Dive Brief:

• IHG Hotels & Resorts is standardizing its CRM on Salesforce’s Einstein 1 platform, unifying its customer profiles across its 19 global hotel brands, the company announced last week.
• The hotel’s comprehensive customer data set enables better customer service through more personalized responses, according to Mark Shepherd, VP of loyalty program management at IHG Hotels & Resorts.
• IHG will also work with Salesforce and other technology partners to lay the foundation for generative AI initiatives, the company said.

Dive Insight:

A single, standardized CRM platform will let IHG understand its customers on a deeper level, according to Shepherd.

“Doing this will also allow IHG to provide a more personalized experience to its customers, as it will have access to a more comprehensive set of data about them,” Shepherd said in an email to CX Dive.

The company can now offer hotel and destination recommendations based on customers’ specific interests, according to Shepherd. It plans to create personalized promotions and discounts based on past behavior and preferences.

Part of the change is allowing customers to choose their preferred communication channel, whether email, SMS or push notifications, IHG said.