A major independent global study – At the Big Data Crossroads:
turning towards a smarter travel experience
– reveals how the

hospitality industry is being transformed by big data. Hotels, travel agencies, and other industry players are unlocking the power of big data to dramatically improve products and services, thereby enhancing their competitive position and benefitting customers.

Senior executives at more than twenty companies in the travel industry – including

Fairmont Hotels, Marriott and KAYAK– have contributed to the study, providing operational and technical insights about big data adoption. Hotels are pioneers in this respect; many are already embracing big data to enhance their financial performance, and a more distinctive experience for hotel guests is on the horizon.

Key findings about big data for hotels:

  • Enhanced revenue management: Hotels recognise that data analytics are helpful in establishing the optimal price for rooms and ensuring that as few as possible are empty. Hotel chain Marriott takes this approach further, using big data for price optimisation in restaurants, catering, and meeting spaces too.
  • Well-informed investment decisions: The hotel sector often employs the 'test and learn' approach to determine what kinds of capital investments are worthwhile. Testing investments such as new conference facilities on a small scale, before deciding whether or not to authorise a full rollout, prevents costly mistakes.
  • Better relationships with hotel guests: When customer data is aggregated, instead of being fragmented across a hotel's various divisions, the analytical insights lead to better marketing and customer service. Marriott uses analytical approaches to the offers it makes to frequent customers, and to understand their likelihood of staying with the hotel chain.

The study is sponsored by Amadeus, a leading technology partner for the global travel

industry. Its author, Thomas H. Davenport, is a Visiting Professor at Harvard Business School and the President's Distinguished Professor of Information Technology and Management at Babson College.

Download your copy of the global study here.

Amadeus

Amadeus is a leading provider of advanced technology solutions for the global travel industry. Customer groups include travel providers (e.g. airlines, hotels, rail and ferry operators, etc.), travel sellers (travel agencies and websites), and travel buyers (corporations and travel management companies). The Amadeus group employs around 15,000 people worldwide, across central sites in Madrid (corporate headquarters), Nice (development) and Erding (operations), as well as over 70 local Amadeus Commercial Organizations globally and has a presence in more than 190 countries. The group operates a transaction-based business model. Amadeus is listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange under the symbol "AMS.MC" and is a component of the IBEX 35 index. To find out more about Amadeus please visit www.amadeus.com, and www.amadeus.com/blog for more on the travel industry.