E-Marketing Associates

Is personalization the key to increasing hotel reviews?

This week, TripAdvisor launched Review Express, a new system that ultimately aims to increase the amount of content on the popular travel review site. The free service allows hoteliers to upload guests’ email addresses in bulk (up to 1,000 at a time) and then send out an email encouraging these guests to leave reviews of their experiences. A tiny glimmer of light in the continuous problem of ensuring reviews on the site are legitimate, Review Express acts as a review verification system of its own since someone directly from the hotel is inputting the contact information of actual past guests. Review Express is likely a move to help TripAdvisor remain competitive with Facebook as it continues to roll out its new Graph Search that promises much when it comes to travel planning. TripAdvisor hopes to still capture a large portion of the audience looking for travel recommendations, and if it has the leg up on content then it will likely continue to keep readers on the site.

The review verification aspect and the fact that TripAdvisor is looking to increase its content are both a step in the right direction, however, the means of getting this increase in content is slightly troubling. Almost every day, there are new articles published discussing how personalization is key when it comes to travel and how essential it is for hotels to have a personal touch and make a real connection with guests. So is bulk emailing your guests really the right way to go? Is it the most effective way to garner reviews?

There have got to be better ways of personalizing the guest review system. Here’s my idea, although there are bound to be some kinks…what about leaving a comment card on the desk inside the hotel room? The guest would fill out his basic contact info and write a couple sentences about his stay. To encourage guests to actually fill out these simple comment cards, offer them a small consolation if they return the card to the front desk upon checkout. From there, create an email template that you can use for all your guests, but leave a couple spots where you can personalize the message. Spend a few minutes a day reaching out to these guests. Type out in the email what the guest wrote on the comment card so it is personal and he knows you took the time to reach out to him individually. Thank the guest for staying at your property and encourage he shares his experience on your TripAdvisor page, to which you provide a link. From there, it would be easy for that person to copy his actual comment into a TripAdvisor review, and he is likely more inclined to do so since you took the time to email him.

I’m not saying there aren’t some problems with this solution. For example, who has extra time to write out personalized emails? It might be easiest to split the cards up among team members. If you have a big property, it might be near impossible to individually email everyone. In this case, maybe separately email those who had the best experiences at your property and bulk email the others using Review Express. The key here is that travel is personal and if you show your guests you care, they are more likely to show their gratitude by providing you a TripAdvisor rating and filling out a review.

Will you use Review Express? How do you go about getting reviews for your hotel? Is personalization the key to increasing the amount of content on your TripAdvisor page?

(Source: e-marketingassociates.com)

Booking a Coachella hotel from the eyes of a hotel marketer

As a hospitality marketer, there are many things of which I take note when booking a hotel room. I love when a hotel has clearly dedicated time and money to its online presence – it tells me that if the property sees the value in spending money on the page, that off the page it will likely also fit my needs and desires. So when I decided to attend the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival very last minute, I knew I might have to do some digging to find both a hotel with availability and a hotel worthy of my business. To my dismay, I found a plethora of hotels in the Palm Springs area that were not worthy of my business and probably realistically don’t receive much business outside of the busy Coachella and Stagecoach Festival weekends.

For anyone not familiar with the Palm Springs area, it is a frequent spot for retired, luxury travelers looking to shop, relax with friends, partake in some fine dining, and simply unwind.
There are many nice hotels in the area that cost a pretty penny. But, as I found out through my hotel booking experience earlier this week, there are so many properties in the area that do charge a more affordable price, which would perhaps allow a traveler to spend money on other nice luxuries. So what’s the problem? These hotels have virtually no web presence! How does anyone actually find these properties and book with them?

I came across multiple hotels that had no online booking systems. Call to book? Okay…fine. But alas, there was no answer and the phone rang and rang. There were broken linksand broken plug-ins. A few had social media pages listed but when clicked upon, I foundthey were not linked to anything. Don’t even get me started on the poor image qualitysome websites showed. Many had outdated copy or were very obviously keyword stuffing. There was a lot of missed opportunity for bookings and while I understand that it can be hard to spend money on marketing when money isn’t coming in…hoteliers need to remember that you have to spend money to make money!

