Tag Archives: TripAdvisor

by | August 5, 2015 · 11:13 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “How to Use Reviews to Size Up the Competition”

One of my panelists (he who cannot be named) brought up an interesting tactic to help hoteliers size up the competition and see how they’re delivering on the guest experience.hotel website Have you ever thought about really digging into TripAdvisor’s “star” reviewers’ reviews? That’s a mouthful. But it’s an interesting way to look at what your hotel might be missing the mark on.

As our readers might know, Hotel News Now is deep in the throes of the beast that is the Hotel Data Conference. Leading up to the event, which kicked off last night, we pulled the data, assigned stories and called our panelists. (Shameless self-promotion: Hear me moderate the panel titled “Online, offline: Keeping your reputation intact”).

While this is only my second time moderating a panel, I have to say I’m really excited about this one. Why, you ask? Well, I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with each one of my panelists via phone about how the discussion will go. Let’s just say we’re all on the same page when it comes to giving you some concrete examples of how your hotel can better manage its reputation.

I don’t want to spoil all the fun, but I wanted to give you all a preview of what to expect during the panel, which will take place right before lunch on Thursday, 6 August. OK, enough of the self-promotion. Hopefully I’ve already wooed you.

For more: http://bit.ly/1T3M9kT

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by | August 3, 2015 · 9:34 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Company Uses Technology to Reduce Hotel Noise”

Given that studies have shown an increase in a hotel rating can correlate to an increase in the all-important average daily rate for a property,hotel noiseit’s no wonder why the hotel industry is trying to find ways to anticipate guests’ needs before they have time to bring it to the attention of hotel staff.

In a busy, bustling world, noise can be a problem for both hotel guests and hoteliers.

One company, Quietyme, has set out to reduce noise and cut down disturbances with the help of advanced technology.

Quietyme — founded in 2012 in Madison, Wisconsin — uses sensors to pick up the decibel levels of locations. Sensors can be placed in individual rooms and are connected via an electronic network. The sensors not only pick up the origin of high noise levels, but also indicate which particular rooms within a property are affected, based on each room’s decibel level. Reports are then sent to hotel staff either via mobile device or through the main hotel system.

Huey Zoroufy, COO of Quietyme, said the technology was originally designed for apartment managers, who used it to both monitor noise levels and curb property damage associated with high noise levels.

For more: http://bit.ly/1IeSGGy

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by | July 22, 2015 · 9:40 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Northwest Dallas Hotel is ‘hub for drug use, prostitution and violent crime,’ Says City Hall”

The city of Dallas has had enough, and late Thursday filed suit against the owners of the motel that looks decent enough on the outside but is anything but on the inside, according to the City Attorney’s Office. The city wants the court to order the owners to clean it up immediately or face thousand-dollar-a-day penalties until the laundry list of problems are remedied.

In early December, two men were shot and another man was injured (after he jumped out a window to escape being shot) at the Orange Extended Stay Motel on Finnell Street in Northwest Dallas, near Northwest Highway and N. Stemmons Freeway. Several residents told our Naheed Rajwani at the time they feel unsafe at the Orange and that, perhaps, it was time to move away from the crime-ridden (and poorly reviewed) hotel. Said one woman, “I’m scared, and I don’t want to end up losing my life being in this area.”

She had good reason to be concerned: On May 30, someone was shot to death at the hotel.

The city of Dallas has had enough, and late Thursday filed suit against the owners of the motel that looks decent enough on the outside but is anything but on the inside, according to the City Attorney’s Office. The city wants the court to order the owners — Carrollton-based Dynasty Hotel Group — to clean it up immediately or face thousand-dollar-a-day penalties until the laundry list of problems are remedied.

“The relatively well kept facade of this business belies the abhorrent physical conditions, habitual drug offenses, and violent crime that have pervaded its interior and for which the property has become known,” says the suit, signed by Assistant City Attorney Melissa Miles.

For more: http://bit.ly/1KkzKtx

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by | July 20, 2015 · 11:10 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “6 Ways to Prepare For the Next Downturn”

“Providing an exceptional guest experience is the best investment any hotelier can make.20150714_downturn_feature This is why we as a brand have rolled out a membership-wide training program all about the importance of unlocking the personalities of the staff and the story of the hotel when guests stay,” she said.

