According to a new PwC study titled, “Hospitality Directions: Spotlight on Connected Devices,” 75 percent of consumers are willing to share some personal information if they get something in return. This could include personalized location-based information about restaurants, concerts and other cultural events.
This study reinforces just how important mobility is for hoteliers. However, privacy issues should be strongly considered when developing a mobile strategy.
Guest privacy should remain a cornerstone for hoteliers, even in the mobile arena. To do this, the study says that hoteliers need to let guests know that their personal information will only be used for their benefit – tying into the personalized location-based offers highlighted at the top of this post.
Although many hotels offer private entrances for VIPs and celebrities, staff are highly trained on being discrete and always supporting the privacy of all guests – whether it is a family traveling on vacation or a global sports figure.
In the mobile arena, hoteliers may want to consider developing clear and very simple privacy settings and policies. As opposed to Facebook, and other social sites, with complex privacy settings, guests need to be able to more easily opt-out and better manage these settings.
This not only underscores that guest privacy will continue to be a priority, but gives travelers more control over what information they chose to share – or not share. This level of control will ultimately help enhance the overall guest relationship.
Hotel brands have a major opportunity with the new mobile frontier. In addition to providing a new channel for revenue growth, it can also serve as a direct conduit for enhancing overall loyalty – especially when privacy policies exist that benefit the guest.