I understand that Palm Springs might not have the most tech-savvy travelers visiting, so something as simple as a Facebook icon not linking to the hotel’s Facebook page might not be trivial. But travelers are becoming more tech-savvy these days and Palm Springs hotels are just one example. I’m sure there are a large number of hotels out there with websites over a decade old that are missing out on a lot of conversions…but we can’t even find them on Google to verify their existence!

TripAdvisor to be fully integrated on new Samsung Galaxy S4

After its recent achievement in becoming the first travel site to reach 100 million reviews, TripAdvisor has reached yet another milestone with the announcement yesterday that it is partnering with Samsung to be fully integrated with the new Samsung Galaxy S4 phones. This means that not only will the phone come pre-installed with a TripAdvisor application but that various elements of the travel site will be integrated across the user experience on the mobile devices.

The phones will include TripAdvisor data in the following features:

• Travel widget – This widget will showcase popular TripAdvisor destinations and attractions. The widget is designed to inspire, thus a simple one-touch of the finger saves a destination to a user’s list for easy access at a later time. From this widget, users can see a destination’s reviews, photos, and more simply by touching the displayed photo.
• Lock screen slideshow – To accentuate the phone’s large, high-res screen, a fun feature also native to the device will be the ability to see a slideshow of all the beautiful travel photos on TripAdvisor. These photos would present themselves when the screen is locked and would act as a screensaver.
• City information in Samsung Story Album – This app connects user’s travel photos with content pulled from TripAdvisor to create a digital photo album.

This big win for TripAdvisor comes on the heels of another recent announcement from the travel site that it will be amping up its tours and activities content. No doubt that this new focus is meant to supplement the site’s flourishing mobile strategy and urge users to explore, discover, and book activities in their destinations in real-time all in one place.

What can hotel marketers do?
One thing is for sure – as data so far suggests this may very well be the most successful and prolific Android phone to date, marketers cannot afford to put this on the backburner. So, how can hotel marketers prepare their properties for TripAdvisor’s changes? While there may be no official release date yet for the phone in the United States (UK release date is April 26), there are still many ways to prepare for these new opportunities:

• Make sure your website is mobile-friendly. Now, more than ever, a mobile site and mobile booking system are essential. As TripAdvisor may be one of your top sources in referral traffic, this number will only continue to grow as there will be more opportunities for travel discovery.
• Pay attention to your hotel’s TripAdvisor page. Optimize your listing to ensure all the information presented there is accurate and complete. Respond to both positive and negative reviews (but not every single one). Encourage your guests to visit your TripAdvisor page and write a review to get your numbers up – don’t forget, however, that you are not allowed to encourage them to write positive feedback.
• Don’t neglect your hotel’s photography. Especially with this new native app that will feed beautiful travel photos directly to the mobile devices, increase your hotel’s awareness and visibility by including beautiful, hi-res photos on not only your site’s TripAdvisor page, but also its website and social media sites.

What are you thoughts on the new TripAdvisor/Samsung partnership? How will your hotel’s online marketing strategy change? Will this new focus help out only the “big guys?” From a consumer standpoint, would you be annoyed with this bloatware that may actually be irrelevant to many people? Feel free to leave any comments below!

How Hotel Marketers Can Use New Pinterest Analytics

Pinterest is stepping up its game once again for brands and businesses. On Tuesday, the popular image-driven social network released a web analytics tool that will give marketers and social media managers a basic look at how their pinned images are received by their followers. Before this update, to see information on how specific pins were performing, marketers would use third-party systems such as Curalate or Pinfluencer. This analytics addition within the Pinterest site itself is free to use and available to those accounts with a verified website. The analytics give valuable information such as impressions, reach, clicks, visitors, and more.

The initial step in Pinterest’s move to accommodate businesses came late last year, when official business accounts became available. The analytics announced today are another step in Pinterest working towards monetizing the site. This seems promising so far, as data last year showed that Pinterest beat out sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube in referral traffic.

Hospitality marketers managing Pinterest campaigns will find this information incredibly valuable, especially in the likely case that there is no budget for any third-party Pinterest analytics tools. It will be easier to keep track now of what content goes the furthest, and what content is actually driving potential customers to your website. Available also is data on how many people have seen each pin and how many people have pinned from your website. Yet another reason to include those beautiful, hi-res photos on your hotel’s website!

