The world's most valuable resource is no longer oil.

It's data.

So say the experts at The Economist. Smartphones and the internet have made data the currency of our times. Nearly every activity, whether it's going for a run or watching TV, creates a digital trace to be tracked and analyzed.

Data's influence on the hospitality industry is nothing new. But hoteliers still are grappling with the concept of big data, referring to the large volume of data that inundates business on a day-to-day basis. After all, it's not the amount of data that's important; it's what you do with it that matters.