what can a hotel do with info's it has gathered about its customers database?

[jham]

does it help them do survey or to contact them in the near future or something?

[koanda42]

I think they use it to send coupons, maybe. Of all the hotels I've been in, I've never received communication from one, nor any coupons. They can't sell any information and obviously if an employee "steals" it, they can be prosecuted.

[bballpro]

I suppose they could sell it to a marketing agency, unless you signed a document expressly prohibiting them.

I've heard that many hotels, at least those who are knowledgeable w/ social media sites & technology (isn't everyone nowadays?), monitor twitter feeds and yelp and other consumer opinion sites. They look for complaints/negative comments and try to identify the individual, using "triangulation" (correlation with timing of the complaint, male/female, other factors that can match up with the hotel guest). They also do this with those who make compliments - this can lead to better service or upgrades. Either way, complaint or compliment, your name and record gets marked for future reference. So we're being watched.