A quick guide to first-party data strategy for hotels

A practical guide to owning your guest data: what first-party data is, where it comes from and how to build a strategy around it.

Ad platforms keep changing the rules on tracking, and every change reminds hotels of the same thing: data you rent can be taken away. First-party data, the information guests hand you directly, is the one thing that stays yours.

This guide covers what a first-party data strategy is, where the data comes from and the four steps for putting one in place.

What is first-party data?

First-party data is data the hotel collects through channels it owns: guest Wi-Fi, the loyalty scheme, the booking engine on its website.

The biggest benefit is ownership. You store, access and manage the data directly, and you can use it for marketing and service. It also tends to be more accurate and more relevant, because guests provided it willingly.

Most hotels today run on a mix of first- and third-party data, and the third-party share usually comes from guests booking through online travel agencies (OTAs) rather than direct. That is the part you do not control.

Why move to first-party only?

Relying on third-party tracking leaves gaps in the guest journey. Personalised marketing and on-site service get harder, and the experience feels disjointed to the guest.

Hotels get no OTA booking data, for example, so they cannot contact those guests before arrival to shape the stay.

In the ideal setup, the hotel collects all of the data from real guest interactions, from the first booking to every return visit. That builds a complete guest profile with preferences and history attached, and that profile is what makes personalised marketing, long-term loyalty and revenue growth possible.

The key is getting the right data from the right sources.

The 10 most-used first-party data sources

How do hotel operators gather their own data, online and offline? These are the common first-party sources:

• Property management system (PMS)

• Customer relationship management system (CRM)

• Guest Wi-Fi

• Website and newsletter sign-ups

• Mobile app sign-ups

• Online booking engine

• Guest surveys

• Loyalty scheme

• Table bookings for food and drink

• Social media channels

4 steps to a first-party data strategy

Here are four actions to start the shift:

1. Map the guest journey. Consider every online and offline source, and define your short- and long-term marketing goals.

2. Decide what data you need and where it comes from. What does your current setup capture, what is missing, and which gaps can you close?

3. Use the data well. Choose technology that manages it efficiently, without creating a second full-time job.

4. Analyse and adjust. Build your own dashboards and reports to keep an eye on progress.

Making the most of first-party data

The more sources a hotel can reach, the easier it is to build a 360-degree view of each guest.

But more sources can also mean more disjointed data silos, each needing manual work to connect. Unconnected data is of no use, and correct attribution becomes nearly impossible. Handling several systems and spreadsheets also widens the risk of a GDPR breach.

The alternative is one system that syncs your sources into a single guest record. Staff all work from the same data: they can analyse it, turn it into audiences and use it to drive campaigns. Data quality goes up because profiles stay current, and better data means better conversions.

That is how Stampede works: it connects the tools you keep and unifies your guest data in one place. Book a demo to see it on your own data.