Case Study of a Hotel Chain Implementing the Beetle Eye CRM

In this sample case study, a hotel chain has expanded to include 20 autonomous locations, meaning it is up to each hotel location to manually add guest details to a central database. The information required to add a guest includes the guest’s name and address, plus the hotel reservation dates and hotel location.

The Business Challenge

BeetleEye and the hotel chain identified the following as challenges to the hotel chain's customer relationship management strategy.

1. The hotel chain had a challenge with keeping all their data synced across multiple hotel locations as well as with the hotel call centers. This challenge has been made apparent with frustrated guests complaining or canceling hotel reservations when a call center is unable to help them with their account. This is also a challenge when a guest visits another hotel chain location and their expectation that their hotel reservation history be known is not met.
2. The hotel chain was struggling with sending guests information that fulfilled their individual needs. For example, first-time guests and preferred member guests would receive the same communications. Because of this, the hotel chain was missing opportunities when reaching out to guests.

Suggested Improvements

The following were suggested as improvements that would alleviate the pain points of the identified business challenges.

1. Collect guest details automatically into a base CRM system that is integrated and easily available throughout all hotel locations and call centers through which guests and the hotel chain communicate.
2. Group hotel guests into different segments and focus correspondence based on guests’ needs (repeat guests, first-time guests, rewards-oriented guests, etc.).

CRM Implementation

The hotel chain implemented the BeetleEye application, including a custom CRM module, to address the identified challenges. The following are details on how the BeetleEye application was implemented.

1. The BeetleEye application collects the data entered via web site hotel reservation forms, data collected through call centers, and data collected using any third-party systems. When a hotel reservation is made or updated, BeetleEye collects information including the guest's name, address, and hotel reservation information (dates and location). In addition, BeetleEye records the guest's preferred guest number. This information is automatically added to the guest's BeetleEye profile information. No additional data entry is required by the guest, or by hotel or call center employees. All systems stay in sync with the BeetleEye CRM system.
2. Within the BeetleEye application, dynamic lists segment the hotel chain's guests into groups based on the following demographics:
3. 1. Location of hotel reservation(s)
   2. Membership in the hotel's preferred guest program
   3. Whether the guest typically reserves a hotel-only package or a vacation package
   4. Guests that click on multiple locations before making a final hotel reservation
   5. Guests that book last-minute hotel reservations
   6. Guests that book hotel reservations 3+ months in advance

Once segmented, the Beetle Eye application is used to launch email campaigns based on the dynamic lists. This allows guest communications to offer rewards and news that will deliver higher value to the indicated list(s).

Outcome

After implementation, the expected outcome is a 25% drop in the number of canceled hotel reservations as this is the percent of dropped hotel reservations that are currently coded with the reason "unable to retrieve guest or hotel reservation details." The hotel chain also expects to see an increase in the number of repeat guest visits as the email campaigns will be more aligned with the needs of the outlined guest segments.