Hotel & Motel Management - November 3, 2008 - (Page 56)

56 Special Report AN INDUSTRY CONNECTED H&MM November 3, 2008 | HotelMotel.com www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition Online guest reviews Continued from page 55 “[The trend] is definitely making an impact. When travelers read those comments, it’s impacting their booking. We’re big believers in how important maintaining those social networking sites and maintaining a presence on them is,” LeGrand said. Play a role Monitoring travel sites from the outside isn’t the only option available to hoteliers. TripAdvisor, the largest provider of user-generated travel content, offers hotel owners many services to become more involved on the site. The most basic is the ability to respond to reviews. “There are hoteliers who respond to every single negative review and some of the positive. … We hear from a lot of people that the way management responds tells them way more than the actual review,” said Brian Payea, trade relations manager for TripAdvisor. Stephen Kaufer, president, CEO and founder of TripAdvisor, said involving hotels in the process was a priority of his when developing the site. “Our job is presenting the most unbiased view, and we encourage properties to put their best foot forward, so every property should want to have as many photos and video as they can to help a visitor experience their place before they get there,” Kaufer said. User-generated content Content written by members of the public and visitors to websites, rather than by professionals or experts on a subject. Online travel communities Websites where people meet to discuss travel, including seeking and offering advice, sharing experiences and posting customer reviews. While these options are available to hoteliers, Kaufer said he expected more to have taken advantage of them, now eight years after TripAdvisor’s launch. “It’s growing a lot slower than I would have thought,” he said. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has taken a unique approach to becoming more involved in online travel communities by actually becoming a member of those communities. In 2000, William Sanders was asked to take on the role of Starwood Lurker, the screen name he uses on sites like Flyertalk.com, Communispace, TheLobby.com and the Starwood Preferred Guest Facebook page. Today, Sanders said he monitors those sites daily along with a colleague in the Asia-Paciﬁc region who takes over at night. Sanders’ job is to respond to conversations when necessary and resolve issues if possible by directing guests through the proper channels. “Starwood really works to be involved in these communities,” Sanders said. “We want to have an ongoing dialogue, and I have always been encouraged from the beginning to become involved in any community that allows for online interaction.” LeGrand LUXE WORLDWIDE CIRCLE NO. 137 Burkard VANTAGE http://www.HotelMotel.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition http://www.hmrsss.com http://www.Flyertalk.com http://www.TheLobby.com http://www.hmrsss.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hotel & Motel Management - November 3, 2008

Hotel & Motel Management - November 3, 2008 Contents The Rate Debate Accor Defines Motel 6 Prototype Rollout Holiday Inn Eyes Upscale, Timeshare Perspective Economy Sets Tone at The Lodging Conference Mellow Vibe Meets Bold Design at HD Boutique Expo IH/M&RS to Focus on Going Green Legally Speaking Sales Clinic On Finance Travel Trends Cornell Insights Franchise Law HotelWorld Update Trends & Stats Energy Star Update Energy Star Update An Industry Connected People on The Move Annual GM Survey Point-of-Sale Systems IH/M&RS Product Preview Outdoor Lighting Refrigeration Marketplace Ad/Editorial Index Classifieds Checking Out

Hotel & Motel Management - November 3, 2008

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