers are an important contributor to a complete and completely satisfactory HTT customer experience.
This white paper will look at what it means to become a customer-centric organization and how companies are using Big Data to elevate customer care from a cost of doing business to a core mission of the HTT business.

Get the full story at SOCAP International or downloaded it directly here (PDF 201 KB)

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