Some typical Pinterest boards for hotels might be local attractions, enticing photos of your hotel, local events, or more specialized boards for those hotels that are pet-friendly or have spas. No matter the board, hotel marketers should view their Pinterest page’s analytics to see what boards and pins drive the most traffic to their hotel’s website. Perhaps local attraction photos aren’t as popular or effective as you thought – refocus your efforts on snapping photos of your guests enjoying themselves at your property or try something else new! Maybe beach or pool-themed photos perform better when it’s closer to the weekend…pin more of those on Fridays! Whatever you find, it will undoubtedly help you drive traffic to your website and improve your content strategy.

Making the Most of Creative Hotel Promotions & Social Media (Part 1)

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, hotels have been sure to ramp up their marketing efforts these last few weeks. Travel marketers are quick to take advantage of holidays because of the ample opportunities for creative promotions and partnerships. I recently read an article on HotelNewsNow about how some boutique hotels are taking unique approaches by not offering discounts on rooms, but instead offering exclusive packages that add extra value to the guests’ stays. This is a great approach to bring in more guests and increase bookings, and coupling these creative promotions with specific social media strategies will work twofold to draw guests in to both your actual property as well as your social media channels.

Creating the promotion
Think about your guests. What are they interested in? What sort of activities would they want to do while staying at your hotel? Consider their demographics and psychographics. If your hotel is not necessarily in a big tourist area, consider creating a package with ties to amenities within your hotel, such as a discounted spa day or complimentary breakfasts. However, if your guests come to you and explore the city, this is a great opportunity to partner with other local spots to benefit you both. The hotel referenced in the above article enticed guests to book by offering 2-for-1 admissions to local museums and a free glass of wine at a nearby cultural arts center. There is so much potential for creativity with your packages and promotions that it can be a really fun process to create them! Don’t forget to use wit or humor, if appropriate. Think outside the box. Be original!

A quick non-hospitality themed example to get your creative juices flowing is when I was in college I had an internship where I was promoting certain movies in theaters to college student organizations. I organized a “Fairy Tale Date Night” to promote one of the new Shrek movies and it was given away on a radio contest. I partnered with relevant local businesses to donate themed prizes – “make-ogres” for the couple at a salon, flowers, dinner at a royalty-themed restaurant, and a round of mini golf (putting on the “green”). There are lots of possibilities for tying in events or holidays with creative promotions at your hotel and all without losing any money on rooms!

To see what to do after your promotion is live, stay tuned for Part 2 in this series, in which I will discuss how to leverage your social media channels to get the most out of your hotel’s promotions and packages. The best part is that with any budget, large or small, social media can play a big part in crowdsourcing your promotion and your property will get new business, both new and old.

How Hoteliers Can Take Advantage of ‘Foursquare for Business’

While it may be true that Foursquare is not doing as well as was initially projected, it is also true that at least some guests are still checking in to your hotel on the popular location-basedsocial network. Yes, Foursquare does not have the user base of Facebook, but if your guests are there, you should be too. Enter Foursquare for Business, a new mobile app released for iOS and Android yesterday designed to supplement Foursquare and ease the business page management process for business owners on-the-go.

The first step in gaining access to Foursquare for Business is toclaim your business, which hopefully was done long ago. After downloading the application from your app store, enter your log-in information, et voila! From here, business owners can perform the following tasks:

• Check activity – This shows you any recent activity happening on your business page – recent visitor check-ins, tips, photos, likes, etc. The tab is simple, yet valuable for any quick up-to-the-minute activity.
• Manage specials – From this tab, you can turn specials on or off, and manage various aspects. A big limitation and something that will most likely be added soon is the ability tocreate specials must still be done on a desktop computer.
• View customer stats – The stats available are not incredibly detailed but they can tell you enough to get an idea of the demographic of your social media-savvy customers. Available to you currently on the Stats tab is a summary of your business’ page, such as how many total check-ins there are. There is also a list of your recent top customers, and how many times each has checked in.
• Post updates – Perhaps one of the best features of Foursquare for Business, business owners can now easily share updates and photos with their customers on the business’ Foursquare page, while simultaneously sharing them on Twitter and Facebook.

