Social Media Strategies for Hotels

Social Media Strategies for Hotels

The top reasons why hotels interested in internet marketing should be interested in social media:

1. 1)      Social media is the fastest growing form of internet marketing.
2. 2)      Social media allows hotels to build one on one customer relationships.
3. 3)      Social media allows you to express yourself as an expert in your market.
4. 4)      Customer reviews and user-generated content are big factor in social media.
5. 5)      Social media optimization is the new aspect of social media.

There are two types of social media strategies

1. 1)      Dabbling – hotels that are concerned with the expense and time commitment needed to operate these applications.
2. 2)      Hard core – hotels that aggressively go out and investment in social media.

The basic social media starter kit is Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, MySpace, a small blog, and a user-generated application. Use appropriate keywords, link all the applications back to your website, and interlink the channels so the hotel benefits from cross-fertilization. Make sure you monitor the user-generated content, and respond to both positive and negative responses. 

Advanced social media includes all of the basics except now you track your returns by measuring social media buzz, and revenue generated from application leads. eBuzz connect is a software that can track you social media buzz, and chatter all on every website. Also check your search ranking results from social media optimization.

Reflection

          Social media is the next big internet marketing avenue. Businesses need to get onboard or they will be left behind. Not using social media application will end up having businesses lose revenue! All businesses are beginning to do social media as a form of internet marketing.

         As you can see with the growth of Facebook, and the amount of advertising they do now on that site. It is growing by leaps and bounds. Search engines are now using social media profiles to rank websites in their search rankings. Search ranking algorithms change constantly and now calculate website and the linking social media applications that are linked to it. So not only now do businesses have to search engine optimize their website but also need search engine social media optimization. Small businesses can use social media applications with very little expense

Hospitality Finance Technology Professionals- HFTP

        Hospitality Finance Technology Professionals- HFTP

               Hospitality Finance Technology Professionals  in an international professional organization which has served members since 1952. HFTP is an excellent way to network with area professionals, HFTP provides Hospitality certifications, coordinates HFTP events, and provides excellent resources (www.hftp.org)

              HFTP is a phenomenal organization that wants to teach and expose its members to new technologies. They provide online training and webinars for members, have conventions and events all over the country. Each chapter usually has a monthly meeting. The great aspect with HFTP is education, and keeping up with the technological boom that has hit the Hospitality industry. It is nearly impossible to keep up but HFTP makes it easier.

            The big event for HFTP is HITEC Conference which is in Austin, Texas in June. HITEC is where technology meets Hospitality and is the largest show of its kind. HITEC has been going strong and successful for 39 years. I look forward to going to this years HITEC Conference. Plane ticket is booked!

                                          Reflection

             Dr. Cobanoglu has extended student memberships to every student at USF Sarasota-Manatee. All you have to do is fill out the student membership form, and return it to him. There is no cost to join HFTP, and it is a great way to meet professionals in the industry as well as learn about the new technologies that are before us. It is a way to stay on top of what's new in our industry.

            I recently went to a HFTP meeting at the beautiful Gasparilla Inn on Boca Grande. It was a great meeting where I met many HFTP professionals. Did I mention that the food was delicious! Oh, the food was awesome! Our Manasota chapter has made it clear that they will support our student chapter. I have benefitted from our Manasota chapter graciousness as they have helped me be able to go to the HITEC Convention in June. The networking for a student is what is most important! Let's get involved!!

Hotel Check In/Out Technology

Are Smartphones Winning the Hotel Check-In Debate?

One of the great debates in the hospitality industry is how to speed up the check in/ check out process. Some hotels have used a check in/check out kiosks; which this technology was not really implemented. The kiosks have been surrounded with mixed reviews. The kiosks are very expensive, and need to be constantly upgraded in order to keep up with the changing industry. An app however may change all of this. Apps as we know are the new craze and are here to stay. Apps have tremendous potential, and provide great opportunity especially since the smart phone boom. The Airline industry already uses smartphone apps for check in.

Intercontinental Hotel Group piloted a real world application of OpenWays which was the first mobile based front desk bypass solution. It is basically a mobile room key. With this solution guests choose whether or not they want the traditional check in or use the mobile room key.  When guests make the hotel reservation they input their cell phone number into the reservation. They receive a number from the hotel to call when they arrive at their hotel room. The guest calls the number which the reservation recognizes the number thus emitting a sound which the door lock recognizes and opens the door. This technology is not truly an app based program but it is headed that way. This program will be tested more in the second half 2011.

