Data, Privacy & Hospitality: A Hotelier’s Guide to India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023

As the hospitality industry becomes increasingly data-driven, protecting guest information is no longer just a legal obligation—it is a cornerstone of trust, reputation, and business success. With the enactment of India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act), hotels and hospitality businesses must rethink how they collect, process, store, and safeguard personal data throughout the guest journey. This timely and practical book equips hospitality professionals with the knowledge and tools needed to navigate the evolving landscape of data privacy and compliance. Through realistic industry scenarios and easy-to-understand explanations, it demonstrates how the DPDP Act applies to everyday hotel operations, from reservations and loyalty programmes to food preferences, health disclosures, and customer relationship management. Written for hoteliers, department heads, IT professionals, hospitality educators, students, and policymakers, this book bridges the gap between legal theory and operational practice. It is an indispensable guide to fostering guest trust, ensuring regulatory compliance, minimizing privacy risks, and building a future-ready hospitality enterprise in the digital age.

Parikshit Sharma is an Associate Professor at Jagran School of Hospitality and Tourism, Jagran Lakecity University, Bhopal. He holds a Ph.D. in Tourism Studies from IGNOU, New Delhi, and has qualified for the UGC CBSE NET and H.P. SLET in Tourism Administration. His academic career includes roles as an Assistant Professor at Amity University, Head of Department at Bahra University, and faculty positions at the Institute of Hotel Management in Kufri and Bhopal.

Priya Sharma serves as the Head of Department at Institute of Hotel Management, Raipur, Chhattisgarh since February 2023 on deputation. She holds a permanent position as a Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Hotel Management, Catering and Nutrition, Kufri, where she has served since 2008. Currently pursuing Ph.D. at Himachal Pradesh University, she has qualified for both the CBSE-UGC NET and HP SLET in Tourism Administration. She previously held academic roles at IHM Bhopal and the BK Institute of Hotel Management in Indore.

As the hospitality industry becomes increasingly data-driven, the responsible management and protection of guest information have become essential to maintaining trust, reputation, and long-term business success. Hotels and hospitality businesses routinely collect and process a wide range of personal information throughout the guest journey, making data privacy not merely a legal responsibility but a critical component of modern hospitality management.

With the enactment of India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act), hospitality organizations must reconsider how personal data is collected, processed, stored, shared, and protected. This timely and practical book provides hospitality professionals with a clear understanding of the evolving data privacy landscape and the implications of the DPDP Act for everyday hotel operations.

The book connects legal principles with practical hospitality scenarios, demonstrating how data protection considerations arise across different stages of the guest experience. From reservations, check-ins, loyalty programmes, and customer relationship management to food preferences, health-related disclosures, feedback, and other guest interactions, it explains the importance of handling personal information responsibly and securely.

Rather than presenting data protection solely as a complex legal subject, the book translates key concepts into accessible and operationally relevant guidance. Through realistic industry situations and easy-to-understand explanations, readers can better understand potential privacy risks, the importance of responsible data practices, and the role of organizational processes in supporting compliance.

A central theme of the book is that effective data privacy requires cooperation across the hospitality organization. Management, department heads, front-office teams, human resources, information technology professionals, marketing personnel, and other employees may interact with guest information in different ways. Building a privacy-conscious organization therefore requires awareness, appropriate procedures, secure systems, and accountability at multiple levels.

The book also highlights the broader relationship between data protection and guest trust. In a highly connected hospitality environment, guests increasingly expect businesses to treat their personal information with care. Effective privacy practices can help organizations minimize risks while strengthening confidence in their services and reinforcing their professional reputation.

By bridging the gap between legal theory and operational practice, this book serves as a valuable resource for hoteliers, hospitality managers, department heads, IT professionals, hospitality educators, students, and policymakers. It can also support academic discussions and professional training on data governance, privacy management, digital transformation, and regulatory compliance within the hospitality sector.

Ultimately, the book encourages hospitality organizations to view data privacy not simply as a regulatory requirement but as an integral part of responsible and future-ready business management. By developing stronger data-handling practices, improving organizational awareness, and placing guest privacy at the center of digital operations, hospitality enterprises can navigate the changing regulatory environment while building sustainable relationships based on trust and confidence.