At the start of 2020, the U.S. hotel sector was healthy and forecasting growth. To ensure operations were up to demand, there was a growing urgency around digital transformation, and prioritizing payment technology. But how were hotel leaders managing accelerated change and big-ticket, big-data tech investment? To find out how far they were prepared to go – and conversely what was holding them back – J.P. Morgan and FreedomPay commissioned an independent study on attitudes and aspirations within primary IT decision makers (C-level and Head of Functions) in America’s foremost lodging chains.

The survey revealed key areas of technology investment and the value organizations can derive from “big data.” The four key themes highlighted in the study are:

• Challenges and opportunities associated with customer data-driven change
• Measuring and achieving successful new technology return on investment
• Senior management, shareholder, consumer and regulatory roles and responsibilities
• Ethical considerations related to new customer-facing technology and data analytics

The study revealed the rapid pace at which digital transformation accelerated in 2020 and the role that seamless payments experiences play in protecting and growing revenue and customer loyalty. About half of the study was conducted prior to Covid-19 with the remainder being conducted in the midst of the pandemic.