Taking Hometown Global

By Adam Kirby -- Hotels, 10/1/2007

A new offering from customer data management firm Acxiom Corp. combines open architecture and business-centered applications to create an environment where customer and prospect interactions become real-time opportunities to engage intelligently and build relationships. With Acxiom’s new ConnectionPoint-X—currently being piloted by several unnamed hotel groups and due for a public launch next year—hoteliers can replicate the concept of an old hometown store, a place where all customers and their unique needs are instantly recognized. “In the old country store, the proprietor knew you, knew your family, knew your job,” says Lance Osborne, director of solutions marketing for Acxiom. “With the technology of today, that is something that is possible even in a large enterprise.”

ConnectionPoint-X can help hoteliers develop the ability to seamlessly recognize customers and prospects in real-time, integrate privacy and interaction preferences, access past customer relationship information, implement behavioral data, apply attributes and scores, manage offers intelligently, track interactions and tailor future offers accordingly. The technology provides an interactive foundation for real-time offers through multiple customer interactions simultaneously, including point of sale, Web site, self-service site, call center and email channels. All of this functionality reportedly costs less per conversion than existing direct marketing channels, according to Acxiom.

The application is platform-agnostic and integrates with front-end property management systems to bring together, in real-time, customer relationship variables from disparate sources including profile data from a hotel group’s various properties and from Acxiom’s database of 180 million individuals. “The challenge is that these hotels have data from a lot of different places, and it is very hard to bring all those together and get a centralized view of the customer,” Osborne says. “The data is quite complex, and it’s always changing.”

Acxiom offers the following sample scenario for its ConnectionPoint-X product:

A customer calls an upscale hotel chain reservation line for an upcoming stay. After asking the caller for his name, the call-center representative is able to pull up a comprehensive view of the customer, who is calling to reserve a room for an upcoming business trip to Chicago.

In a single screen view, the representative sees important customer relationship information about the would-be guest, John Smith. He is a gold-level rewards customer who is 2,000 points from becoming a platinum rewards member; he has two reservations already booked with this particular brand, one for a three-night stay in the hotel’s exclusive Palm Beach location and another weekend trip to San Diego; he stays an average of 10 nights a month with the chain; and during his previous stays, he has selected specific preferences within the loyalty program.

The booking rep says: “Mr. Smith, for your stay in Chicago, would you like us to book you an upper level room with a sofa and a king-sized bed, like usual? And would you like an hors d’oeuvres tray in your room upon arrival like you requested for your recent business trip?

“In addition, Mr. Smith, I noticed you’re quite close to earning your platinum-level membership. Why don’t I go ahead and credit your account for the remaining 2000 points, then you’ll automatically have the concierge-level room upgrade on this trip as well as your upcoming stays with us.

“Finally, I noticed you played golf at one of our courses during your last stay with us. For your upcoming Palm Beach trip, I can set up a tee time now for you at our new Ocean Dunes golf club if you wish. It’s a wonderful new course, and because of its popularity, it can be difficult to get a good tee time at the last minute.”