Next-generation guest personalization: Leveraging data for enhanced experiences

In an industry where exceptional guest experiences are crucial, advanced data solutions for personalization have evolved from being a luxury to a necessity. With technology advancing rapidly, hotels are discovering innovative ways to use data to connect with their guests on a more personal level. To understand how this transformation is taking shape, we spoke with four industry experts: Sudhir Ghildiyal, Director of Sales for India at Cendyn, Maarten Edelman, Vice President of Sales at dailypoint, Travis Cabrera, Regional Director for Europe at Revinate and Cem Çağdaş Çetin, Senior Market Manager at THN, and a representative from Cendyn. Their insights illuminate how their solutions are setting new standards in guest personalization.

What solutions are driving personalization?

Each expert brings a unique perspective on how their solutions address the needs of hoteliers.

Cendyn’s Revenue Growth Package combines a Digital Marketing Platform, CRM, and Website offering, allowing hoteliers to align their marketing strategy across channels, drive direct bookings, and boost guest loyalty. By integrating data from various platforms into the CRM, Cendyn enables personalized interactions across multiple marketing channels.

dailypoint offers a comprehensive Customer Data Platform (CDP) that consolidates data from various sources into a unified guest profile. This integration empowers hotels to deliver real-time, tailored experiences, offering personalized recommendations and special offers based on guest preferences and behaviors.

Revinate leverages AI to refine and enrich guest profiles and segmentation. Their Customer Data Platform (CDP) maintains accurate and up-to-date guest data, enabling highly personalized marketing campaigns and communications that effectively drive engagement and increase revenue.

THN offers technology that aggregates data from various sources to provide actionable insights. Their solution automates and optimizes processes, allowing hotels to deliver exceptionally personalized services that distinguish them from the competition.

What’s trending in guest personalization?

As guest expectations evolve, so do the trends shaping the industry.

Ghildiyal emphasizes the rising importance of first-party data and AI-driven personalization: “Leveraging first-party data allows hotels to create tailored experiences and drive direct bookings, offering a competitive edge over OTAs. Cendyn’s AI-driven solutions analyze guest preferences and behaviors, enabling precise targeting through personalized marketing campaigns.”

Edelman sees automation as transformative: “Hotels are increasingly using automated systems to send timely, personalized messages. This not only enhances guest satisfaction but also boosts revenue by making personalization an ongoing process.”

Cabrera highlights the impact of advanced segmentation: “Today’s guests expect personalized communication, not generic offers. Advanced segmentation enables hotels to deliver messages that are relevant, timely, and impactful.”

Çağdaş Çetin points to data-driven decision-making: “Guests now expect experiences tailored just for them. Data-driven insights are crucial to ensuring hotels meet those expectations and deliver truly engaging experiences.”

Enhancing guest personalization with data analytics and AI

Cendyn’s Revenue Growth Package integrates a Digital Marketing Platform, CRM, and Website to streamline marketing, drive bookings, and enhance loyalty, with personalized interactions across multiple channels

dailypoint’s platform employs real-time analytics from multiple sources to gain a deeper understanding of guests and deliver personalized recommendations.

Revinate uses AI to continuously refine guest profiles, ensuring accuracy and enabling highly customized offers.

THN leverages data analytics to help hotels personalize services, ensuring every guest’s experience feels special.

How do solutions address data privacy and compliance?

Ensuring data privacy and compliance is a top priority for these solutions.

Edelman confirms that dailypoint adheres to GDPR and CCPA regulations by securely consolidating guest data, ensuring compliance and responsible data management for hotels, saying “We prioritize data security and privacy, providing hotels with the tools they need to handle guest information responsibly while meeting stringent regulatory requirements.”

Cabrera highlights Revinate’s focus on utilizing zero- and first-party data to enhance personalization: “We partner with AWS for secure data hosting, which ensures our clients benefit from robust security features while also enabling us to deliver highly effective personalization. This approach not only protects data but also allows us to create more tailored and relevant guest experiences.”

Çağdaş Çetin emphasizes THN’s unwavering commitment to data security: “Our technology is designed to meet the highest global standards for data protection. We ensure that hotels can trust our solutions to maintain compliance with regulations and safeguard sensitive guest information. By adhering to these stringent standards, we provide a secure and reliable platform that supports hotels in managing their data responsibly and effectively.”

Ghildiyal mentions that Cendyn was proactive in phasing out third-party cookies and updating tracking pixels to comply with GDPR laws. Their CRM helps hoteliers manage consent and safeguard privacy, with support from TrustArc for data privacy compliance.

Upcoming innovations in guest personalization

As the industry evolves, these companies are pushing boundaries to stay ahead.

Cendyn’s innovations are centered on enhancing user experience and broadening integration capabilities. Upcoming updates to their CRM and Digital Marketing Platform are set to introduce new features for personalizing guest interactions across a broader range of digital channels. These enhancements will allow hotels to connect with guests more effectively and provide tailored experiences through additional touchpoints, further strengthening guest engagement and satisfaction.

dailypoint is actively integrating cutting-edge technologies to gain deeper insights into guest behaviors, which allows for an even more tailored and personalized experience. By leveraging these advanced technologies, dailypoint aims to enhance the precision and relevance of the recommendations and offers hotels can provide, ensuring each guest’s stay is uniquely catered to their preferences.

Revinate is expanding its data integration capabilities to deliver a more comprehensive and nuanced view of guest profiles. This enhanced integration helps hotels to engage more effectively with guests through highly personalized marketing strategies, ensuring that communications and offers are not only relevant but also resonate on a deeper level with each individual guest.

THN is making significant advancements in its AI applications to improve the accuracy of predicting guest needs and preferences. By refining these predictive capabilities, THN aims to further enhance the personalization process, allowing hotels to anticipate and meet guest expectations with greater precision and create truly customized experiences that stand out.

The future of personalization

Guest personalization is all about making each guest feel truly valued and understood. Cendyn excels in this area by leveraging first-party data and AI to drive tailored marketing, giving hotels a significant competitive edge. Similarly, dailypoint's comprehensive data integration helps hotels create unique and memorable experiences. Revinate further enhances personalization with AI-driven insights and advanced segmentation, allowing hotels to craft offers that perfectly align with individual guest preferences. Additionally, THN’s technology integrates data from multiple sources to deliver personalized communications that foster lasting guest loyalty.

As these industry leaders continue to innovate, they are raising the bar for the entire industry—empowering hotels to consistently deliver personalized, memorable experiences that keep guests coming back.