Challenge
Getting access to a reliable data stream
The strategic goal of one of our clients is to promote tourism within a specific region. To help maximize room occupancy for the many businesses that own and run tourist accommodations located in that region, our client needs a reliable stream of quality controlled and up-to-date data on room occupancy throughout the year.
As provider of a public service, our client does not want to be dependent on the goodwill of accommodation owners. Therefore, our client wants to convince the accommodation owners of the added value a cooperation can produce. This added value can be created by setting up transparent communication towards accommodation owners and providing clear information that helps them run their businesses better.
Approach
Making data relevant for business
Because we sensed that it would take time to build trust in the communication process between our client and the accommodation owners, we opted for a step-by-step approach in which we defined well-scoped projects in close cooperation with our client. The main purpose of these projects was not just to demonstrate the value to all stakeholders, but to enthuse them in the first place. These projects convinced the accommodation owners and stimulated them to start delivering daily data on room occupancy. In time, this even created a demand from these business owners to extend daily communications with additional metrics on customer satisfaction that help them understand how to improve and deliver better services.
The newly available data stream enabled us to focus on our single most important task: designing a fit for purpose Business Intelligence solution that can meet evolving requirements over time. A clear understanding of both the operational needs of the accommodation owners and our clients’ strategic objectives and data quality concerns, helped us to outline a solution which was entirely focused on delivering a reliable data stream and making it more relevant for business.
Built on a central data hub using Pentaho CE open source technology, the BI solution that we developed includes an easy-to-read dashboard which uncovers the information contained in the daily stream of data obtained from accommodation owners. Every individual business owner can easily consult a personalized version of this dashboard through an account with the portal. Providing accommodation owners with daily updates, they can download these updates as custom PDF reports.
Impact
daily Delivery of up to 1.300 custom reports to help accommodation owners run their business better
The personal reports proved to be a real hit with business owners. Benchmarking their accommodation’s room occupancy against similar accommodations in the same region, provides them with insights on where they stand compared to their competitors.
And precisely because this information proved to be very valuable for them, a series of follow-up projects were defined to enrich the dashboard with additional data. One of these projects focused on adding information related to customer satisfaction. By linking customer satisfaction to room occupancy, a set of actionable data becomes available that helps business owners understand what needs to be done to run their business better.