Online hotel reputation battle continues

At World Travel Market's seminar “Reputation, Reputation, Reputation - How to manage and respond to what is being said about your hotel online,” hoteliers were warned to ignore their online reputation at their own peril.

Chairperson Pamela Carvell, VP of the Hotel Marketing Association, introduced the topic by emphasizing that “10 billon dollars per annum of the travel business is being influenced by consumer-generated content.

“Word of mouth is now both global and immediate, which presents a major challenge for anyone working anywhere in hospitality,” she said.

Carvell highlighted a World Travel Market report in which, of 1,000 holiday travel planners, 36% took advice from social media sites before making a reservation. Of those, 66% consulted TripAdvisor, 24% YouTube and 17% Twitter. Carvell, and indeed the other panellists, thought other evidence would indicate figures to be much higher.

“What is very, very interesting for us all is that 35% of social media users then changed their intended hotel as a result of their research,” she said.

The way in which potential guests choose and book a hotel has changed beyond recognition and it’s clear social media is playing a huge role.

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