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Rarely, if ever, has the current peak hospitality season been more welcome for venues than it is this year. After a year defined by cost-of-living pressures and softened consumer spending, restaurants, bars, hotel F&B establishments, and cafes are eager to take advantage of the inevitable spike in spending that summer brings. While it is indeed an essential time to tap into the increased demand, the value of peak season isn’t just as a short-term revenue sprint, but as an investment in the long term.

Savvy, proactive venues are of course tapping into the short-term demand today, but they are also collecting the approved guest data they need to guide their marketing, guest experience, and growth strategies for 2024. For them, collecting data is just as important as compiling reservations during peak season. By many estimations, data has surpassed oil as the world’s most valuable commodity, because it allows businesses to improve customer experience and, therefore, increase revenue.

That’s certainly the case in the hospitality industry. SevenRooms research reveals almost half (43%) of Aussies would be willing to proactively share their data in exchange for enhanced customer experiences. But how should venues collect data during peak season, without losing sight of the immediate opportunities? How should they use it? And what are the benefits?

Direct reservations and approved data

For any venue using direct booking channels like, for example, their website – rather than a third-party marketplace – collecting approved guest data is automated. When a guest makes a direct reservation, places an order online, or uses a QR code to order or pay, venues can automatically collect and store data like the frequency of their visits and common orders, anniversaries, and even allergies. Collecting this data now can lay the foundation for long-term success tomorrow.

Through automated direct booking platforms, venues can simultaneously focus on customer acquisition and – through data collection – customer retention. Third-party marketplaces have large audiences, but the platform rather than the venue ‘owns’ the data and the relationship with the customer. When venues have owned channels like a website or social media, they can use that to collect data that enables them to build direct relationships, improve the guest experience and optimise their revenue.

Crucially, though, data should not be collected without the express permission of the individual, and they must be able to easily ‘opt-out’ at a later date.

Turning data into dollars

Today, consumers want personalised and meaningful experiences. According to SevenRooms research, two in three (68%) Australians are focused more on the quality than the quantity of their dining experiences due to economic pressures. Through data, venues can understand their unique habits and preferences – and therefore, what they need to do to improve their guest experience and incentivise loyalty and revenue. In a competitive market, and against the backdrop of economic pressures, effectively using data could allow venues to establish an advantage.

Through data, venues can segment their guests based on unique habits and traits. For example, a restaurant can segment guests who are heavy spenders or regulars, guests who are shellfish lovers (plus, essentially, those who are allergic), and those who are wine connoisseurs. With this data – collected during peak season – venues can optimise their emails to ensure that they send the right messages to the right people and entice them to make reservations, all year round.

For example, if a guest who places a reservation during peak season includes their date of birth, a venue can send them a tailored offer or message on their birthday, to incentivise them to make a booking. Special touches like these help venues stand out. Through guest experience platforms like SevenRooms, operators can collect approved data, and turn it into personalised marketing and memorable experiences that incentivise loyalty and drive revenue.

Data can be used to enhance operations, not just experiences. Through data, operators can optimise seating plans and turn times, so their venue is at capacity as often as possible. For example, if a restaurant has two-hour reservation slots, but according to their data the average guest needs only one hour ten minutes, they can change their reservation slots to 90 minutes. That increases their capacity, and therefore the opportunity to improve revenue.

Data can also allow operators to understand their most effective booking channels, manage their inventory to reduce food waste, and even optimise their rostering, based on their actual reservations, rather than intuition. Every dollar matters, and through data, venues can optimise their operation which allows them to boost incremental revenue all year round.

For all the undeniable excitement and importance placed on peak season, venues shouldn’t simply treat it as a short-term opportunity. Instead, if venues can collect approved guest data now, they can use it to devise the marketing and guest experience strategies that will allow them to build relationships, incentivise loyalty and boost revenue throughout the year ahead.