Content Culture for Hotels

“Hotels need to think like media companies” was a major takeaway from a recent Webinar courtesy of ReviewPro and Hotel Marketing Strategies. This means an orientation to content being king in websites and all social media activities.  Hoteliers were urged to take what they called a “concierge and service approach” in a three step process coinciding with the three stages of a guest’s stay:

Stage 1: Before guests come: anticipate and answer their questions, everything from transportation options from the airport to recommended restaurants
Social media tools to communicate at this stage: Facebook, blog and video

Stage 2: During their stay: service for enjoyable travel
Social media tools: Twitter, mobile apps

Stage 3: After their stay – facilitate sharing online 
Social media tools: Review sites, Fickr, You Tube

They also suggest having a Style Guide to ensure that the tone and the voice of the content is consistent and is aligned with the brand.  In order to build credibility and loyalty, there must be a continued level of engagement.  All of this makes a lot of sense. And speaking of sharing online, I’m surprised that more hotels don’t follow in the steps of Fairmont, which provides a flip camera at the front desk so guests can take images and share them with friends. This strategy works for spreading good news and countering negative news when the guests experience is a positive one and media reports are negative.