We're in the information age. There's no doubt about it. Yet, with all this data supposedly flying around us, it's hard to know just what to do with it. Even if your PMS is collecting all the right stats, you're on top of your web traffic and social media interactions, and you know what your comp set is up to, it can be hard to understand how to actually read the data. What does it mean? And more importantly how can you use it to make better decisions? 

It's an unfortunate truth that hotels are sometimes behind the curve when it comes to adopting the latest techology. This makes sense, as hoteliers are first and foremost focused on the human side of the business: taking care of guests. After all, it is called the hospitality industry. In the end, this delayed adoption of new tools can work in favor of hoteliers, as new tech is tested by other more adventurous users before being adopted by the wider hospitality industry. Yet, hoteliers who wait too long miss out on innovative new ways to increase guest satisfaction and revenue.  

One of the most useful tools for a modern hotelier is website analytics. Not only can you figure out where your visitors are coming from (both in terms of location and referrals), but you can use it to design your sales funnel, and to set your marketing and e-commerce goals. All that's needed is a free web app that is by far the most popular website analytics tool: Google Analytics. What began as a website analytics company called Urchin was quickly bought up by Google in 2005. Since then, Google has built out the service to include many useful features. And because it is such a common choice for web analytics, no matter what happens to your website, what system you use, or agency you work with, Google Analytics just works. Today, Google Analytics is one of the indispensable tools for any modern hotelier or hotel marketer.