Marketing & guests
Personalisation
Also written: personalization
What Personalisation means
Personalisation in hospitality is the practice of using guest data, historical preferences, and behavioral insights to tailor marketing, communications, room amenities, and service delivery to individual guests rather than broad customer segments across their entire journey.
How it is used
Revenue and marketing teams use personalisation to drive direct bookings, increase ancillary spend, and boost guest retention. Data gathered from booking engines, pre-arrival questionnaires, property management systems, and post-stay reviews informs targeted upsell offers, customized pre-arrival messaging, and bespoke on-property touches. Operators balance automated triggers—like dynamic pre-stay emails proposing specific room upgrades based on trip intent—with staff-executed touches, such as stocking a preferred beverage. When executed well, personalisation increases RevPAR by capturing high-margin ancillary revenue and improves Net Promoter Scores.
Worked example
A hotel tracks a returning guest who previously booked spa treatments and ordered red wine via room service. Two weeks before their upcoming stay, the CRM automatically generates a pre-arrival email offering a 15% discount on an upgraded suite with a complimentary bottle of Pinot Noir and pre-booked spa slots. The guest accepts, adding $180 in incremental high-margin revenue to the booking.
Common mistake
Creepy or over-intrusive data collection without explicit consent alienates guests and risks privacy compliance violations under regulations like GDPR.
Related terms
Personalisation in our reporting
Recent stories where this term does real work.