A regular nobody recognises
One guest eats at your flagship every month, brings a group to a second site for birthdays and has lunch at a third near her office. To the group she is three separate records: one in each site's booking system account, one in the wifi sign-in list and one on the email list she joined years ago. None of the sites knows she is a regular elsewhere. When marketing sends the new menu email, she gets it twice, and the offer is for a site she never visits.
Ask marketing who the group's hundred most valuable guests are, and they cannot tell you. Ask a GM, and they can name a few faces from their own site, but they have no idea those same people also spend at the other restaurants. When one of those regulars stops coming, nobody notices, because nobody was counting her visits in the first place. The first sign is usually a quiet month that nobody can explain.
Why guest data is split
- Sites may have separate booking system accounts, especially after acquisitions.
- Wifi sign-in, email sign-up, gift vouchers and delivery each collect details separately.
- The same person uses different email addresses or phone numbers.
- Consent to marketing is recorded differently in each system, or not at all.
- Nobody owns guest data as a group asset.
What split data costs you
Marketing sends generic messages to everyone because it cannot target. Loyal guests are not recognised, and those who drift away are not noticed. Duplicate emails annoy people and lead to unsubscribes. Unclear consent records are a data protection concern the group should take seriously. And the group has no view of which sites share guests, which matters for new openings and promotions.
How we build one guest view
How you use guest data, and on what lawful basis, is for your group and its data protection adviser to decide. We build the system that keeps it tidy and keeps consent attached to each person.
- We read guest records from each booking system, wifi sign-in, email platform, voucher shop and other sources you choose.
- Records are matched using email, phone and name, with uncertain matches queued for a person rather than merged automatically.
- Each guest has one profile with visit history by site, party sizes, spend where available and notes such as dietary preferences staff recorded.
- Consent is stored per channel with where and when it was given, and the most recent withdrawal always wins.
- Segments, such as guests who visited two or more sites or regulars who have not been back for a while, are sent to your email platform.
- GMs can see, with permission, that a guest booking tonight is a regular at another site.
| Source | What it adds |
|---|---|
| Booking systems | Visits, party sizes, notes by site |
| Wifi sign-in | Visits without a booking |
| Email platform | Consent and engagement |
| Voucher shop | Gift buyers and recipients |
What marketing and the sites see
Marketing sees one list of real people with their visit history and consent, and sends each guest one email about the sites they actually use. GMs recognise regulars of the group when they book. Guests who have stopped visiting can be invited back. The group can see how many guests visit more than one site, which helps with decisions about where to open next.
Is your guest data like this?
- Each site has its own booking account or guest list.
- Guests receive duplicate marketing emails.
- Nobody can list the group's most regular guests.
- Consent is recorded differently in each system.
- Wifi sign-in data is never used.