How can hoteliers use Foursquare for Business? Beyond the ease in the way you manage your hotel’s online reputation, you can do a lot more to bring in guests to your property. Especially with Foursquare’s recent updates and the way it expertly recommends establishments to nearby users, there is lots of opportunity to draw in passersby by posting a photo of your restaurant’s latest specialty, or your fancy new lobby artwork. Update your page to broadcast that there’s a special event going on at your property. It’s simply a quick and easy way to get the word out about anything exciting your guests would like. Is there a special group meeting at your hotel? Turn on a special for a discount on drinks at your lounge. Did you forget Valentine’s Day is coming up and you’re not on the property? With a few quick swipes and clicks you can turn on the spa day special.

Foursquare for Business may not be a groundbreaking development but it is still a valuable addition and without a doubt opens up more potential for interaction between brands and users. Get started updating your hotel’s Foursquare page today!

Who will use Facebook’s Graph Search to find businesses?

Last week, Facebook revealed the next step in its strategy for world domination. As many expected, the popular social network announced the coming of an enhanced search feature. Graph Search will be valuable for users interested in finding recommendations from friends (or friends of friends) on, or discovering virtually anything – activities, destinations, entertainment, photos, people, etc.

The search process is fairly intuitive, but definitely different than how one searches on Google. An example of a typical search will be, “I’m going to Los Angeles and want to find a Mexican restaurant overlooking the ocean.” The results will include lists of establishments visited by the user’s Facebook friends and include their reviews and photos of the places, maps, and any other relevant information.

Personally, I remain undecided on Facebook’s Graph Search. I know my opinion will most likely evolve once I get to play with it. The search feature is a logical step and will make digital word-of-mouth even more important. Social media optimization will continue to expand as new marketing methods emerge. However, I think there are still a few unanswered questions and issues to address that may affect the impact of Graph Search.

How many Facebook users actually use the site to recommend or post about local establishments? If they even get that far, how in depth are the reviews? I would think that those who like writing reviews would visit the far more comprehensive Yelp, Google+, or Tripadvisor. I work with social media on a daily basis and must admit I have never read the recommendations and have never interacted with or posted about brands or businesses on the site for personal use. I don’t see many of my Facebook connections doing so either. Even if they have, what are the chances that someone I’m friends with on Facebook has visited an establishment that fits my desired parameters, then actually gone to Facebook to write about it?

On top of this, will Facebook be able to tell whose recommendations I care the most about? Yes, I can admit that, like many others, I was perhaps a bit too eager with my Confirm Friend Request button in my early college years. Unfortunately, now I’m left with many acquaintances on my friends list (removing friends proved to be an incredibly time-consuming, tedious and now long-term process) and they not necessarily people who I would be interested in receiving recommendations from.

I see more potential in using Graph Search for finding other people with common interests as opposed to finding businesses I’d like to visit. If I want a recommendation for a place, I feel as if I will continue to search Google first, and from there click to a Yelp or Google+ Local page. Since those are designated review sites, I believe the reviews there will be more thorough and I’ll find the desired information more handily there. Facebook will most likely be revamping their entire Recommendations process and potentially bringing in a more specific Review process to supplement its Graph Search, but for now, my doubts remain.

Wikivoyage: The Dynamic Travel Guide

To coincide with Wikipedia’s 12th year of operation, Wikimedia Foundation debuted yesterday its newest project, Wikivoyage, which aims to be essentially a Wikipedia for travel. Much like how Wikipedia is many Internet users’ go-to for quick information on almost anything, Wikivoyage may soon become users’ go-to for travel guides, tips, and anything else pertaining to information about a specific destination.

