Data analytics dilemma at Alpen Hotel

Data analytics is currently the buzzword for the hospitality industry to stay ahead of their competitors. Service providers use data analytics to ensure their brand remains relevant for customers. Using data analytics in customer relationship management is a relatively novel initiative for the hospitality industry to enhance the efforts of customer relationship management. Obtaining customers’ data (i.e. customers’ hotel stay and preferences) provides both opportunity and challenges for the hospitality industry. Data analytics helps the hospitality industry to quickly, effectively, and efficiently pursue data-driven decision-making. At the same time, acquiring relevant customers’ data is a challenge, for example, data privacy and confidentiality. This case study is based on Alpen Hotel (pseudonym), a luxury hotel in Singapore with a good standing in the hospitality industry. This case is focused on the issues they experienced in implementing data analytics as part of the hotel’s customer relationship management efforts. This case study aims to highlight data analytics dilemma at the hotel and may create an opportunity for hospitality educators to work interdisciplinary with faculties from an information systems or technology discipline. Finally, the case study may enhance knowledge and minimise the practice gap between industry and academia.