The focus of this year’s World Travel Market, which took place November 8th through 11th in London, was social media.
During the session titled, “Reputation, Reputation, Reputation – How to manage and respond to what is being said about your hotel online,” Pamela Carvell, vice president of the Hotel Marketing Association, cited a World Travel Market report that polled 1000 travelers planning leisure trips. The users of these sites — which included TripAdvisor, Facebook, and Twitter — stated that 36% took advice from social media sites before making a purchasing decision. Of the social-media users, 35% of them then changed their plans based on their findings.
“The studies are suggesting that this is really a very influencing factor on purchasing decision and there needs to be a process and a set of resources dedicated towards managing your online reputation.” stated Morris Sim from Brand Karma, a social-media analytics firm.
How can you respond and make it matter?
Thank the best, and acknowledge the worst, recommends Karen Plumb, EMEA Commercial Director of TripAdvisor. TripAdvisor offers a free service to registered hotels, providing response guidelines, the proper ways to respond directly to poor reviews, and tips for emailing members after a bad review is posted.
Do you monitor your hotel or restaurant’s appeal via social media? If so, how much success have you had with managing it?