Good times continue to roll for the global hospitality sector with growth in the travel and tourism industry expected to increase by 3.9% this year, according to Ernst & Young’s “Global hospitality insights” report for 2015.

But in the cyclical fashion of the industry, the upswing can’t last forever.

So what should hoteliers be doing now to prepare for the inevitable down cycle, and how much can investing in their products and services now set them up for not so good times in the future?

For Eric Danziger, president and CEO of Debut Hotel Group and Hampshire Hotels Management, preparation now is absolutely key to success in a future downturn.

“Hoteliers should be pragmatic, preparing for when it is a bit more difficult to get those much-needed guests through a property’s doors,” he said. “Hoteliers that are prepared with a product and with services that guests value, appreciate and are willing to pay for will be ahead of the game.”

For more: http://bit.ly/1IflBgM

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by | June 11, 2015 · 9:14 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “3 Ways the Hotel Industry is Changing”

“We’re under attack right now,” he said. “We’re under direct attack. We’ve got Expedia and Orbitz planning a merger. They have 75% of the online marketplace. This is like the Klingons and Romulans teaming up together.”3 ways hotel industry changing…David Kong, president and CEO of Best Western International, said he is not surprised to see consolidation among online travel agencies considering that some hotel companies are consolidating, too.

J. Allen Smith has a problem.

“I keep feeling: ‘What should I be worried about?’” the president and CEO of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts said Tuesday during a general session “The leaders forum” panel at the 37th annual NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference.

“You’re mindful of a plethora of risks. None of them seems to be materializing in a way that seems to be disrupting anything, but you have to be mindful of them,” he said

Smith’s comment succinctly summed up the sentiment on Day Two of the NYU Conference. With the industry hitting on all cylinders, it can be difficult to find things to be concerned about.

Difficult, but not impossible it turns out, as top leaders from around the industry discussed their biggest concerns in this part of the cycle. One of the recurring themes throughout the three-hour long series of morning general sessions had to do with how the hotel industry itself is in transition.

For more: http://bit.ly/1MsNG1s

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by | June 4, 2015 · 9:45 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “How Hotels Can Engage Guests Through Social Media”

As hotel guests continue to turn to social media as their primary source for information gathering and remote communication,SocialMedia hoteliers will be presented with numerous opportunities to create engagement among their guests via social media. If they succeed at connecting with guests on a social level, they can remain at the forefront of those customers’ minds when they book their next trip.

It’s no secret that social media plays a major role in the way the hospitality industry connects with customers. There are, however, more ways for hotels to use social media than to just attract guests before they book. With creativity and ingenuity, hotels can use this medium as a powerful marketing channel to build brand affinity and loyalty by engaging guests in conversations during their stays.

Below are simple but innovative ways a few major hotels are already using social media to create memorable guest experiences:

Installing Social Walls
The desire to connect with and meet new people is one that is shared by nearly all of mankind, but compelling any person to actively make connections with other guests during a hotel stay can be tricky. The Four Seasons Dallas, however, came up with a brilliant tactic to overcome this obstacle. During the Fourth of July holiday in 2013, the hotel unveiled “social walls” in its lobby. The walls consisted of screens that showed social posts of people staying at the hotel.

For more: http://bit.ly/1KcyOG4

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by | May 26, 2015 · 9:51 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “5 Ways to Improve Responses on TripAdvisor”

Leisman cited data form a Phocuswright poll of the TripAdvisor community of travelers that found 84% of U.S. users agreed that an appropriate managementonline engagement response to a bad review “improves my impression of the hotel.” Six of 10 users (62%) said seeing hotel management responses to reviews generally “makes me more likely to book it (versus a comparable hotel that didn’t respond to travelers).”

It’s funny observing the disparate number of policies hoteliers employ regarding reviews on TripAdvisor. Company A insists on responding to every comment, while Company B tells its managers to reply only to the bad. Company C takes a different tact entirely: It doesn’t respond to any.

Those are the broad buckets. Nuances and further variation exist at each stage along the spectrum. And each company that employs them insists theirs is the only and obvious approach.

