Barcelo Viajes uses IBM Big Data and analytics solutions to better know its clients

With Big Data analytics tools, travel providers can discover which customer behavioral patterns directly impact their business

News provided by

IBM

Oct 22, 2013, 09:00 ET

MADRID, Oct. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that it has worked with Barcelo Viajes, a leading Spanish travel company, to help them create a more competitive business model through laying the foundations for a predictive personalized offerings for its customers using Big Data and analytics technology. By analyzing historical data such as destination, date and time of purchase, price, duration of the trip or type of service that has been purchased the hospitality company will be able to build more individualized offers tailored to their interests and travel history.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO )

The Group Barcelo was established in Palma de Mallorca (Spain) over 80 years ago, is one of the leading travel companies in the Spanish market and one of the most important in the world. Through its hotel division and its business travel division, it has more than 140 hotels in 17 countries and more than 400 travel agencies in 22 countries.

Barcelo Viajes has been able to build a social profile of its customers through the identification and analysis of purchase history and to increase the ROI of their campaigns, with a better match the promotions to the preferences and tastes of the traveller. This analysis has also helped improve the usability of the company's website, resulting in better customer satisfaction at the point of purchase.

"We are very satisfied with the consultancy work led by IBM. Thanks to this, Barcelo Viajes's ability to create personalized offers for our customers in today's competitive travel market has improved dramatically through insights gained from predictive analytics of a vast array of customer data," said Mar Munoz, head of eCommerce at Barcelo Viajes.

"Insight in Big Data can be of great value to the tourism industry, helping to customize offerings according to the tastes, preferences or previous experiences of their clients. Barcelo Viajes has laid the foundation to provide customers with an exceptional experience at every stage of the journey," said Carlos Creus, Travel Consultant, IBM Spain.

The first phase of this program analyzed the historical data of all purchases that customers made over a period of time, both through its website and in the Barcelo Viajes travel agencies. With the SPSS predictive analytics solution, the company gained insight on the relationships between such seemingly disparate issues as the price, the time of purchase, the physical agency to which the traveller attended, the time in advance of the purchase, the contracted services or the way the client came to the Barcelo Viajes website.

Then, it was possible to pinpoint customer's behaviours and purchase patterns that had a direct impact on Barcelo Viajes sales. For example, the profile of the travellers depending on when they travel and which services they demand, the behaviour and the loyalty of the customers who make their reservations with Barcelo Viajes and how many days in advance they have contracted their journey, are issues that can decisively influence in Barcelo Viajes business.

About IBM and Big Data Analytics

Each day we create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data generated by a variety of sources -- from climate information, to posts on social media sites, and from purchase transaction records to healthcare medical images. At IBM we believe that Big Data and analytics are a catalyst to help clients become more competitive and drive growth. IBM is helping clients harness this Big Data to uncover valuable insights, and transform their business. IBM has established the world's deepest and broadest portfolio of Big Data technologies and solutions, spanning services, software, research and hardware. For more information about IBM and Big Data and analytics, visit http://www.ibmbigdatahub.com Follow IBM and Big Data on Twitter @IBMbigdata and #ibmbigdata.

Contacts

Sara Delekta Galligan
IBM Media Relations
[email protected]
415-545-6715

David Herrera Cerezo
IBM Media Relations, Spain
(34) 91 3977006
[email protected]

SOURCE IBM