Personalization was supposed to save hotel loyalty programs

Instead, it’s exposing the gaps in data, tech, and strategy that leave guests unimpressed

Airlines and hotels love to talk about personalization. Guests want it, loyalty programs promise it, and executives rank it as their top priority. But when it comes to actually delivering those tailored, data-driven experiences at scale, most companies are stuck.

A new Forrester study commissioned by Mastercard shows just how wide the gap really is: Hotels and airlines are swimming in forecasts and booking data but starving for real guest insight. Missing skills, clunky tech, and weak analytics are eroding loyalty, stalling growth, and killing innovation. The kicker? Third-party partners may be the missing piece to finally turn personalization from a buzzword into actual revenue.

Key takeaways

• Personalization gap: 64% of travel leaders admit they don’t have the data or tech to pull off true digital personalization — and loyalty is slipping because of it.
• Top priorities vs. reality: Improving guest experience (83%) and winning new customers (82%) top the list, but both remain hard to achieve with current capabilities.
• Stuck in old habits: Most firms lean on forecasting and booking data, while barely using voice-of-the-customer or competitor insights to adapt.
• The fallout: Poor personalization shows up as weaker loyalty (52%), more indirect bookings (48%), and lower marketing ROI (43%).
• Missed experiments: Only 18% of companies test new ideas in the real world, leaving a huge innovation gap.
• Why partners matter: Travel leaders expect third-party solutions to unlock new revenue streams (69%), boost AI capabilities (68%), and finally scale personalization (66%).
• Regional twists: North America feels the personalization squeeze most, Latin America struggles with ROI, and Asia Pacific battles OTA threats and package bundling.

Download the report at Mastercard