Best practices in online reputation management for hotels
05 April 2011
Since the advent of social media, the way travelers make decisions has changed dramatically. Increasingly, shoppers are bypassing traditional sources like travel agents, travel media and hotel marketing materials and turning to other travelers and peers in social networks for information and advice.
To adapt to this seismic shift, hotels need to reallocate greater resources from traditional “push” media to owned and earned media and specifically to activities that engage travelers, drive advocacy and build loyalty through social media channels and review sites.
The hotel industry has been quick to adopt social media, but the majority of time is being spent on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Meanwhile, the real decision-making is taking place on review sites and online travel agencies. People go to Facebook to socialize; they go to TripAdvisor and Expedia to shop. What travelers are saying about your property on these sites has a direct impact on demand for rooms and the rates you can charge. A 2010 PhoCusWright study found that OTA shoppers who visit hotel review pages are twice as likely to book.
An effective social media program places reputation management at the highest priority. This means monitoring, measuring and reacting to online reviews and feedback and generating compelling content. Here are the key components of a comprehensive reputation management program.
Mr. Craig Great example of positive reputation management, I have added your page as a link onto my website on a project I am doing in my MBA course at Les Roches, Switzerland