Challenge: Absence of Comprehensive Data
Hastings Hotels is a renowned hospitality group with six luxurious properties located across Northern Ireland. Each hotel boasts distinctive character and charm, situated strategically in key locations throughout the region. Among their esteemed collection is The Culloden Estate & Spa, a historic landmark once serving as the official residence for the Bishops of Down, nestled within 12 acres of picturesque gardens and woodland.
Historically, Hastings Hotels has faced challenges in crafting effective marketing strategies and optimizing guest experiences due to limited insights into guest preferences and behaviors. The absence of comprehensive data has hindered their ability to tailor offerings and engage guests in a meaningful way.
Solution: Harnessing Data Insights for Strategic Advancement
To address these challenges, Hastings Hotels implemented SHR's robust booking and recommender engine. This sophisticated platform provided invaluable data insights, empowering the hotel group to make informed decisions and enhance the guest booking journey.
Matt McRoberts, Head of Marketing at Hastings Hotels, spearheaded the integration of SHR's data capture solutions into their operations. He emphasized the transformative impact of leveraging real-time guest booking preferences and behaviors to drive strategic initiatives.
Key Strategies:
- Personalized Booking Experience: By analyzing guest profiles and preferences, Hastings Hotels abandoned the one-size-fits-all approach to bookings. Instead, they tailored offerings to suit individual needs, whether it be spa packages for couples or corporate deals for business travelers.
- Data-Driven Decision Making: Through rigorous A/B testing, the hotel group experimented with various scenarios to optimize the booking process. Insights gleaned from these tests informed decisions regarding rate displays, promotional offers, and upselling strategies.
- Targeted Marketing Campaigns: Armed with granular insights into guest lead times and booking patterns, Hastings Hotels fine-tuned their marketing strategies. They identified lucrative opportunities to target specific guest segments with tailored discounts and promotions, thereby maximizing revenue potential.
Realizing Remarkable Results:
The implementation of SHR's data capture solutions revolutionized Hastings Hotels' operations, yielding remarkable results:
- Record-Breaking Revenue: In the past couple of years, the hotel group witnessed unprecedented revenue growth, surpassing previous benchmarks.
- Increased Bookings and Room Nights: Leveraging personalized guest experiences and targeted marketing campaigns, Hastings Hotels experienced a surge in bookings and occupancy rates, solidifying their position as a market leader in Northern Ireland's hospitality sector.
"We used to spend a lot of time speculating on what might work, but SHR's booking and recommender engine shows us the reality of potential guest’s booking preferences and behaviors, which allows us to create tailored strategies".
“Instead of throwing meaningless offers at guests who haven’t yet booked, we’re able to highlight actual points of interest in the hotel – whether that’s a spa package for a couple or bed and breakfast option for a corporate traveler. Instead of pushing guests to book, we have the insights to show them products and services that are actually relevant – meaning it’s no longer just about accommodation booking, we have an entire upselling strategy throughout the booking journey too”.
“These insights have also allowed us to ramp up our marketing strategy. With visibility into guest lead times, we can work out which guest segment could benefit from discounts or offers. For example, if couples’ lead times are longer than solo travellers, we know that we might need to start pushing our offers for the next season earlier, and offer discounts to those searching for stays for two adults”.
“Being able to personalize the guest booking journey means that we treat no two guests the same and every experience is meaningful and relevant. As a result, the past couple of years have broken records for us in terms of revenue generated, bookings and room nights”.
Matt McRoberts, Head of Marketing
