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One question being asked these days is how do hotels get ahead of their competition during this recession? Business intelligence is a tool that can help. Industry leaders like Marriott International are leveraging the competitive advantages of business intelligence to identify market opportunities and underperforming properties.
Marriott International recently signed an agreement with TravelCLICK, the leader in hotel ecommerce solutions, to implement TravelCLICK Hotelligence in 150 of its select service and extended stay properties including Courtyard, Residence Inn, Fairfield Inn, TownePlace Suites, and SpringHill Suites. Hotelligence reports will provide Marriott properties with insight on bookings history for thousands of travel agents worldwide using the Global Distribution System (GDS), including information on booking sources, rates, and length-of-stay patterns for their individual hotels and for hotels they define as their competitors.
According to Gartner, by 2012, 65% of the largest companies -like Marriott- will leverage information, processes, and business intelligence tools to make informed, responsive decisions on significant changes in their business and markets.
“With today’s challenging economy, it is more crucial than ever for Marriott properties to evaluate their market penetration and position,” said Lee Jones, VP of Global Pricing for Marriott. “Hotelligence not only helps our hotels make the right decisions, it also helps them make decisions more quickly -so they take advantage of opportunities before their competition."
Marriott has the option of expanding its implementation to include other select service and extended stay hotels, and supports the use of Hotelligence at its full service as well as independently owned and/or operated properties worldwide. A long-term TravelCLICK customer, Marriott shares the vision of corporate performance management, predictive analytics, and online marketing intelligence as a best practice for building business value.
“The bottom line in today’s economy is this: market intelligence should not be considered a luxury item that hotels can defer when times get rocky,” said Chris Rockett, Executive Vice President for TravelCLICK. “Rather, it should be viewed as an essential tool for uncovering new revenue opportunities, protecting market share, and identifying unproductive rate strategies. Regardless of the economic climate, Marriott’s insight into the value of business intelligence will enable its properties to thrive.”
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
