As Pablo Cago, global head of strategy and innovation at Roommate Hotels, explains, an essential first step before deciding on one technology or another is, “Defining what’s good. Data-driven strategy Indicate what you want to do with it, and from there What technologies and processes do you need? Achieving that requires quick decisions in the future. to By Oliver BenallBusiness Director of Ilunion Hotels, “Everything is born from strategy, need to be grounded by data to make appropriate decisions, and thanks to affordable technology. Both have participated in the event “Hoteltrends Innovation and Technology: Elevating User Experience to the Highest Level”Organizing Committee Hotel verse It contains Iberostar Las Letras HotelIn Madrid.
Carlos RenderoBookassist’s director for Spain and Latin America went one step further and said, “Strategy is the most important thing, technology is not. A bad strategy is not fixed by better technology. This strategy should be Fundamentals of Hotel Operation and Distribution; From there, check and verify what technology you need.
From left to right, Moderator, Natalia Rose from Forum Business Travel; Alejandro Lazcano, from Palladium Hotel Group; Carlos Rentero, from Bookassist; Elena Mateos, from HotelSAAS; Oliver Penalal, from Ilunian Hotels; and Pablo Cago, from Room Mate Hotels. Source: Hosteltur.
In this sense Elena MateosGeneral Director Hotel Saaswarned that “many timesTechnologies are imposed by fashionsBut you need to be smart when hiring them: think if your company has them Digital literacy To use them, If the system integrates Like the rest of the tools you have.
This coincided with Rendero, who suggested that “Don’t be blinded by the latest technology It’s coming out, but providing something that works for your accommodation, is highly adaptable More diversity. Because you don’t need a Ferrari to go shopping, but you do need analysis What is the investment required to use it and its returns?; If you work to increase it Cost efficiency”.
Technology in the service of personalization
BookAssist Manager recommends using technology “Customize the customer search process And the products we offer you, which are best suited to your profile, are not necessarily the cheapest. The use of data generated by this technology will allow us to Increase ADR (average daily rate) thanks to that personalization.”
Kago is also committed to having “adequate demand data Choose who you want to visit your hotel; Have the necessary information to make decisions Reach the customer you are most passionate aboutVery profitable, since the search begins, with Highly effective campaigns. So, customization yes, but you need to know beforehand What, how and to whom. We are going Unstructured websites It is collected based on what the user searches for; “It will be done.”
“Data makes it easier to personalize the user experience on your website so they buy from you,” said Alejandro Lazcano, corporate director of direct sales at Palladium Hotel Group.
But it is Personalization You can’t limit your shopping experience, but, in the words of a Roommate manager, “It’s a must Applies to the overall customer experiencefrom purchase until you leave the hotel.” Mateos also emphasized this, saying, “The hotelier must Personalize the experience at all stages of the processBefore, during and after your stay, but above all as a guest, you will return through direct sales.”
In Ilunion HotelsAs described by Benal, his strategy is based on Three main principles: “Know as well as you can Customer discovery You can personalize your experience; Set bookmarks and a Attribute model To obtain the necessary data; But above all, remember that There are people behind all thisThose that serve the customer and are the last to be lost.”
Only if technology is profitable: Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality
In terms of specific technologies, the best opportunity Kago perceives in implementing artificial intelligence in the sector is “the potential it offers”. Go from big data to fast dataTo generate knowledge and use it effectively in campaigns, Quickly customizes contentFrom texts on your website, blogs, etc., depending on what you have and what people are requesting.
However, in the case of augmented reality, Rendero “today Cannot prove profitability. We all have a budget and if we can’t prove it’s profitable, we don’t go for it. It will happen MetaversoIn a few years yes, but now Does not affect the next income statement”.
The HotelsSAAS board agreed that “it depends on the type of establishment”, although for Kako “It might work in destinations, but it’s harder to make a profit in hotels”. In conclusion, as Elena Mateos warns, “Technologies entering the field are fads You have to be careful what you bet on, but this is a forest so always pay attention.
More information about Hotelverse, here:
– Will Spanish chains become white label operators?
– Hotelverse raises 1.2 million euros in funding round
– Hotelverse creates a digital twin of the destination with Radisson
– Hotelverse provides a solid differentiating element to the direct channel
– Hotelwares, in its role, supports hotel intermediation
– Hotelverse: Technology to transform direct sales and improve revenue
