Hotel Marketing 2.0 – Guest Care And Psychological Tactics To Find Your Way On Tripadvisor

The growing weight of World wide web in the hospitality industry has led some hoteliers of tiny independent hotels to the misleading impression that they can easily “do business on tourism with more concerns for the web that for the hotel property.”

The problem is that “good advertising never sold a bad product.” The rules to be successful in hospitality are always the same, and, for the joy of the “good product hotels”, World wide web is the most cost-effective, powerful distribution and advertising medium. But we know “the beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, and the new beholder we all know it’s TripAdvisor.

I would therefore tell you how, in the modern so called “Web 2.0″ tourism market, past and present meet together; as the “simple” and ancient art of “hospitality” saved a Barcelona Hotel from a very bad review on Expedia’s most powerful child.

THE “PABLO HOTEL” AND ITS RICHER BROTHER

In a current trip to Spain I stayed in a 3 star hotel, I’ll call it the “Pablo hotel” just to be sure to not escape the commonplaces…let’s state it was “picturesque”: dark, noisy, small rooms with broken air conditioning. A few steps from the “Pablo” there was another 3 star hotel that, for the same rate, offered spacious and superior furnished rooms, bathrooms with marble baths and a modern lounge bar.

I returned home to write my first review on TripAdvisor…with a very soft and ironic tone, I just wanted to warn other travelers that, for the same price, they could lodge in a “better” hotel, but…

THE HOTEL WAS PROVIDING HOSPITALITY AND NOT JUST “RENTING ROOMS”

The Pablo Hotel was managed by a family that, dealing each day with many problems due to demand of staff and resources, tried in any way to pay attention to its guests and to do anything doable to cater them with a personal, caring service.

Obviously this management could not spend a substantial budget on the hotel structure and services as the competitor, but this not means it had forgotten the basic foundations of the job.

During my stay I have known people who, with questionable results, worked hard day and night to accommodate guests in the ideal way possible. I felt like home, surrounded by friendly and forthcoming hosts.

The result? I didn’t have “the guts” to publish my negative review.

GIVE YOUR GUESTS SOMETHING “PERSONAL” TO WRITE FOR

Whether you like it or not, there is always something “personal” that impels us to write a review, a subtle interests of “rewarding” or “punishing” the hotel staff.

When the “guest care” is successful, customers will want to return in some way “the favor”, to make a “small gift” to a friend that housed us with heat and attention.

This is a critical point, because TripAdvisor’s rankings are based not only on the

1. calibre of votes

but also on the

2. time-frequency of reviews

Satisfaction for the attention received and the friendly relationship that develops between client and staff of the hotel leads to positive reviews and also pushes many more travelers to write on TripAdvisor (as on the other infinite forums and travel blogs on the web).

The same people perhaps wouldn’t write a positive review just in case the hotel rooms were simply elegant and equipped with massive plasma television or Jacuzzi.

We mustn’t forget that Web 2.0 is founded on interactive social relationships – kindness has still a great effect. And if your guests “like you”, you’re creating a small army of advertisers that will serve your marketing:

1. for free
2. in a viral way
3. in the most effective way – since their “marketing campaigns” are perceived as unbiased and caring only for the good of the readers.

THERE IS NO SUCH A THING LIKE A “OBJECTIVE” OR “UNBIASED” TRIPADVISOR’S REVIEW

Many hoteliers complain that the negative reviews of their hotel are not “objective”, forgetting that the positive ones are not different; the individualized impression that a hotelier/staff gives its guests affects all the rest and is the first and most important bourgeois that is evaluated, so important to influence the perception of the hotel itself…

Excluding the cleanliness of the room, all the rest it’s widely varying according to the impression that the human relationship within the hotel has left; the rooms might seem small and bare, or not too massive and neat depending on this kind of relationship and the mood you’re healthy to create. We’ll never read this kind of psychotic review:

”The staff was so welcoming and friendly, I felt like home. The Hotel sucks.”

If you leave a good impression on your guests, they will watch the hotel with the same eyes, more undemanding and less inclined to the criticism.

APPROACH TO WEB 2.0 BASED ON THE INTERNET VS APPROACH BASED ON THE “CUSTOMER”

TripAdvisor is just one of the infinite international web sites that world travelers use to exchange views and recommendations on hotel structures.

There are 2 approaches to address the challenge of Web 2.0 (read “the Customer-centric Web”).

A. Find the latest technology to monitor any Blog, forum and social network existing site on the planet, spend a lot of money and time and just be depressing of negative reviews;

B. Prevent the problem, offering the ideal experience doable for its guests not on the World wide web but inside the hotel.

A negative review is always possible, but if it’s surrounded by 30 positive reviews the problem probably belongs to the guest, and TripAdvisor’s readers know it well. In the same way, hotelier’s replies are important, but useless when found in the middle of 30 negative reviews.

Besides that TripAdvisor most of the time doesn’t publish hotelier’s replies nor care about them, since its final client is the traveler (not too strange, if you think it’s the same final client of Expedia).

IT’S NOT (ONLY) ABOUT MONEY

In a current conference about Search Engine Marketing in the Travel Industry I heard a conversation between 2 hoteliers: “Travelocity can invest too much money on Paid Advertising, we can't compete, we have not the resources to do the same marketing on the Internet.”

Travelocity is currently using sophisticated analytic tools to extract, from its reviews, important indications on common problems of travelers. This is simply to give a superior customer service.