Reflection

I am not one who minds to have to check in and check out of a hotel. I am not a true business traveler anyway. I like to go to the front desk and interact with the front desk staff. You can get a feel for how the hotel will be from the people that are at the front desk. This is one of your first impressions of the hotel, and one of the first people you interact with.  I guess that a true business traveler may want some kind of bypass of the front desk, or a traveler checking in late at night who just wants to go to their room. 

I do feel that this technology is coming, and coming soon. Airlines already have mobile apps for ticketing. With all the security surrounding airlines I feel that hotels will be soon to follow. The security pertaining to people’s personal information is a major concern. I do like technology and apps so I look forward to someday using this.

Are Smartphones Winning the Hotel Check-In Debate? 

By Gustaaf Schrils, Vice President, Global Technology, Americas, IHG

http://hospitalitytechnology.edgl.com/top-stories/Are-Smartphones-Winning-the-Hotel-Check-In-Debate-71375

Posted Date: 3/15/2011

2011 Guestroom Trends

2011 Guestroom Trends

          The 2011 guestroom tends  are very getting very interesting; green room technology is picking up steam, television content with the addition of up to date movies and the removal of adult pay per view, integrating the guests cell phone, and the addition of iPads. Now most of these trends are starting in the higher level hotels but it is a start and some of these benefits will begin to trickle down to the lesser hotels.

Green technology is something that is here to stay. The environment and trying to conserve natural resources not only saves the hotel money but it also saves the environment. Over the past few years with hotel revenues down these changes might not have been accomplishes as fast as some would have liked but they are happening. Implementing these ideas and technologies will help the hotel save money but also attract people to stay in their property.

          The entertainment center and television is an area that probably sees the most changes in a hotel. Guest entertainment is a top priority, and has a direct link to guest satisfaction. Adding Netflix for up to date on demand movies would be a plus as well as deleting the adult pay per view. Offering adult pay per view probably costs the hotel more money than they actually make in revenue from their purchases. Removing them also appeals to the traveling family.

          Hotels are beginning to be able to integrate the use of a guest cellular phone into their hotel stay. There is technology beginning to be used that will allow a guest to skip official check in and go straight to their hotel room. Guests will receive an email which will allow them to enter their guestroom using the cellular phone as the room key. The cellular phone will emit a signal that will unlock the door. Business travelers and guests with kids will love this new technology trend. 

         iPads are starting to be used all over the hospitality industry; restaurants as instant up to date menu’s with ordering and payment features, to front desk usages for staff, and now up to the guestroom to be used for requests, climate control, food ordering etc. The iPad usage also allows the hotel to track hotel efficiency which in turn effects guest satisfaction. High guest satisfaction will raise revenues.

Reflection

         These guestroom trends are really cool. As someone who loves technology I look forward to being able to use these soon. Green technology is something that benefits everyone, it is unfortunate that we have had hard economic times so most hotels have had to delay some modifications but as the times get better we will see more green technology being implemented. Green technology not only will save the hotel money but it will help save the environment. This is a win win situation.

          Integrating the use of my cell phone is really neat. I look forward to being able to use my cell phone in conjunction with my hotel stay or being issued an iPad in my hotel room. These technological trends will increase revenue and draw more business travelers who are looking for these added benefits. The hotel efficiency will be improved, and an efficient hotel means better customer service, and more repeat business. 

Posted On: 3/3/2011 

2011 Guestroom Tech Trends By Christina Volpe, Associate Editor

http://hospitalitytechnology.edgl.com/top-stories/2011-Guestroom-Tech-Trends70778

Search results and search engine optimization

     How to top Expedia, Google search results


        The Cornell School of Hotel Management recently performed a search result study with the St. James Hotel in Red Wing, Minn. The hotel wanted to see and make sure that they appeared on the first page of search results. We all know that that first page listing can make or break a business, therefore careful search engine optimization, and website design are crucial. Expedia says that 95% of the transactions occur on the search result first page, meaning that most people never make it to page two of the search results. Page two and beyond is considered no man’s land.

     There are some things that you can do to help the web crawlers index you high. Proper keywords so you can be placed high in the organic search results. You bid on keywords which if you are the high bidder you will be placed on the first page of the sponsored search results but this can become very expensive because every click may cost you a dollar or more. That is why high organic search results are what everyone tries for. Web page organization is also very important. Web sites should be designed with layout, content, and text in mind. Major search engines use web crawlers to go over these sites, and through the internet to see relevant links from other websites to your website and not links from your website out to the internet. Mobile apps are now the wave of the future, Hilton and other travel search sites have developed mobile apps for mobile users.


