Comment on Agnès' article on how to use negative reviews to effect positive change in your hotel

Websites specialised in hotel reviews can be very positive for hotels, but it is mostly seen and felt as the pet hate of the industry. Some people take pleasure into posting negative reviews, just for fun. But for us hoteliers it provoques a decrease in revenue, so not good for us. I agree with what Agnès said, that hoteliers should definitely respond to the negative reviews. But I believe they should also respond to positive reviews. As we say, it is good to point out what's negative, but let's not forget to point out what's positive also. Do training sessions or strategies exist to help hoteliers know how and what to answer to reviews? I doubt it.

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Now is the time for hotel marketers to shift focus from price to value

It is known that Hotels lead in recession and lag in recovery, the same situation as for the airline companies. The last 2 years have been tough on hotels because of the worldwide economic crisis. Companies had to cut off their expenses which meant reducing a lot their travel expenses. Therefore it was difficult for hoteliers to fill in their hotels. In order to be competitive, they to sell off their room rates. During this period, value had no importance compared to price. A interesting room rate was a big value.

But today, hotels are slowly starting to recover from the economic crisis, and the low occupancy rates. They are willing to increase their prices, and add more value to a guest's reservation and stay. Indeed, as Wyman Roberts, president of Chili’s Grill & Bar said: "There are other ways to provide value than just price". Hotels need to increase their prices, stay competitive and focus on value.

The impact on the hotel business would be beneficial as it would increase the room revenues, but also the additional revenues of the industry. Hoteliers can add value by applying the dynamic packaging on their websites, which is proposing some special offers to guests, including many different things that would attract them, and invite them to book. Dynamic packaging should be place on the booking engine of the hotel, while customers are making their bookings. In addition to the room, they can book other services of the hotel that they would probably not have thought about. I believe dynamic packaging is very important for hoteliers as it is a real source of additional revenue. Hoteliers should also take great care of their websites as it also adds value to the hotel. A hotel website is a brochure, a business card, a link to share with other friends,... It is everything that can add real value to the hotel, and encourage customers to book, regardless of a higher rate.

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Site Inspection

Site inspection

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Search Engine Optimization - Hotel de Sers - Analysis

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The impact smart phones have on the travel market. Comment on Deborah's blog

Mobile phones have incredibly changed since their creation. Indeed, it was first created to communicate more easily with people by phoning or texting them. Today, with the smart phones, you can share information via applications. Smart phones almost replace computers. A smart phone is really useful on the travel market, especially for travelers, as it can be seen as a travel tool. Indeed, you no longer need travel documents such as hotel confirmation, or flight reservations, dictionnary, travel websites, or travel guides. You can access all these documents via applications through smart phones. They are revolutionary for travelers. People search more and more their holidays via their smart phones. Therefore, as Deborah pointed out, it is important for companies to be visible and accessible through smart phones.

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Online travelers don’t value brand loyalty

Brand loyalty is an everyday challenge for companies in the hospitality industry, from hotels to travel agents.

This article is very interesting as it analyses the habits of online bookers, how they proceed when booking their holidays. It is based on a survey made on 2000 UK consumers.

Online searching for holidays has become more and more famous towards people. Indeed, the survey shows that 37% of British adults look up on the internet the holiday destinations and offers, and 26% finally book online. But most of the online seekers do not book right away.

They search on different travel websites, take notes, and look up those offers again later, probably to check out if any new offers have been posted online. As the article says, it can be a long process for up to 4 months in advance before booking their holidays.

The main interest for all online consumers is to make the better deal according to their needs and expectations. Therefore, they do not really value the travel website on which they make the reservation. It is not their top priority on their check list.

Not only do consumers want the best deal, they need to feel comfortable and secure with the travel websites. The travel websites should be able to answer any customer questions. The article suggest that the websites need to be safe and attractive, in which the consumer feels secure enough to proceed with the payment. This brings us back to the importance of having an easy, and safe booking engine.

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