Social Voices

Lodging Interactive, the interactive and social media marketing agency exclusively servicing the hospitality industry, has been receiving many with queries from hoteliers, consultants, and marketing professionals regarding the recent release of its new Social Voices™ by CoMMingle solution. Social Voices is a innovative new service that provides hospitality clients with 24/7 social listening and monitoring, social engagement, social customer care and support, and social risk and crisis management services 365 days a year.

"The number of calls and emails we received since the release this month of Social Voices™ – which essentially is the next generation call center, one that offers 24/7/365 days a year online social customer service – is overwhelming," said DJ Vallauri, Lodging Interactive Founder and President. "Inquiring minds want to know more, and many of their questions are repetitive. Due to the sheer volume of requests, we are broadly addressing these queries."

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS & RESPONSES:

Q. What is Social Voices all about?

A. Think of Social Voices as a 24/7 - 365 days a year online call center service for hotels, with the difference being that we don't handle any calls. Our "listening agents" are online 24/7/365 and monitor people's conversations about our hotel customers. When a consumer mentions our hotel customer in a Tweet, we know about it and either join in on the conversation or assist them with any issues they might be having.

Q. But can't hotels already monitor social media conversation already with the use of software like HootSuite and others?

A. Yes they can, but those are simply technology solutions that have to be managed by a person at the hotel. We become that "person at the hotel" but we're remote and we're 24/7/365...the Social Voices online customer service is always online and available. Being always online and available is key to providing social customer service.

Q. So Social Voices is like an outsourced call center that monitors social media interactions and then engages with the consumer on behalf of the hotel?

A. Exactly, so let's say a guest is in-house and goes onto their Twitter account to tweet that they've called housekeeping 3 times and asked for fresh towels to be sent to their room, but after 1 hour of waiting – no towels. We'll that's not exactly good PR or service presented by the hotel. Our Social Voices service aims to turn this poor customer service issue into a positive customer service experience for the guest.

Q. How exactly would you do this?

A. First, within minutes, we will acknowledge the guest via Twitter that we are aware of their issue and that we're calling the housekeeping department to find out what the delay is all about. By doing so we create a support ticket in our support system to manage and track the issue towards resolution. Once housekeeping confirms with us that they have delivered the towels to the guest, we confirm such with the guest and then close out the ticket. Closing out the ticket provides reporting analytics as to the level of expediency in the hotel handling the issue. And now for the best part, if we sense the guest is pleased with the way the situation was handled we encourage the guest to share their experience on any of the review sites.

Q. What's the business model? It must be very expensive...can any size hotel afford this 24/ hour service?

A. We have made substantial investment into our technology and operational infrastructure and into staffing for the right personnel for Social Voices. Hotel clients only have to pay a one-time on-boarding fee and a monthly services fee to benefit from Social Voices. Our monthly services fee is based on the level of social activity a hotel client has. The end result is full 24/7/365 social customer care coverage in an economical financial plan for the hotel client.

Q. Do you have any hotel customers currently using Social Voices?

A. We do. Our Social Voices hotel customers include independent hotels as well as branded hotels. Clients are always assured confidentiality, which is why I can't name who they are without getting approval to do so beforehand.

"Social Voices is not just about technology, it's powered by people," Vallauri said. "We have made substantial investments in staffing the operation with USA-based listening agents, and we've licensed leading social media monitoring technology platforms. When our people and technology are combined with our intellectual capital and CoMMingle experience, the result is a premiere service that is cost-prohibitive for any one hotel to attempt to duplicate."

Social Voices provides guaranteed response service levels and enables hotels to provide "always on" customer service around the clock seven days a week. In addition Social Voices pro-actively seeks engagement opportunities that build guest loyalty.

For more information please visit www.SocialVoices.com

About Lodging Interactive

Since its founding in 2001, Lodging Interactive has provided digital marketing services to hotels worldwide, including select service, full-service, and luxury properties.

The Company's social media marketing and guest reviews response division, CoMMingle:Engage, serves a range of hospitality businesses, including hotels, restaurants, spas, and management companies.

Additionally, the Company provides subscription-based website development and digital marketing services. The subscription-based service is based on a 'pay-as-you-go' model and requires little upfront investment on the part of the hotel.

Lodging Interactive has received numerous awards, including the HSMAI Adrian Award and accolades from the International Academy of Visual Arts, Interactive Media Awards, Horizon Interactive Awards, Web Marketing Association, Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts, and Travel Weekly's Magellan Awards.

For more information, email [email protected], call 877-291-4411 ext. 704, or visit the company's website.

DJ Vallauri
President & Founder
+1 877 291 4411