                                           
Posted On: 2/22/2011

How to Top Expedia, Google Search Results By Glenn Withiam, Director of Publications, Cornell Center for Hospitality Research

http://hospitalitytechnology.edgl.com/home

Best Practices in Search Engine Marketing and Optimization: The Case of the St. James Hotel

Vol 10 No 16
By: Greg Bodenlos, Victor Bogert, Dan Gordon, Carter Hearne, and Chris Anderson Ph.D.
http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/chr/pubs/reports/abstract-15320.html
         
                                          Reflection


      The foreign language and science of search engine optimization is something that is very hard to do unless you have the education to do it. I have had websites and done basic web designing but SEO (search engine optimization) is something that I have not been able to figure out. You have to learn about Google’s search algorithms and properly use keywords in order to index properly. I had a retail business which I just sold and I tried to properly set up a store website. I could not do it by myself so I ended up scaling the website down to a basic five page informational website. I contacted various webmaster to try and design a website and have it properly optimized but the cost was too great at the time for me to implement. If you are a major business and have an online presence it is essential to be properly optimized and index in the search result. If you come up on any other page beside the first page you will see very little business if any at all.

The Hotel Room of the Future

Hotel Room of the Future!

The hotel room of the future; what does it have and what does it do? In Germany they are actually researching this and putting together mock designs of what guests and hotel operators may want. The project manager Vanessa Borkmann says that the research has been going on for two years thus far, and the hotel of the future may have voice command, pressure sensitive floors, a bed that may rock you to sleep, sliding walls, ambiance lighting, infrared lighting etc. Many of these upgrades are very costly so it is not expected that we will see many of these changes any time soon. The hotel rooms may be mood and temperature sensitive, meaning that the “Sensifloor” may the one of the most interesting features in the hotel room of the future.

Some of the upscale hotels may start converting a floor or two to see if there is demand yet for a room of this type. It is not cost effective to do a complete renovation to this type of room because the technology is very expensive. So converting a few upper level rooms or a floor may increase revenues and attract those technology buffs.

Works Cited

Boulden, J. (2010, 08 09). Hotels future foretold? Retrieved 18 2011, 02, from www.cnn.com: http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2009/08/10/boulden.hotel.future.cnn

Reflection

Being a technology buff, I am intrigued by the hotel room of the future.  Technology in hotels is finally starting to show up. I think the industry has fought the technological trends because of the cost to implement them. The industry cannot ignore these trends anymore. I feel that they need to spend the money to upgrade their hotel or the hotel will fail. That is why we are now seeing even low end budget hotels implement these technological upgrades such as advanced reservation systems, green programs, even wifi. I believe that some Budget Inns now offer wireless internet.

As far as some of the advances that this video showed I don’t know if I will be lining up to stay in a hotel designed like that. I know it is a mock design but I cannot and will not stay in a plain white walled hotel. I know that this is how everyone views the future in white but I need some color. The voice command system sounded a little creepy hopefully they will be able to make that sound a little more human.  Hopefully the bed doesn’t rock every time you lay in it. I look forward to seeing the hotel room develop for the future and look forward to working in the industry as these ideas become realty.

Reflection: Mobile Success

We are in a mobile phone and application era. This is the time that we live in. I use a windows phone that does anything that I want. I can shop, browse the internet, post on facebook, tweet, play games, watch HD movies...The list of things goes on and on, and I absolutely love it. What guys does not like technology? This mobile payment technology is new and the direction that many industries are going. About half of our population has some kind of web browsing cellular phone. The speed that these applications are hitting the market is incredible. It seems that everyday there is some new app craze.

Wow Bao and it's management decided to open their restaurant to these technologies. It is working, but with all new technology there is work to be done, and just about always refining to do. But to be able to send a coupon out via the app and have over a 20% conversion rate is incredible. As a former business owner I know first hand that print ads and direct mailings only convert about 5 percent. So to get close to five times that is awesome. I know that you are sending a coupon to a previous customer and someone who wants to receive them as opposed to a general all market ad. It is definitely a better investment. This technology is investing in customer's that are loyal and building the brand. The company still has to build and grow customers but this seems like a great tool to have and use.

Mobile Platform Success

Wow Bao, is a restaurant by Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, that features Asian Cuisine. Steamed Bao is a meat and vegetable filled hot Asian bun. This item is a favorite portable snack throughout Asia. In 2010 Wow Bao added a mobile phone application to it's repertoire.

