Each Friday, the HotelNewsNow.com editorial staff picks the most compelling (or downright gutsy) quote and reader comment from the previous week.
Quote of the week
Reputation management can mean different things to different hoteliers. While some may equate it with ensuring their hotel is projected online in a positive light, the hoteliers who truly understand reputation management see it as a way to respond to guests’ demands and improve operations.
Daniel Edward Craig, former hotel GM and current online reputation management consultant, tries to instill in his clients that, done well, true reputation management is a function that touches many aspects of a hotel’s operations.
“We’ve lost a lot of control about what is said about our properties, and we can’t hide. Listening and making changes that are feasible in turn naturally and organically improves your reputation.”
Read “Address online guest feedback internally.”
Comment of the week
Hotel CRS provider Trust International considers Google’s pay-per-click products an alternative to OTAs and says client hotels already are using Google products to shift traffic to their own sites.
HNN commenter hotelwiz shared some of the favorable things their clients are experiencing with the Google products:
“After booking several hotel stays ourselves via Hotel Finder, and speaking to some of our hotel clients about their experience, the early reports have been extremely positive.
- Lower COGS vs. OTA costs
- Easy to use from Customer perspective
- Seamless with Google Search
- AdWords model already well understood and accessible by all, making Hotel Finder an open system
- Combined with Air, this will force OTA's to react to loss of market share and should have a big impact on meta-search sites such as Kayak, Yapta, OneTime, etc.”
What are your thoughts on Google’s pay-per-click products? Join the conversation in the comments section of “Google Hotel Finder clients ‘pleased’ with results.”
