Meet the Expert: Sarah Taufik, Data Science Lead, Crescent Hotels

Sarah Taufik has spent seven years building data products for hotel brands that mainly serve business travelers from the Middle East and Asia. Every year, her team works closely with marketing to optimize conversions during Ramadan—a peak season for many corporate guests. Sarah walks us through the first steps and quick wins for entry-level data scientists stepping into cross-channel analytics, with Ramadan campaigns as the proving ground.

Q1: First things first—what exactly is cross-channel analytics, and why does it matter for hotels targeting business travelers during Ramadan?

Sarah Taufik:
Imagine your hotel is throwing a party, but half your guests come in through the front door, a third sneak in through a side entrance, and the rest show up via the kitchen. Cross-channel analytics is how you figure out who’s coming from where, what made them come, and why they stayed. In hotel marketing—especially around Ramadan, when corporate travel spikes—you’re running campaigns through email, social ads, OTAs (Online Travel Agencies), your mobile app, even WhatsApp.

If you only look at bookings from your own website, you’ll miss the full picture. During Ramadan, we see that 48% of bookings come through indirect channels like OTAs or business travel platforms (according to a 2024 Skift Research Study). But many guests also interact with your brand elsewhere before booking—maybe seeing a promo on LinkedIn, then signing up for your Ramadan Suhoor buffet via email, and finally reserving rooms through the Amadeus GDS (Global Distribution System). Cross-channel analytics helps you connect these dots.

Q2: What are the must-have prerequisites before jumping into cross-channel analytics?

Sarah:
You wouldn’t start cooking without your ingredients lined up. For cross-channel analytics, start with clean, connected data.

Here’s your starter checklist:

• Define ‘channels’ clearly:
  For a business hotel, your main channels might be direct website, mobile app, OTAs like Booking.com, business booking tools (like SAP Concur), and even WhatsApp if you use it for reservations.

• Centralize your data:
  Use a customer data platform (CDP) or even a simple cloud spreadsheet at first. Pull in marketing campaign data, website analytics, and booking reports in one place.

• Standardize IDs:
  Try to have one unique identifier for each guest where possible (an email, loyalty number, or corporate ID). This reduces headaches later!

• Get marketing on board:
  You need access to campaign calendars, promo codes, and creative assets. During Ramadan, for instance, you’ll want to track which email subject lines or images get more bookings.

• Set up basic tracking:
  At minimum, use Google Analytics and UTM codes on URLs. For app and WhatsApp channels, hotel CRM tools like Revinate or Salesforce can help track interactions.

Q3: Many beginners feel overwhelmed at this stage. What’s a quick win you recommend to build momentum?

Sarah:
Absolutely—start simple. One easy win is to track which Ramadan offers perform best per channel.

Let me share how a junior analyst on my team, Amir, spotted a golden opportunity last year. He noticed that Ramadan corporate group bookings from one OTA dipped by 15% compared to email-driven bookings. By building a quick dashboard in Google Sheets with daily counts from each channel, we realized that the OTA was using outdated imagery, while the email campaign had fresh, family-style suhoor visuals. Once marketing swapped the OTA assets, OTA bookings rebounded by 9% in a week. Sometimes the smallest insights drive big results!

Here’s the step-by-step:

Q4: What hotel-specific data points should entry-level data scientists focus on early?

Sarah:
Hotels are unique because the same guest might engage across platforms before booking. For Ramadan, pay special attention to:

• Booking lead time:
  Are business travelers booking earlier for Ramadan meetings and events? Pull this metric per channel.

• Ancillary revenue:
  Track not just room bookings, but also if guests add on Ramadan iftar, meeting rooms, or airport transfers. Often, WhatsApp is huge for add-ons.

• Corporate codes usage:
  Many companies use special Ramadan promo codes. Monitor usage by channel; you might find LinkedIn ads drive more code redemptions than your email list.

• Repeat guest flag:
  Are the same companies or bookers returning each Ramadan? Segment by loyalty ID or corporate account.

Here’s a quick example:

In April 2023, Crescent Hotels tracked a 28% spike in conference room rentals booked through mobile during Ramadan, compared to non-Ramadan months. The key? A WhatsApp campaign targeting travel coordinators at multinational companies.

Q5: What’s one data pitfall beginners should avoid during Ramadan campaigns?

Sarah:
Great question—don’t let “last-click attribution” trick you. That’s when you give all the credit for a booking to the channel where it happened (say, an OTA), ignoring the guest’s earlier interactions (like clicking your Ramadan LinkedIn ad or reading your WhatsApp reminder).

During Ramadan, business travelers often start by researching on a company’s internal booking tool, then check out reviews on TripAdvisor, and only later click through an email to book a special iftar meeting package. If you only count the last channel, you miss out on what’s actually influencing people.

To sidestep this, at least try a “first-touch vs. last-touch” comparison. It’s like seeing who invited a guest to the party, versus who handed them a drink at the door. Both matter!

