Marketing Personalization Strategy for Customers at Swiss-Belcourt Kupang Hotel

Abstract

This study aims to examine the form and implementation of marketing personalization strategies at Swiss-Belcourt Kupang Hotel, their effects on customer experience and satisfaction, and the challenges and opportunities associated with their implementation. This study employed a qualitative approach with a phenomenological method. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, participatory observation, and documentation involving 13 purposively selected informants, including the General Manager, front office staff, marketing staff, and 10 hotel guests. The findings indicate that marketing personalization is implemented through four main processes: identifying customer needs and preferences from the check-in stage, establishing effective two-way communication through direct and digital channels, providing structured staff training based on Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and utilizing customer data from reservation systems and direct interactions. These practices positively influence customer experience, satisfaction, and loyalty. This study contributes to the service marketing literature by demonstrating that, in the context of a hotel in Eastern Indonesia, effective personalization can be developed through consistent interpersonal interaction rather than sophisticated digital technology, thereby offering an alternative perspective to the dominant technology-centric personalization literature. The findings provide strategic guidance for hotel management to improve service consistency, optimize customer data utilization, and strengthen staff training programs in order to create more personalized and memorable guest experiences. This study is limited to a single qualitative case study at Swiss-Belcourt Kupang Hotel; therefore, the findings cannot be generalized to all hotels. In addition, the organizational homogeneity of the informants may restrict the diversity of perspectives obtained.