What is a hotel CRM?
A Customer Relationship Management system (CRM) is software designed to help businesses - in this case, hotels - manage and optimize their guest relationships.
It's a holistic platform that gathers and stores key data about your guests, such as preferences, stay history, and previous communications. But it doesn't stop at data collection. A CRM also organizes this information and transforms it into actionable insights that can inform your service and strategy.
For hotels, it's like having a super-efficient personal assistant dedicated to understanding each guest on an individual level. By collecting, sorting and analyzing guest data, a CRM empowers your team to deliver more personalized experiences, boost loyalty, and ultimately drive more revenue.
Why do hotels need CRM software?
CRM software is essential for hotels looking to strengthen guest relationships, increase revenue, and deliver consistently excellent service.
Improve guest engagement
With a CRM, hoteliers can manage guest data more effectively to tailor services, personalize interactions, and run more impactful marketing and communication campaigns.
Make data-driven decisions
Gain valuable insights into guest trends and preferences to inform smarter marketing, service improvements, and operational decisions. A CRM also helps you track interactions across multiple channels, giving you a clearer picture of the entire guest journey.
Increase direct bookings
Leverage your CRM to drive more direct bookings through targeted campaigns, personalized offers, and well-designed loyalty programs that keep guests coming back.
Automate
CRMs allow you to automate communications based on where each guest is in their journey - from pre-arrival messages to post-stay follow-ups. This not only streamlines operations but also ensures timely, relevant messaging that keeps your brand top of mind.
How does a hotel CRM work?
Imagine a detailed map that guides you through the unique journey of every guest who walks through your hotel's door. That's what a CRM provides, an accurate and strategic guide that transforms the way hotels operate and engage with their customers.
Some of the main uses of this tool are:
Data centralization: A CRM gathers all essential guest data in one place, from contact information to preferences and special requests. This avoids data dispersion and prevents the loss of valuable information.
Segmentation and personalization: With centralized information, hotels can segment their customers into groups based on preferences and behaviors. This segmentation allows them to personalize offers, promotions and services, providing each guest with a unique experience tailored to their needs and preferences.
Automation of repetitive tasks: A CRM can automate operational tasks such as sending booking reminders, stay confirmations, or feedback requests. This allows your staff to focus on providing an outstanding service.
Communication optimization: CRMs provide effective communication with guests throughout their entire lifecycle, from booking to post-check-out. This allows you to build a strong and lasting relationship with your guests, boosting their loyalty and increasing the chances of future bookings.
Analytics and informed decision making: With organized and accessible data, hotels can analyze trends, assess campaign performance, and make data-driven decisions. This streamlines the marketing strategies and operations of the hotel, generating a positive impact on the business' bottom line.
What are the benefits of a hotel CRM?
A CRM can be one of a hotel's most valuable tools for delivering exceptional guest experiences - but the benefits don't stop there. From boosting revenue to streamlining operations, here are some of the key advantages a hotel CRM can offer:
1. Improved guest experience
A CRM allows you to create detailed profiles of each guest. These profiles are based on their preferences, their interaction history and their feedback or comments. With this data, the hotel can personalize the experience of each guest, from the assigned room to the suggested additional services.
For example, if a guest prefers ocean view rooms, the hotel can assign them a room that meets this preference on their next reservation without having to ask them again or wait for them to request it.
2. Optimizes reservation and occupancy management
With a CRM, properties can anticipate periods of high or low demand and optimize prices and offers to maximize occupancy. For example, if the CRM shows that there is historically less demand during a certain period, the hotel can plan ahead and offer interesting promotions to attract more guests.
3. Better communication and customer service
A CRM system provides easy communication with your guests before, during and after their stay. Using this tool, you can send personalized emails with reservation details, provide updates on your hotel's services and events, and collect feedback after the stay.
4. Streamlines operations and saves time
You can also use a CRM to automate repetitive tasks and centralize information, which frees your staff from tedious back-office tasks. This not only improves operational efficiency and potentially saves time and resources, but also gives staff more time to focus on providing your guests with excellent service.
5. Allows you to make data-driven strategic decisions
A CRM not only collects a plethora of data, but it also provides the guidance needed to make informed decisions and adapt your business strategy. Through a detailed analysis, hotels can identify booking trends, guest preferences and areas for improvement, allowing them to adjust their strategies and services to meet the market's needs.
For instance, if a hotel detects a growing interest in physical activities when analyzing data on guest preferences, the hotel may consider adding sports facilities. A simpler example to implement would be if many guests indicate in their feedback that they want healthier breakfast options, the hotel can adjust its menu to meet those preferences.
Simply put, this data-driven approach boosts decision making, helping the hotel to meet the expectations and demands of its customers.
6. Helps you to increase guest loyalty
By retaining guests' preferences and needs, a CRM system enables hotels to offer a highly personalized and satisfying service during every stay. This tailored approach enhances customer loyalty and engagement, as guests feel valued and understood in every interaction with the hotel.
5 ways to use this software in hospitality
Below, we will explore 5 ways in which hotels can fully capitalize on this type of software to transform their hotel:
- Business management: A CRM system simplifies lead management, tracking of sales opportunities and setting up strategies in order to translate leads into customers.
- Marketing: This software helps to plan, execute and analyze marketing campaigns, by segmenting the audience and personalizing messages in order to improve the efficiency of marketing strategies.
