HOTELS

Scott van Hartesvelt

Practical Application For Social Media
April 9, 2008

I am frequently asked for new or unique ways to utilize social media to benefit a hotel or resort. While it is fun to think about grand marketing ideas, there seems to be a simple but important application fit for current economic conditions.

Much has been written recently about the current slowdown in the economy and how hoteliers are reacting to protect their bottom line. In a recent article in Business Travel News Online, Bjorn Hanson of PricewaterhouseCoopers suggested:

“Hotels also will continue to increase the fees and surcharges imposed on guests, Hanson said. In 2007, the industry collected US$1.75 billion in such fees and surcharges as minibar restocking fees, baggage holding fees, Internet service and increased fax charges, he said.”

This direction is to be expected. If history repeats itself, when the economy tightens, hoteliers will look to increase fees and limit complimentary services. In the past, this process was somewhat arbitrary. For the current cycle, however, our industry has a new tool… instant and unadulterated feedback from guests. I conducted a quick search on TripAdvisor and found the following review for a luxury hotel in San Francisco.

“For tourists paying their own way, however, the extra fees are excessive. The business center is deficient and the fees for using the computer and fax machine are high. Mini bar charges are also excessive.”

As you make decisions to introduce new or higher fees for auxiliary services, study the feedback you receive on third-party review sites. Some fees will introduce significant dissatisfaction in your guests’ minds; some will go unnoticed. To make the process easier, I suggest subscribing to one of the many available social media monitoring services. These programs deliver a summary report of all reviews submitted for your property across multiple sites in a given time period. Most are not expensive, generally running only US$200 to US$300 per month.

Attempt to find the perfect mix of bottom line defense and customer experience by allowing your pricing models to be fluid based on the feedback you receive. Should you decide to change a fee or service based on the feedback from users on these sites, I recommend taking the time to post a management response informing readers that you listened to their concerns and have course corrected accordingly. Do this and you will have successfully implemented a Web 2.0 strategy to improve guest experience. In the process, you will earn life-long guests that will be with you far beyond the current economic cycle.

Posted by Scott van Hartesvelt on April 9, 2008 | Comments (0)