As hotels face increasing pressure from rising distribution costs, growing operational expenses, and ever-higher guest expectations selecting the right CRM system is one of the most critical decisions in modern hospitality. Sharing their expertise in the industry, dailypoint and anker & alpen have jointly released a new whitepaper with an eight-point-checklist to guide hoteliers through the process.

Titled “How to Pick the Right CRM – A Strategic 8-Step Guide for Hotel Decision Makers,” the publication provides a structured framework to help hotel leaders make informed, future-proof CRM decisions. At a time when CRM is still often reduced to a marketing tool, the whitepaper positions it as strategic infrastructure — a central system connecting guest data, operations, and communication across the entire organization.

The 8-step framework covers key areas such as defining the role of CRM, evaluating integration and interoperability, ensuring GDPR compliance, managing data quality, securing vendor commitments, driving internal adoption, and defining measurable KPIs and ROI. The core message: successful CRM selection is not about features, but about alignment with strategy, systems, and organizational structure.

“Selecting a CRM is one of the most consequential decisions a hotel can make,” says Dr. Michael Toedt, Founder & CEO of dailypoint and coauthor of the document. “It directly impacts guest relationships, operational efficiency, and revenue performance.”

Prof. Dr. Sandra Bayer, Co-Founder & CAO of anker & alpen and co-author of the White Paper adds: “CRM is not just a system implementation — it is an organizational transformation. Only when technology, processes and people are aligned can CRM deliver measurable impact.”

The joint publication reflects the combined expertise of both authors: Dr. Toedt, who has been shaping CRM and data platform development in hospitality for over two decades with dailypoint, and Prof. Dr. Bayer, who brings extensive consulting and academic experience in CRM, digital transformation, and strategic decision-making through her work at anker & alpen. Together, they provide a practical, experience-driven perspective on how hotels can turn CRM from a fragmented tool into a strategic driver of growth and profitability.

dailypoint will be at HITEC North America from June 15^th to 18^th in San Antonio, Texas (USA).  – Booth 3527