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The power of personalisation: Hotels’ roadmap to 2020

Louise Kelly Louise Kelly

Hotels are under pressure. Airbnb and other sharing economy providers are growing in popularity. More and more guests are booking through online travel agents (OTAs) that take substantial commissions. And when guests do arrive, they expect the same immediacy of service and control they get at home and at work through their smartphones.

Personalisation is one answer for hotels looking to maintain or grow their market share in this challenging environment. By meeting guests’ individual needs, hotels can win greater loyalty. From online check-in, to the app that customises the mini-bar, personalisation helps hotels stand out from the crowd.

Personalise or perish should be the mantra at the heart of hotel companies’ efforts to build their brands and lay platforms for long term-success. But many are struggling to make the necessary inroads to remain relevant to the guests of tomorrow.

At Grant Thornton we believe that digital innovation is creating bold new opportunities for hotels to personalise the guest experience. In this report, the first of three in our series for hoteliers, we draw out examples of hotels leading the way and outline a way ahead for others.