HOW DIGITALIZATION IS REVOLUTIONIZING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CUSTOMERS AND SERVICE PROVIDERS IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY: PERSONALIZATION AND GAMIFICATION

The hospitality industry is changing. What has been an industry dominated by personal connections, messaging strategy, and selling destinations and travel packages is shifting toward an industry where companies have unique relationships with every consumer. Those relationships are, for the first time, primarily digital, and they depend on two key features: they must be deeply personalized to each prospective guest or client, and they must be intrinsically rewarding-that is, fun on their own terms, not just because they end in a booked room or a pleasant dinner. Personalization and gamification are thus two of the most important trends in tourism today, and together they represent the current version of digitalization. In this article, key examples are reviewed with respect to current trends in multiple sectors of hospitality, and limited predictions are offered about the industry's likely future directions.