Very often we don’t thinks about that larger Hotel Chains or well developed OTAs that have great financial assets also have the knowledge necessary to:

A. Develop a strategy of differentiation from the competition = wage a single value to their guests;

B. Devote themselves to guest care, to match travelers’ desires and expectations = they give customers what they want, and customers do not want “a room”, but something more difficult to offer.

Money is only the bright grappling of the medal, but the real difference is the greater emphasis on the wishes and needs of customers, that is all Web 2.0 is about. Not about Blogs, Java, Widgets, Platforms…

Small hotels can customize guest experiences and create a warmer and more individualized atmosphere, and they don’t have to miss this chance.

GOOD ADVERTISING NEVER SOLD A BAD PRODUCT

Internet is not the goal, is merely a means. A means that you can use at your own good or bad, and this makes a large difference: is difficult to envision hotels’ offline brochures absent as many hotel web sites.

This said, no good web site can promote a bad product. And hotels designed to rent rooms instead of host of people with “special” and “personal” attentions, are definitively a bad product.

Hair Care Traveling Tips

Going on the road can be disruptive to your beauty routine. First, you have to pack all your beauty products in those tiny, see-through bottles, or else check your luggage – even if you are just going on an overnight trip. When you arrive at your destination, you have to deal with harsh hotel water, an unfamiliar climate, and separation from your team of stylists, aestheticians, and nab technicians. You can minimize the stress by following these hair care travel tips.

Hair Care Travel Tip #1 – Skip The Wash

You don’t need to wash your hair each day. In fact, washing your hair is stressful for your hair; it is superior and healthier for your hair to be washed several times a week rather than each day.

Hair Care Travel Tip #2 – Pack The Dryer

The good news is that most hotel rooms wage a hair dryer in the room free of charge, without your even asking. The bad news is that a hotel hair dryer sucks – no pun intended. These dryers are harsh, non-ionic dinosaurs. Bring your own ionic hair dryer with concentrating or diffusing attachments so you can style  your hair on the road as well as you style it at home.

Hair Care Travel Tip #3 – The Updo

An updo hides a multitude of hair care sins. On a three-day trip, you can go without washing your hair for the whole three days if you wear an updo on the third day.

Hair Care Travel Tip #4 – Add Volume While You Sleep

Be sure to pack a wide, fabric-coated elastic band when you travel –  one that is wide enough not to leave a ponytail line when you take it out. Before you go to bed, bend over and brush all your hair to the crown of your head. Secure the hair with the wide elastic band, like a fountain of hair on top of your head. Go to bed like that. Not only will the band keep you hair from tangling while you sleep, because you can flip the pony cut to the top of the bed, but it will add volume to the roots of your hair when you remove the band in the morning.

Hair Care Travel Tip #5 – Hats!

Never underestimate the value of a great hat. Whether you are wearing an infamous intern’s beret or a Britney Spears style racing cap, whether you like a colorful stocking cap or a pastel pashmina wrapped glamorously around your head and neck, wearing a hat is a great way to accessorize and hide your hair at the same time.

Hair Care Traveling Tips

If you love this article, you will also love another article written by this article’s author on chi hair dryer and super solano hair dryer.

Related Travel Tips For Packing Articles

Hair Care Travel Tips

Going on the road can be disruptive to your beauty routine. First, you have to pack all your beauty products in those tiny, see-through bottles, or else check your luggage – even if you are just going on an overnight trip. When you arrive at your destination, you have to deal with harsh hotel water, an unfamiliar climate, and separation from your team of stylists, aestheticians, and nab technicians. You can minimize the stress by following these hair care travel tips.

Hair Care Travel Tip #1 – Skip The Wash

You don’t need to wash your hair each day. In fact, washing your hair is stressful for your hair; it is superior and healthier for your hair to be washed several times a week rather than each day.

Hair Care Travel Tip #2 – Pack The Dryer

The good news is that most hotel rooms wage a hair dryer in the room free of charge, without your even asking. The bad news is that a hotel hair dryer sucks – no pun intended. These dryers are harsh, non-ionic dinosaurs. Bring your own ionic hair dryer with concentrating or diffusing attachments so you can style  your hair on the road as well as you style it at home.

Hair Care Travel Tip #3 – The Updo

An updo hides a multitude of hair care sins. On a three-day trip, you can go without washing your hair for the whole three days if you wear an updo on the third day.

Hair Care Travel Tip #4 – Add Volume While You Sleep

Be sure to pack a wide, fabric-coated elastic band when you travel –  one that is wide enough not to leave a ponytail line when you take it out. Before you go to bed, bend over and brush all your hair to the crown of your head. Secure the hair with the wide elastic band, like a fountain of hair on top of your head. Go to bed like that. Not only will the band keep you hair from tangling while you sleep, because you can flip the pony cut to the top of the bed, but it will add volume to the roots of your hair when you remove the band in the morning.

Hair Care Travel Tip #5 – Hats!

Never underestimate the value of a great hat. Whether you are wearing an infamous intern’s beret or a Britney Spears style racing cap, whether you like a colorful stocking cap or a pastel pashmina wrapped glamorously around your head and neck, wearing a hat is a great way to accessorize and hide your hair at the same time.

Hair Care Travel Tips

If you love this article, you will also love another article written by this article’s author on chi hair dryer and super solano hair dryer.

World Travel Packing Tips – Tim Ferriss
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