Kirsten Rhode

Who is the Voice of Social Media in Your Hotel...or Do You Have One?

More than 700,000 local businesses have active Pages on Facebook

Social media can have a dramatic impact on your brand's reputation. 34% post opinions about products and brands on their blog and 36% think more positively about companies that have blogs. (And Blogs are simply a small piece of the Social Media puzzle.)

Here are 6 Reasons Your Hotel Cannot Afford to NOT be involved In Social Media Efforts:

  1. In this current economic downturn you need to find the ever-elusive customer. It is a fact that the average person is spending more and more time online. The number of people doing so also increases daily. You must find them and engage them. Traditional advertising just isn't working the way it used to. Magazine and newspaper subscriptions are way down because websites are providing the news much more quickly and in a more affordable manner. TV and print advertisements have become expensive and consumer review sites like yelp.com are changing the way people think and shop. Business Travelers especially will spend over 75% of their corporate travel experience online!
  2. Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, and Youtube are now mainstream. The largest and most successful social media campaign was used to elect President Obama. This goes to show that a complete and focused approach to social media can move mountains. Manage your business fan page on Facebook. Maintain your professional network using Linked In. Take your company viral by building an aggressive Youtube channel. Find and engage online communities that share your interests on Twitter. Showcase pictures of your hotel on Flikr and, and proper tagging of these will increase Search Engine Optimization. Create and manage blogs about your hotel on Wordpress or Digg. Attach links from Trip Advisor Ratings and other Travel Rating Sites to showcase positive reviews. These are a few of the most popular social networking sites. It has become absolutely critical to implement some, if not all of them to achieve a strong online presence and be competitive with other hotels! . According to the survey, MarketingProfs learned that Facebook and Twitter applications were among the most "successful" tactic used by Business to Business, and Business to Client companies
  3. Social Media will improve your relationship with customers. We all know that social media is a great PR and branding tool that allows companies to self-promote in a relatively inexpensive fashion, but it's not always about you. Social Media offers a great way to learn more about your customers. Extending a "personal face" to your company encourages customer interaction and can result in customer loyalty. Listen to your customers, respond to their comments, and let your personality reveal itself through your conversations. Loyal customers will spread the word about a brand if they like the person or people who represent it. Customer Service is rapidly becoming the most important reason for choosing a specific company, even over price. While the discourse around 2010 is currently focused how to maximize tourist spend during a recession, and data indicates more time should be spent on getting your hotel into a state of readiness to delight your visitors.
  4. Meet the Haters and naysayers Head on, and don't forget about disgruntled customers... Some companies argue that engaging in Social Media will open the door for haters and guests who had bad experiences to rant negatively about the hotel. This is a dangerous misconception—the doorway to knock a hotel opens when the guests arrive. People are talking online whether or not you are listening. Some of them might not be saying nice things, and you can be sure others are listening to what they say. Consumer review websites like Yelp, Trip Advisor, Hotel Chatter and Amazon are ever more popular, presenting hundreds of opinions about hotels and services. What if 77 out of 100 reviews for your hotel are negative? Social Media can and should be used as a customer service platform. A loyal customer is much more valuable than a once-in-your-lifetime customer, so it is important to address the issues that your customers are having. A complete Social Media strategy will incorporate a system to monitor your online reputation by scanning blogs, social networks, and comments for keywords related to your brand. Don't let the Haters take the floor and keep it. Get out there and defend yourself and show your customer service savvy.
  5. Social Media is here to stay. One of the biggest misconceptions about Social Media is the presumptuous assumption that its popularity is a fad, and that it is only for teenagers and tech-saavy individuals. Statistics prove that Social Media is becoming more and more relevant each year. The biggest demographic on Facebook is the 31-49 year old age group (Mashable, 2009).The point is that Social Media is here. It's not going anywhere anytime soon. Therefore, if you aren't "in it", then your hotel may soon be on it's way out.
  6. Your competition is actively engaging your target audience using Social Media, why aren't you? Like anything you want done properly, Social Media requires dedication and effort to create and maintain these accounts effectively. If you set up 15 Social Media Accounts and then never take the time to update them or manage the content, it can damage your reputation and credibility. Social Media Markets are the most valuable tool to keep your hotel visible to the public, generate new business and keep people coming back. You wouldn't trust just anyone to be the "Voiceof your hotel", let Genares make sure you are represented correctly and professionally. With over 30 years experience in the hospitality industry, we are experts in our field.

The Most Important thing to remember Do not get tempted to create a Facebook Fan Page or a Twitter account if you are not ready to devote a significant amount of time and resources to managing your hotel's social network presence, and if you do not have access to best practices and expert advice on the subject. If you do not have the internal bandwidth or resources to manage social marketing, outsource to a hospitality social media expert company, like Genares. We are the MOST affordable, and offer Social Media services exclusively for hotels, and we have the technology to do some things no other Social Media Marketing Company can do.

Author: Kirsten Rhode, Director of Social Media at Genares Worldwide Reservations.

About Genares Worldwide Reservations Services | Genares Worldwide Reservations Services Ltd. was launched in 2004 by former Lexington Services Corp. founders and executives. As the first new central reservation system to come to market since 1999, Genares' gReserve web-based CRS and related services are provided on an ASP basis and designed for properties ranging from small independents to large chain hotels worldwide. The lodging industry's only privately held reservations technology provider created by hoteliers for hoteliers, Genares' services include seamless GDS and Internet connectivity, a private-label Internet booking engine, a web-based CRS with two-way XML property management system interfaces, and private-label voice reservations/call center services. Just recently, Genares successfully completed the Hotel Technology Next Generation certification process and achieved certification of compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, joining a short list of compliance-certified CRS providers. Genares is headquartered in the Dallas/Fort Worth suburb of Las Colinas, Texas, and has sales representation worldwide, with offices throughout Europe and Asia. The company is owned by Ricky A. Wilkins, Michael G. Wilkins and Eugene Harris. For more information, visit www.genares.com.

Kirsten Rhode
817.722.2844
Genares Worldwide Reservations Services

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