Download, follow and text, see what's new at Wow Bao!

• Download our iPhone App
• Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
• Text “buns” to 466622 to receive special offers and "wows"

Copyright © 2011 Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises. All rights reserved. 

Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises

The underlined and highlighted sentences above are part of the mobile platform. Mocapay was the company that made and installed Wow Bao's mobile platform because of ease of installation and and the fore go of any expensive hardware upgrades. The mobile application allows customers to order and pay for their food with their cellular phones and receive special offers in real time. As you see above you can text into the service to receive special offers. Once you do that you are signed up, and will continue to receive texts from Wow Bao until you text them "stop."

The conversions into sales that the mobile platform has accomplished thus far are very good. 24 percent redemption rate with a $10 average check on their VIP Comp Cards. If we new how many they sent out we'd be able to see how much money it brought in. Still 24 percent is many many times higher than any print ad or direct mailing.

Its hard to ignore the era in which we are going into, the mobile era. Developing mobile apps and platforms has transformed how conduct business. By 2014 142.1 million consumer's, 53.9% of the population will be accessing the internet through mobile browsers.

As added tib bit Starbucks just added Starbucks Card Mobile App for mobile phone payments after a successful 1000 store trial. 6800 Starbucks and 1000 Target operated Starbucks will be adding mobile payments on iPhone, iTouch, and Blackberry.

For all of you Starbucks fans Visit Starbucks Mobile App

By Geoff Alexander, Managing Partner, Wow Bao
January 18, 2011 
http://wowbao.com/

Reflection Undercover Boss

Wanna watch a reality show where you just may learn something? Then watch an episode of Undercover Boss. I really enjoy watching Undercover Boss. I have seen a few episodes and they have all been pretty good. One of the better episodes is where the CEO of Hooter's Coby Brook's went undercover. He revealed some serious issues with treatment of employees, discrimination etc. Major example of Hotel and Restaurant Management issues!

Steve Joyce is the President and CEO of Choice Hotels, a franchise hotel company. The larger hotels under Choice are Econo Lodge, Quality Inn, Clarion, Rodeway etc. Steve goes undercover to find out the issues and problems within his company. To his surprise he finds that there aren't any major issues. He realizes how hard his employees work. Everything that was pointed out I feel are easy fixes. Hotel maintenance and upkeep are things that can be easily fixed unlike the Hooter's episode where restaurant manager's where acting inappropriate and opening the company for severe liability. Some of the issues within Hooter's were borderline sexual harassment. This is a serious issue!

I think Steve realized how fortunate he is to have great people working under him, and showed the world how nice and hospitable his hotels are. They are a great bang for the buck!



Undercover Boss - Steve Joyce, CEO, Choice Hotels; CBS 9/26/2010
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/undercover_boss/video/?pid=A_4bEGsyuzefCu0nku4U_dJgxpVS1joZ&vs=homepage&play=true

Undercover Boss - Steve Joyce

Undercover Boss is a very popular show on CBS where President's and CEO's of very successful companies go undercover to work within their companies. The Boss' goes undercover to see how the logistics of the company are functioning, and diagnose any problems, if any.

Steve Joyce is the President and CEO of Choice Hotels which has several brands under them such as Econo Lodge, Comfort Inn, and Quality Inn etc. http://www.choicehotels.com/

Steve goes undercover to the world's largest Econo Lodge in Orlando, Florida to work beside Ricardo. Ricardo is technically a maintenance man but turns out he really is a jack of all trades. Ricardo is a very hard worker who works two jobs seven days a week in order to put his son through College and Med school. The Econo Lodge is in need of serious repairs which Ricardo can not do because he does not have the resources. Steve addresses the General Manager of the hotel to bring this hotel above standard.

Steve goes undercover and tries to tackle the task of being a housekeeper. He did not realize the amount of hard work that goes into maintaining a hotel room, and the speed that is required when cleaning a room. In the end Steve realized that he needs to get in shape.

Steve was able to do the tasks required with hotel sales and working the front desk with more ease. During his different jobs he met some incredible people that work for him. Overall he was happy with the people that he met during his week. There were a few issues that he did not like, and addressed with his staff during the reveal. And in the end he made several people very happy with some promotions, and rewards for hard work and loyal service.




Undercover Boss - Steve Joyce, CEO, Choice Hotels; CBS 9/26/2010

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/undercover_boss/video/?pid=A_4bEGsyuzefCu0nku4U_dJgxpVS1joZ&vs=homepage&play=true