What Is CRM? Guest Data for Hotels Explained

Guests who have stayed before are more likely to return if they feel remembered: the room with the lake view, the birthday cake, being greeted by name at reception. CRM exists so that this does not depend on the memory of individual staff.

What CRM means for hotels

CRM stands for customer relationship management. It means two things: an attitude of seeing guests as a long-term relationship, and the software that supports it. A CRM brings together what a hotel knows about its guests and makes it usable for preparation, service and marketing.

What data it includes

Typical data includes contact details, previous stays and spending, preferred rooms, allergies or dietary requirements, occasions such as birthdays or anniversaries, and the preferred booking channel. The key is to store only what genuinely benefits the guest and the hotel.

Much of this data is already held in the PMS guest profiles. A separate CRM is worthwhile mainly when a hotel wants to combine several systems, group guests into segments and plan campaigns. In a HotelTechReport survey of around 450 hotel professionals, 44 per cent named integrations with CRM and guest marketing as a priority when choosing their PMS.¹

What hotels use CRM for

Before arrival: asking about wishes, offering extras, preparing the room accordingly.

During the stay: recognising regular guests and greeting them personally, taking known preferences into account.

After departure: saying thank you, asking for a review and inviting past guests to book again with suitable offers, ideally direct.

What the law says in Germany

In Germany, email marketing generally requires consent. Section 7(3) of the Unfair Competition Act (UWG) makes an exception for existing customers. It only applies if all four conditions are met: the hotel obtained the email address from the guest in connection with the sale of a service, it only promotes its own similar services, the guest has not objected, and the guest is clearly informed, when the address is collected and in every email, that they can object at any time.²

The rules of the General Data Protection Regulation also apply. What counts as a “similar service” depends on the individual case. When in doubt, explicit consent, for example at the time of booking, is the safer route. This entry is not legal advice.

What hoteliers should look for

More in the magazine

The software that manages a hotel’s guest profiles is explained in the glossary entry "What Is a Hotel PMS?". Why many businesses have data but do not look at it is the subject of our article "Digitalised – and still flying blind?". How COOEE alpin turns guests into investors and builds long-term ties with them is shown in "COOEE alpin is funding its expansion with money from its guests".