LAS VEGAS—Having a buzz online doesn’t always equate to consumers rushing to book hotel rooms, so it’s important for hotel operators and other travel-related companies to know what’s being said throughout the Internet about their properties.
Members of a panel called “Economy in Transition” told attendees of the Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association meeting at the Wynn Las Vegas on Tuesday that because social media is becoming more and more omnipresent, the wise thing to do is keep tabs on it.
Jay Hubbs, director, hotel revenue management for Expedia Partner Services Group, Hotwire, said that when there are so many people with no vested interest in a brand talking about that brand in a public forum, it’s important to monitor that and take appropriate action.
“Buzz does not necessarily equal buy when somebody’s posting negative things about you, your brand or your hotel,” Hubbs said.
Art Jiminez, senior director of leisure sales for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said his group is cautious about becoming part of an online conversation, but isn’t afraid to act when necessary.
“Our strategy is pretty much to listen and monitor,” he said. “If we need to insert ourselves in a blog or a discussion thread, we will.”
He said the Authority has even gone out to conversation threads about specific entertainers playing Las Vegas, including posts about upcoming performances—all in the name of increasing the number of visitors coming to Las Vegas.
Sandy Riach, vice president, IT and product development for Trust International Hotel Reservation Services, said the road that social media is taking could be a boon for hoteliers in the future as they continue to be in relationships with their customers.
“From a technology viewpoint, I’m interested to see how social media can influence (customer relationship management),” Riach said. “Social media could start to influence how I view my customers coming in.”
Moderator Patricia Brusha, co-founder and principal for Internet marketing firm A Couple of Chicks, agreed with Riach. She said the knowledge gained from regular communication with customers via social media could open a new window into servicing those clients.
“We’ve gone from going online to living online,” Brusha said. “Consumers, particularly in hospitality and travel, are looking for things relevant and authentic.”
That means having content that sings to consumers—even in an age during which it is hard to differentiate content on travel Web sites. But more important is having a functional Web site on which customers can book a room easily.
“I like to help our customers actually sell their rooms, and that’s often about telling the customer, ‘That’s lovely, it’s great, but I can’t find how to book it,’” Riach said. “Allow me to book it. Make the content as relevant and make it easy to book and get the customer through the process.”
Hubbs said it’s been interesting to watch content evolve during the past 18 months because of the popularity of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
“With Facebook, with Twitter, with all the sites with reviews out there … we don’t control that and you don’t control that,” he said. “It’s very important for all of us to work together how we can manage that effectively.”
Managing that effectively is only part of the battle as the industry struggles to overcome the far-reaching downturn that it is in. Executives who handle electronic distribution channels at hotels must know how to read the tea leaves, according to the panelists.
“Supply growth is going to be benign in 2010, 2011—there’s not a lot of new competition coming in,” said Jan Freitag, VP at Smith Travel Research. “Demand growth will unfortunately be benign as well. The big question for us is rate. The question in 2009 was the same in 2001. It’s a value proposition.”
“In 2007, everybody in this room was a marketing genius,” Jiminez said. “Now you have you look under every single stone. You’ve got to go back to basics.”
Riach said it’s important for hotels to make customers feel at home as the recovery takes shape.
“A lot of hotels cut the wrong things in 2009,” he said. “Moving forward, they must get back to service excellence. Get back to what the hotel industry does well.”
Hubbs added that because this is the second time during the past eight years that the hotel industry has felt the pain of a dramatic decline in business, it’s important to look ahead to the next downturn.
“There will be another downturn. Know what your plan is (when it happens),” he said.
