At a time when hotel profitability is about more than just the occupancy rate, TRevPar (Total Revenue per Available Room) is becoming a key indicator. It is no longer just a question of filling rooms, but of optimising the revenue generated by each customer throughout their stay.
To achieve this, customer knowledge is an essential lever, and its implementation requires a fine-tuned, intelligent segmentation strategy. But you still need the right tools to exploit it. Here’s how a well-segmented customer base can transform the economic performance of a hotel establishment.
Understanding the TRevPar : a broader, more demanding indicator
More than just an occupancy rate
TRevPar differs from traditional RevPar (Revenue per Available Room) in that it includes all the revenue generated per available room, including ancillary sales: restaurants, spas, extras, boutiques, etc. It is therefore a more comprehensive indicator, reflecting a hotel’s ability to monetise the customer experience. It is therefore a more comprehensive indicator, reflecting a hotel’s ability to monetise the customer experience.
Why is it becoming central?
With rising acquisition costs, volatile booking channels and increased competition, hotels need to find new internal growth drivers. Getting the most out of each customer by enhancing their experience is becoming a key strategy. Above all, this requires a more precise grasp of customer data.
The customer database : a treasure trove that is often under-exploited
Data present... but dormant
Between the PMS, reservation channels, check-ins, payments and satisfaction surveys, a hotel collects a wealth of information from the very first stay. Room type, frequency, average basket, ancillary products purchased, origin of stay, repeat guest status, etc. This data exists, but is often fragmented, not very well enhanced, and rarely used by the hotel for commercial or relationship development purposes.
The risk of uniformity
Without segmentation, every customer receives the same message, whatever their profile. The same communication, offer or reminder. This leads to ineffective campaigns, missed opportunities and a less-than-personalised experience. Worse still, it makes it impossible to prioritise high-potential actions and customers.
Segmentation: cutting intelligently to act more effectively
What criteria are really useful ?
Relevant segmentation is not based solely on geography or frequency of stay. It must cross-reference several behavioural and transactional variables. Here are the most useful criteria for your hotel:
- Type of room booked
- Number of stays / loyalty
- Amount of upsells
- Booking channel
- Type of stay (business, leisure, family, etc.)
- Reactivity to previous marketing campaigns
- Level of satisfaction expressed
- Language or geographical origin
The benefits of a hybrid system: pre-designed + customisation
Each hotel operates according to industry standards, but remains unique in its management and identity. A good segmentation system should therefore offer :
- Ready-to-use, pre-configured segments (rate code, repeat customer, high average basket, etc.)
- The possibility of creating your own personalised segments based on the specific characteristics of the establishment: customers who are ‘spa users’, who come with a ‘pet’ or a ‘wine lover’, etc.
Acting according to segments : the key to performance
Targeted additional sales
Once the segments have been identified, the hotel can activate specific campaigns tailored to the customer’s profile. For example:
- A “family with children” guest may receive a “free breakfast for under-12s” offer.
- A “premium solo” guest could be targeted for an upgrade or a spa treatment.
- A “business” customer could receive an “early check-in + free workroom” offer.
More effective relaunches and reactivations
Segmentation allows you to adapt your messages and set up automated processes: a reminder after 6 months without a stay, an anniversary offer, or a simple re-engagement message. We are moving from a mass approach to a targeted, personalised and automated approach.
Better experience = more revenue
The personalisation offered by segmentation is not just a commercial lever. It’s also a source of customer delight. By showing that we know their habits and anticipate their needs, we increase satisfaction… and sales. A well-targeted customer is also a customer who is more inclined to buy.
What a specialised CRM can do : make segmentation really usable
All the benefits mentioned above only hold if the hotelier has the right tools to activate them. And that’s where a specialist CRM like Experience makes all the difference.
Centralising and enhancing data
Experience unifies all sources of customer data in a single database. It detects duplicates, automatically enriches profiles and updates information in real time. No need to manipulate multiple files or manually import lists.
Ready-to-use, customisable segments
The CRM offers customer segments that can be used straight out of the box, while giving hoteliers the freedom to create their own tailor-made categories. This flexibility is essential for adapting to each type of establishment and objective.
Automated, customisable or manual campaigns
Once the segments have been defined, the hotel can create campaigns that are :
- Fully automated (e.g. post-stay reminder on D+3)
- Personalised according to segments (e.g. special ‘luxury client’ offer at Christmas)
- Manual for one-off mailings (newsletter, events, flash offers, etc.)
Income-oriented actions
Additional sales, customer follow-ups, satisfaction surveys, automatic recommendations: every action generated by CRM is geared towards the customer experience, but also towards profitability.
Building loyalty : the fruit of good segmentation and a powerful lever for TRevPAR
Loyalty is not a segment in its own right, but rather the culmination of a well-constructed strategy: fine-tuned segmentation, personalised actions and careful customer relations.
Loyal customers : more profitable, more regular
Beyond the traditional behavioural or transactional segments, loyalty is a strategic lever in its own right. A loyal customer, whether a member of a loyalty programme or simply a regular customer, behaves very differently from a one-off customer.
According to a study by the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research (The Impact of Loyalty Programs on Hotel Guest Behavior, 2017) :
- Members of a loyalty programme have a TRevPar between 8% and 20% higher.
- They book more frequently directly, which reduces distribution costs.
- They use more ancillary services : room service, catering, spa, etc.
Segment to build loyalty... and monetise
Identifying loyal customers, high-potential repeat customers, or even those who show signs of emerging loyalty (repeated stays, good satisfaction, high additional consumption) enables us to put in place :
- Specific relational campaigns (thanks, recognition, early access to offers)
- Personalised benefits (upgrades, welcome gifts, exclusive experiences)
- Intelligent reactivation actions (special offers after a long absence, for example).
In short, loyalty is not a separate subject. It’s a customer segment that needs to be activated intelligently, because it accounts for a major share of potential TRevPar. And with the right CRM, like Experience, this segment is not only detectable… it’s also exploitable.
Conclusion : customer segmentation, the hidden lever of TRevPar
In the increasingly competitive hotel sector, every euro of revenue counts.
Implementing a fine-tuned, dynamic segmentation system that can be activated transforms a simple database into an engine for generating additional revenue. And it also means improving the perceived experience, building loyalty over the long term, and making every interaction more relevant.
A specialised CRM like Experience enables this approach to be structured from the outset. It makes life easier for teams, automates campaigns, identifies the best revenue opportunities, and transforms every customer into a source of added value.
Segmentation is not advanced marketing. It’s the basis of a modern, profitable and sustainable hotel strategy.
