In a major global study done by travel technology provider, Amadeus, they study the challenges and potential benefits of being able to sift through the massive volume of unstructured data, known as “big data.” The findings put pressure on our industry to take the steps to begin establishing a foothold on big data.
The report is extensive with several case studies and a deep understanding of databases. We’ve simplified the study into two parts for you – first, the summary of the findings and second, the final recommendations.
I. Benefits, Opportunities, & Challenges:
- Big data’s benefits for hospitality businesses include:
- More informed decision making
- Better products and services
- Improved customer relationships
- Faster and less expensive data processing
- Early adopters driving the big data development are currently focused on:
- Optimizing revenue management
- Customizing travel distribution
- Elevating internal operations
- Increasing financial performance
- Revamping corporate travel
- The challenges that must be overcome:
- Designing an integrated data source
- Functioning in a hybrid technology environment
- Retaining a competitive advantage
- Transcending the data skills shortage
II. Recommendations (we will delve into more detail on these in our next post):
- Actions necessary to maximize your success:
- Understand big data environment
- Create a strategy around your data
- Explore the business and operational changes you will need to make
- Begin honing and expanding the data skills you need
- Use partners to help implement your ideal guest experience
You can read the full study here – stay tuned for our next post where we will more closely review the recommendations suggested and how they affect you.
How could you benefit from utilizing your data?