A new white paper produced by SOCAP International, the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals, describes how Big Data is transforming the Hospitality, Travel and Tourism (HTT) sector and, in the process, creating unprecedented challenges and opportunities for customer care professionals.
The white paper is written to help SOCAP members—customer care executives at leading brand name companies—identify the issues, see the possibilities, and parse the options in advancing a game changing Big Data agenda.

“Now Arriving:  Big Data in the Hospitality, Travel and Tourism Sector” delves into the HTT paradigm shift and the contribution of Big Data to company competitiveness.  Much of this shift involves the increasing use of personalization to move from simple commercial transactions to robust customer interactions based on holistic views of relevant data and the ability to anticipate changing customer needs.  Big Data also poses big organizational challenges to HTT companies, so the white paper discusses the steps necessary for leveraging this technology.

“The importance of customer experience to the future of business cannot be overstated,” said SOCAP President and CEO Matthew D’Uva.  “Whether it’s traveling around the corner or around the world, Hospitality, Travel and Tourism companies will play an ever larger role in shaping this activity, and they will use Big Data to do it better and smarter.  Our members will be working to assure that this happens in the ways that truly reflect both the vision of their companies and the voice of their customers.”

D’Uva said the white paper is one of many initiatives SOCAP will be undertaking to educate its members about Big Data, including webcasts, conference sessions and additional white papers.