At first glance, the navigation and functionality are similar to that of Wikipedia. When you type in a destination in the search bar, the first information to be displayed is a general overview of the queried place. From there are the expected topics such as “Get in,” “Get around,” “See,” “Do,” “Eat,” “Sleep,” etc. There are also practical topics regarding safety, health, etc. How does this stand out from a typical guide book or Lonely Planet page? Of course, the fact that these Wikivoyage pages can constantly be updated is a great feature, outperforming guide books which can become obsolete quite quickly. The text on each page can easily be edited to display local secrets or recommendations, and as editors can simply add on under each topic, the possibilities are endless as to what kind of itineraries readers can build off the Wikivoyage information provided. The main idea of the site is that the information is for travelers, written by travelers!

Marketers are limited in how they can contribute to Wikivoyage, and rightfully so, as it was not designed to be a hub for travel marketers to push their content. However, when the information is relevant, quality, and valuable, anyone can contribute to Wikivoyage – that’s the power of crowdsourcing! Wikivoyage has a designated page defining its policies and terms for local business owners who are interested in offering their best tips and tricks for travelers on the site. There are many “do’s” and “don’t’s” but all are fairly intuitive and will only make the Wikivoyage community yet another source for information under the trusted Wikipedia name.

Airbnb Pushes Local Travel Discovery

In case you were busy, like myself, doing festive holiday activities the last couple weeks instead of reading travel news online, you might have missed the story that the online booking siteAirbnb recently acquired Localmind, an app that allows users interested in visiting an establishment to connect in real-time with other patrons at that destination in order to ask any desired questions, such as how the scene is at the moment. The common idea of both Airbnb and Localmind is to assist people in their travels but give them a local’s perspective. This move makes a lot of sense for Airbnb as it goes along with the new trend of travel becoming more local and social.

Airbnb is a hub where travelers can find lodging aside from hotels. Typically, the lodging is offered because someone is out of town, or has an extra room, and wants to share his living space or simply make some extra cash. Often times, the home-owner can become a guide of sorts and offer up recommendations of the best local spots. This can make the renter seem like he is getting more of a unique take on the city because he isn’t in a hotel surrounded by all the usual tourist paraphernalia.

Because of this more local feel, incorporating the SoLoMo element into the Airbnb platform will be a great feature for the flourishing site. There is ample opportunity for discovery of local secrets or establishments off the beaten path. Airbnb could become the go-to site for word of mouth and real-time travel advice; travelers could skip the more traditional or kitschy travel guides, online or offline, and get tips directly from the local experts. As those who utilize Airbnb are probably the more adventurous types looking for unique experiences (if not, wouldn’t they stay in more standard lodging?), their whole travel experiences could be changed by this.

In a way, this goes along with the developments in location-based marketing and the idea that the trend will continue to grow. Receiving information in real-time will likely be a huge feature with many apps and updates this year. There is a lot of room for growth yet, especially in the travel industry, and we will be sure to keep watch in 2013 to see what new features arise.

Frosty the Hotel Marketer

(Sung to the tune of Frosty the Snowman)

Hotel Arazzo was a lovely old hotel,
With quaint little rooms and a stellar staff,
Though it still had rooms to sell.
Hotel Arazzo is the perfect tale, they say,
Of using the web to get heads in beds,
In a most efficient way.
It redesigned its website,
Made a mobile website too.
Throw in a site for tablets and
Oh, how the traffic grew!
Then, Hotel Arazzo,
Launched a travel blog,
And the more it wrote,
Search engines took note,
Now Page 1 it does hog!
Google, Bing, Yahoo,
Google, Bing, Yahoo,
Visibility has increased.
Google, Bing, Yahoo,
Google, Bing, Yahoo,
Bookings haven’t ceased!

Hotel Arazzo knew
It needed another hook,
For there’s more to explore,
More revenue in store,
From Twitter or Facebook.
So many networks,
Where else should the hotel be?
On Pinterest and Instagram,
Google+ is gaining fans,
YouTube lets guests see!
The hotel thrived and flourished
As its social networks grew,
People joined in online,
Old guests and many new!
For Hotel Arazzo,
Made the most of the online space,
And as the guests piled in,
It declared this a win,
As it still is in the race!
Tweet, Post, Pin, Share,
Tweet, Post, Pin, Share,
New site and SEO…
Tweet, Post, Pin, Share,
Tweet, Post, Pin, Share,
Social media – here we go!

Read more: Hotel for the Holidays: A Social Media Poem