More than just offering products or services, successful hotels are curating personalized experiences. Through mobile apps, guests can access in-app purchases, personalized offers, and tailored promotions that drive revenue. For example, hotels that have implemented mobile dining apps have reported a 40-50% increase in food and beverage revenue, proving that retail-inspired, on-demand solutions work.
Data-Driven Personalization Drives Loyalty
In the digital age, personalization is the secret sauce to increasing guest satisfaction and driving revenue. By utilizing both first-party and third-party data, hotels can tailor services and offers to individual guest preferences, ensuring a more personalized and memorable stay. This is especially effective in catering to different guest types, such as business travelers versus vacationing families.
Take the example of a Phunware customer, a luxury Caribbean resort. By using a seamless digital interface that offered personalized experiences and promotions, the resort saw a 39x return on investment. Personalized offers powered by the app not only drive guest engagement but also significantly increase on-premises spending
Maximizing Ancillary Revenue with Digital Solutions
Mobile apps are proving to be a game-changer for increasing ancillary revenue in hospitality. By enabling direct, personalized communication with guests, hotels can seamlessly upsell additional services and experiences at the point of discovery. A significant percentage of hotel guests are more likely to spend more when they can use a mobile app to streamline their experience. According to research, nearly 48% of hotel guests said they would be more likely to visit the hotel restaurant if they could order via the app.
Personalized push notifications and in-app recommendations are particularly effective in driving revenue. For instance, a Caribbean resort saw a 225% increase in app-generated revenue from 2022 to 2024, largely due to targeted marketing efforts that encouraged guests to book in-app services and experiences.
The Future of Hospitality is Personalized and Digital
As technology continues to evolve, hotels that fail to embrace personalized, easy-to-use digital experiences are leaving money on the table. The future of hospitality lies in delivering seamless, retail-like guest experiences that anticipate needs, remove friction, and encourage increased spending. The bottom line? Personalization isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a must-have for staying competitive and boosting revenue.
About Mike Snavely
Mike Snavely is the CEO of Phunware, a leading mobile technology company helping brands deliver personalized mobile experiences. He has held key leadership roles in various tech companies and holds a BA from the College of Wooster and a J.D. from The Ohio State University.
