What is a Customer Data Platform (CDP)?

A customer data platform, or CDP, is an innovative solution that consolidates data from various systems to create a single, unique customer profile. This is radically different than most hotels’ existing marketing and operations technology, which has few bridges between them and create multi-step journeys where customers are bouncing between systems, instead of moving through a unified journey.

A CDP is a database that creates that unified experience. It ingests and deploys real-time customer information to the technology your staff uses across your property. It gathers customer data from various sources, merges and removes duplicate profiles so it can then analyze and predict customer behavior.

This technology is less than ten years old, and is only recently being adopted by the hospitality sector. There are CDPs available across many industries, but a hospitality-specific CDP syncs data from hotel technology and is configured to manage the data to your exact needs.

Customer Data Platforms for Hotels

A CDP helps hoteliers centralize guest information from technology that otherwise cannot “speak” to each other. Most hotels have data in many places: property, spa, restaurant, and activity management software; membership and loyalty programs; sales and marketing software; and so on. Or you might have this data across individual hotel sites’ property management systems.

Some customer data platforms prioritize sales and marketing personalization. Unify CDP is uniquely designed to help every single department of your hotel do their job more efficiently, while also powering unique guest experiences. It is a way to synchronize guest data across all the software above, and so much more.

How does a CDP work?

1. Data Collection – A CDP pulls data from multiple sources, such as your PMS, POS, Spa, Golf, restaurant, reservation systems, and so on, into a single hub.
2. Unique, Deduplicated Profile – Guest profiles are matched and deduplicated to create a master guest record with holistic data from every source
3. Sync & Deploy – This guest profile is updated in real time across all connected systems – the same guest profile, bookings, and history can be viewed and updated where needed

The benefits of a hotel CDP

To understand the power of a well implemented, well connected CDP, here are just a few real-world examples of what it can do:

• Synchronize guest data so that every system has accurate, real-time information from the ‘source of truth,’ your CDP  
• Automatically create and email out trip itineraries from reservations across your property (rooms, restaurants, spa services, etc.)
• Give guests the ability to manage reservations across departments, creating and cancelling reservations in different department from a mobile app
• Synchronize operational needs so your front desk, housekeeping, and amenity providers can see guests full and accurate itinerary  
• Create high ROI marketing campaigns based on a 360-view from every department, including spending habits, trends, and more
• Blend “high-tech” and “high-touch” hospitality: when every department has a full guest profile you can create truly personalized experiences at every single touch point – the spa desk can ask about a guest’s dinner reservations or future activities, and provide real recommendation

Guests expect that if they have made a request once, it should be implemented everywhere, across different departments and repeat visits. A customer data platform makes that possible, by letting staff help guests while the technology works in the background. Some of the key benefits of a CDP to hotels include:

Holistic view of guests across departments – Gone are the days of siloed information, stored only in one database. With a CDP, your guest information is available everywhere, in real-time. Staff no longer need to check multiple systems to see a guest’s activity: it is now synchronized everywhere. And staff that may only have access to one system can still see guest data pulled from the CDP.

Impactful guest experiences – A CDP helps your staff save time and energy checking multiple systems, and it also directly improves the guest experience. For example, your on-site restaurant or spa may be run as a separate business, but your guests do not think of it that way. A CDP is needed to pass data between these departments. Properly implemented, your guests can book, manage, or cancel all their reservations on their own device.

Improved staff efficiency – Eliminate the need to cross-reference and re-check information across departments. Give your staff the ability to see a guest’s entire journey, their special requests, and preferences, easily and without needing to check multiple systems.  Add or cancel reservations no matter what system they’re in – cancel spa services at the front desk or book a restaurant reservation at the golf shop.

Transform your guest data

Unify CDP is a revolutionary platform designed for hoteliers’ unique needs. It bridges the gap between best-in-breed technology to help you create an all-in-one platform, with connected and synched guest data. Jonas Unify is making true guest-centric hospitality possible with our suite of solutions.

Put your data to use. Harness the power of your data and transform it into actionable insights, streamlined operations, and personalized guest experiences. Centralize and synchronize guest data from multiple solutions in real time. Ready to take the next step? Discover Jonas Unify CDP today and unlock your data’s potential. Set up a demo today – the journey to data-driven operations starts here.

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