Some variety might be warranted. One hotel is often not like the other, so I understand a degree of unique plans that appeal to unique bases of demand, product offerings and location types.

But clearly there are some hoteliers who, despite their best intentions, are engaging with guests on TripAdvisor in a manner that could prove potentially harmful to further review rankings and thus future bookings.

In cases such as these, I find it’s best to go straight to the source for the prescribed best practices. In this case, that would be TripAdvisor—or more specifically, Heather Leisman, business VP of industry marketing.

This topic was top of mind for her. TripAdvisor recently released a report which examined why travelers write reviews. The top reason? “To share useful information with others” and because “they find reviews helpful, so they want to give back.” (Who knew the TripAdvisor online community was so altruistic?)

For more: http://bit.ly/1cgseQT

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by | May 12, 2015 · 8:13 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Airbnb Grows to a Million Rooms, and Hotel Rivals Are Quiet, for Now”

In Austin, Tex., each 10 percent increase in Airbnb listings resulted in a 0.35 percent decrease in monthly hotel room revenue,airbnb according to a study by Boston University. Less expensive hotels and those focused on leisure travelers were most affected when Airbnb developed in their area, the study found.

By any measure, Airbnb’s growth has been stunning since the company was founded in 2008. It now has more than a million rooms available in homes, apartments and even former barns — more places to sleep than hotel giants like Marriott and Hilton.

Despite this growth, though, the big hotel chains, at least outwardly, have yet to take substantial action to counter the potential threat from the upstart lodging service.

One reason is the strength of the travel market over all. Spending on hotels this year is projected to be even higher than last year’s robust outlays, according to Douglas Quinby, an analyst for Phocuswright. Other reasons include the ingrained habits of travelers, particularly older ones and business travelers on expense accounts, who see no reason to change their ways.

For more: http://nyti.ms/1zWgiir

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by | April 21, 2015 · 10:12 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Hotels’ Lessons For Marketing to Multi-Generational Travelers”

“The marketing world is getting older and younger all at the same time but not in all the same places. The demographic picture is like a two-humped camel: a large group of Boomers (born 1946-1964)IMG_4934 and Millennials (born 1982-2000). The big opportunity for brands is strategically managing both of these groups at the same time. That applies to any number of stay occasions, including multi-generational trips together.

As summer inches closer in the U.S. so do the waves of grandparents and their families ready to relax and flex their spending power on vacations.

Multi-generational travel already has a strong showing at hotels and destinations around the world and if the 80 million people who will be considered older Americans by 2020 are any indication, this market will undoubtedly continue to flourish.

One Hotel’s Strategy 

Preferred Hotels and Resorts, previously Preferred Hotel Group, released the results of its national survey in December on U.S. multi-generational travelers. The findings emphasize that even though hotels need to think of this market holistically, the way properties communicate with the various generations should be differentiated.

“Millennials, for example, don’t want to feel like they’re being specifically marketed to,” said Lindsey Ueberroth, president and CEO of Preferred Hotels and Resorts. “This market stays longer and spends more. Grandparents are the ones who are paying for these vacations but it’s the millennials who are influencing where they’re going.”

For more: http://bit.ly/1yOELpK

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by | April 13, 2015 · 9:13 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Survey Finds Social Media Boosts Hotel Occupancy by 2x”

“The hospitality industry has experienced the impact social media can have on their business, both positive and negative,online engagement but these findings allow properties to quantify the impact of taking action on reviews—and make it easier to justify additional investments in social media engagement,” said Aurelia Setton, Medallia’s general manager for hospitality.

Hotel properties that actively engage with social media reviews grow occupancy at double the rate of properties that don’t, according to a study released by Medallia. The study examines customer and business data from more than 4,400 hotel properties worldwide to understand and quantify the impact of social media engagement on a company’s revenue growth, customer satisfaction, and social reputation.

Results Overview
The study found a direct relationship between responsiveness to social media reviews and occupancy rate. Properties that responded to more than 50 percent of social reviews grew occupancy rates by 6.4 percentage points, more than twice the rate of properties that largely ignored social media reviews. These socially engaged properties also outperformed the hospitality industry as a whole, which achieved a 4.3 percent occupancy growth rate during the same period.

For more: http://bit.ly/1cphmkq

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