The topic of the week has me grinding my teeth a little. It’s the sheer hypocrisy flowing from revenue leaders, that constant, breathless sermon about “Personalization! The customer craves unique experiences!” I read about it, listen to the evangelical fervor, and then, without fail, the very next tactic is dedicated to pushing packages. The contradiction is so blatant it’s almost insulting.
Let’s not mince words. A package, by its very design, is the absolute antithesis of personalization. It’s a pre-set menu. It’s someone else’s rigid, often lazy, idea of what I, the customer, should want—a generic bundle conceived to simplify pricing and fill inventory gaps. It is a blunt commercial instrument used to herd customers, not serve them. There is simply nothing personal about a spreadsheet-driven bundle.
True personalization, the kind that aligns with the promised high-touch service, isn’t about us guessing what they want. It’s about empowerment. It’s the digital shopping cart experience, a true à la carte approach where every product and service—a specific room upgrade, a custom dining reservation, an individualized local activity—is available for the customer to build their own stay. The tech is there to facilitate this flawless digital build-your-own model. That is personalization.
It speaks to a frustrating lack of visionary courage, a failure of strategic thinking in our industry. We have the technology to deliver a truly customer-centric experience, yet we cling to the comfort of the easily marketed package. We talk eloquently about the art of hospitality, but then we treat the guest like a statistical unit that needs to be bundled up neatly. The willingness to move beyond the easy, analog solution—to embrace genuine, self-directed choice—is missing. Packages serve the house, but only true personalization serves the guest. The confusion persists because the bold thinking required to execute the latter is still lagging.
Life is so tech. No need to take it personally.
Mark Fancourt