- Customer service or after-sales: A CRM optimizes customer service and helps in the resolution of complaints, queries and incidents, by providing an efficient service that improves customer satisfaction and loyalty.
- Revenue management: A CRM helps with the planning and optimization of price and room availability strategies, maximizing the property's revenue.
- Internal communication: A CRM system streamlines communication and improves collaboration within the property, ensuring that all teams are well informed and aligned to deliver a consistent and exceptional service.
Most important features of a hotel CRM system
With so many CRMs on the market, choosing the right one for your property can be challenging. To help you narrow it down, here are some of the key features to look for:
Manage contacts
At the heart of any CRM is the ability to efficiently manage, organize, and store guest and prospect information-making it easier to keep guest profiles accurate and up to date.
Automate the sales process
A good CRM should simplify your workflow. Sales automation features let your team focus on converting leads instead of handling repetitive tasks. Look for tools that can automate emails, schedule meetings, and update sales records automatically.
Manage leads
Track and manage potential guests from first contact through to conversion. A CRM should give you a clear view of where each lead is in the pipeline and help move them closer to booking.
Segment your audience
Segment guests based on demographics, booking history, or behavior to create more relevant, personalized marketing campaigns that speak directly to each type of guest.
Get clear reporting
Analytics and reporting are key to get insights into customer behavior, performance of campaigns and communication, so that you can make better decisions in the future.
Integrate with your email system
Email integration makes it easier to manage guest communication across the entire journey. Track conversations, schedule follow-ups, and ensure no touchpoint is missed.
The best 15 hotel CRM systems
1. Cendyn
Cendyn helps hotels automate marketing, segment audiences more effectively, manage data, track KPIs, and leverage analytics. By consolidating guest data into a single platform, it boosts efficiency, personalization, and guest lifetime value.
2. Dailypoint
Dailypoint is a leading CRM that collects data from your PMS, POS, website, and newsletters to create rich guest profiles. This enables hotels to build stronger relationships and deliver more relevant, personalized experiences.
3. Mailchimp
Mailchimp combines CRM functionality with powerful email marketing tools. Manage contacts, nurture guest relationships, and drive sales using its built-in engagement features and automation capabilities.
4. Salesforce
Salesforce lets you use your guest data to its fullest potential, maximizing your sales and marketing efforts. With a two-way connection between your PMS and Salesforce CRM, growing revenue and improving the guest experience is easier than ever. In fact, you can read about Mews for Salesforce here.
5. Revinate
Revinate combines CRM and email marketing with guest surveys and reputation management tools. It's designed specifically for the hospitality industry and helps hotels build deeper, more meaningful guest relationships.
6. SHR CRM
SHR CRM helps you manage guest engagement and revenue in a single platform. With tools to personalize interactions and understand guest preferences, it supports loyalty-building efforts and helps keep your hotel competitive.
7. HiveTech
HiveTech centralizes customer activity to streamline CRM management. It enables hotels to optimize and automate the entire guest experience from a single platform, improving consistency and efficiency.
8. HotelAppz
Designed for hotel marketing teams, HotelAppz lets you automate guest communications while keeping them personalized. It saves time and resources while still delivering a tailored experience to each guest.
9. Amadeus GMS
Amadeus GMS is more than a CRM-it also supports email marketing, guest communication, and loyalty program management, giving hotels a comprehensive tool for guest engagement.
10. GuestDriver
GuestDriver focuses on enhancing the guest experience while uncovering key behavior data. Use it to improve segmentation, optimize marketing and sales campaigns, and manage leads through to conversion.
11. Additive+
Additive+ collects data from sources like your PMS, website, newsletters, ads, and social media to build guest profiles and measure key metrics. It supports automated segmentation and personalized one-on-one communication with both guests and leads.
12. Bookboost
Bookboost helps drive revenue and guest loyalty by streamlining operations and enhancing your marketing efforts. Leverage guest data to improve segmentation, personalization, and automation across your outreach.
13. Experience Hotel
Experience Hotel CRM allows you to manage the full guest journey. Collect and segment guest data, personalize interactions, manage social media publishing, and create loyalty-focused email campaigns-all from one platform.
14. HubSpot
HubSpot integrates seamlessly with PMS systems, enabling you to sync guest profiles, reservations, and communications. It provides a unified view of each guest and supports marketing automation and personalization.
15. Hapi
Hapi helps hotels improve operational efficiency and guest targeting by unifying data into centralized guest profiles. With enhanced personalization and marketing precision, it creates new opportunities to drive revenue.
Can Mews PMS integrate with your CRM?
Mews offers more than 1,000 integrations - including many of the leading hotel CRMs - with no connection fees. That means you can easily connect your PMS to the CRM of your choice to centralize guest data, streamline communication and drive stronger engagement.
And if you work with a developer or a tech partner that doesn't yet have an integration with Mews, the Mews Open API offers the flexibility to build custom connections and tailor your setup even further.
Conclusion
Every hotel wants happy guests who come back - and bring others with them. A CRM is one of the most powerful tools to help make that happen. From improving sales and marketing to elevating the guest experience, the benefits of using a CRM are hard to ignore.
For hotels that want to grow, adapt and stay ahead in a competitive market, adopting a CRM isn't just a smart move - it's a must.
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