Q6: Can you give an example where cross-channel analytics directly improved a Ramadan marketing campaign?

Sarah:
Definitely. The 2022 Ramadan campaign was a turning point for us. We noticed that our LinkedIn sponsored posts, which targeted travel managers at large companies, had high click rates—but bookings lagged.

We dug into cross-channel paths and saw that those who clicked LinkedIn ads often returned via Google search or a direct email a few days later. By joining these data points, we built a retargeting email sequence specifically for LinkedIn ad clickers, featuring Ramadan meeting packages and free airport shuttles. Conversion for these guests jumped from 2% to 11% in just four weeks.

Here’s what our analysis looked like:

Q7: What tools are beginner-friendly for collecting and analyzing cross-channel feedback during Ramadan?

Sarah:
You don’t need fancy tools right away. For collecting guest feedback during Ramadan:

• Zigpoll:
  Easy to embed on your booking confirmation page or email. Lets you ask, “What drew you to book our Ramadan corporate package?”—and get instant responses.

• Google Forms:
  Free and flexible for quick surveys after check-in or meeting events.

• Medallia:
  Slightly more advanced, but great for tying guest feedback back to specific channels if your hotel’s ready.

Analyze by matching feedback to the channel: did WhatsApp bookers mention “quick response”? Did LinkedIn guests love the group dining? Look for patterns.

Q8: How do you handle data from OTAs and booking platforms that don’t always share all details?

Sarah:
This can be tricky—OTAs often protect guest data. But you can work around it.

• Use summary data:
  Even if you don’t get full guest details, most OTAs provide channel-level metrics: booking counts, stay dates, rate codes used.

• Match promo codes:
  Assign unique Ramadan codes to each channel. Even when details are masked, code redemptions tell you which campaign worked.

• Feedback surveys:
  Add a QR code or a short survey link in welcome emails or at check-in (“How did you hear about our Ramadan offer?”).

One caveat: With data gaps, don’t expect to connect every dot. Focus on trends and directional insights, rather than perfect precision.

Q9: What’s your advice for presenting cross-channel Ramadan analytics to managers who aren’t data experts?

Sarah:
Keep it visual and story-driven. Instead of overwhelming them with tables, show a simple flowchart: “Guests who saw our Ramadan ad on LinkedIn, then opened our email, were 3x more likely to book a corporate meeting.”

Use before-and-after numbers. For example, “After updating our OTA Ramadan campaign, conference room bookings from OTAs went from 12 to 54 in two weeks.”

And don’t shy away from limitations—managers appreciate honesty. You might say, “We can’t track every WhatsApp conversation, but our feedback survey suggests business travelers love this channel during Ramadan.”

Q10: What are some common mistakes hotels make with Ramadan cross-channel analytics, and how do you avoid them?

Sarah:
A few I see repeatedly:

• Ignoring mobile:
  In 2024, over 55% of business-travel bookings in the Middle East were initiated on mobile (Source: 2024 Forrester Report). Don’t just track desktop or OTA data!

• Forgetting secondary revenue:
  Ramadan isn’t just about rooms. Track meeting room, Iftar, and Suhoor package sales too. These often outpace room bookings for business travelers.

• Overcomplicating dashboards:
  Start simple—one sheet for each major channel, one chart for each key metric.

• Assuming “what worked last year will work again”:
  Ramadan dates shift every year, as do travel patterns. Always compare year-on-year, channel by channel.

Q11: If you had to recommend one thing every entry-level data scientist should do this Ramadan, what is it?

Sarah:
Pick one high-impact channel—maybe LinkedIn for business travelers or WhatsApp for group dining—and track every guest touchpoint from initial contact to feedback. Focus on telling the story of what moved the needle, not just collecting data for the sake of it.

And celebrate your quick wins! Share them widely. Last Ramadan, one junior analyst’s insight about WhatsApp booking response times led to a 15% jump in group reservations. Small findings, big results.

Q12: Any tips for scaling cross-channel analytics as teams grow?

Sarah:
Document everything. Set up templates for campaign tracking. Teach everyone on your team how to use tools like Google Analytics, Zigpoll, and your CRM. As your data grows, start experimenting with tools like Looker Studio or Tableau for deeper analysis.

But always come back to the basics: connect channels, track real results, and never be afraid to ask “Why did this work?”

The Bottom Line: Concrete Steps to Get Started

1. List all your Ramadan marketing channels (website, OTAs, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, app, etc.).
2. Centralize your data, even if it’s just in Google Sheets at first.
3. Assign unique Ramadan promo codes to each channel.
4. Track bookings and revenue by channel, daily.
5. Layer on simple feedback tools like Zigpoll or Google Forms.
6. Visualize trends and share insights with your team—early and often.

You don’t have to figure out every detail on day one. Start small, learn fast, and help your hotel property shine for every business traveler this Ramadan.