Balancing Personalization and Privacy

An acquaintance of mine was once sharing his extravagant tales of various hotel stays around the world.

I asked him a genuine question that was buzzing in my mind for long:

"Hey, what's the essential difference between a 3-star, 4-star, 5-star & 7-star hotel?"

He contemplated on this question a bit & then gave the following response:

"Aatir, let me answer this by playing out what would happen if you were placing a wake up call in such hotels.

Here's how the call would go in each case:

Me: Hi, I need a wake up call at 8 am please.

3-star
Hotel: Sorry, we don't have that service.

4-star
Hotel: Sure, Sir. Room number?

5-star
Hotel: Sure, Mr. Aatir. Would you like me to put a snooze call at 8.05 am just in case? Wouldn't want you to miss your morning!
Me: You know, that'd be great. Thanks.

7-star
Hotel: Sure, Mr. Aatir. Would you like a snooze call at 8.05 am?
Me: Sure thing.
Hotel: Done. Also, I noticed that you had a Spanish omelet this morning alongside a copy of The Guardian. Would you like me to have that ready too?
Me: Oh wow. Sure!"

He said the last case doesn't happen everywhere but it was "freakishly nosy".

Personalization surely adds lift to your CX but learn to strike a balance. Don't rip through privacy to achieve it.