TripAdvisors Owner Center for Hoteliers
The 2009 edition of Buy Tourism Online Tradeshow (16th and 17th November) was held at the historical Florence train station Stazione Leopolda, now turned into a convention center. The B.T.O. is an Italian web 2.0 and online tourism exhibition which main subject is TOURISM 2.0, the phenomenon that is drastically altering the dynamics of supply and demand of the tourist accommodation industry.
Various speakers introduced the different aspects related to Web 2.0 and social networking in the hotel industry. One of the most attention-grabbing speeches was delivered by Roberto Frua of TripAdvisor(c). The central point of Frua’s address was how social media, and most of all TripAdvisor(c), can help hoteliers in their marketing plan.
Web 2.0, or consumer-based internet content, is a reality and it is very vigorous in tourism. TripAdvisor(c), with more than 30 million traveler reviews, is a necessary tool to monitor what it is being said about your property and do something about it. Monitoring and replying to your hotel’s reviews are crucial in modern hotel business. More than ever if the reviews are unenthusiastic, the hotelier should first of know about the post and then come up with a satisfactory response. In order to assist in this task, Tripadvisor(c) has developed the Owner Center, built to help management teams of hotels, restaurants and attractions administer and optimize their properties’ presence on the portal.
By accessing to the Owner Center, hoteliers are able to provide and update information about their hotels and most of all keep track of their reviews and respond in an opportune manner. It actually helps to save time on a very time-consuming job. Managers can see their performance on the customer satisfaction index and also keep an eye on how their direct competitors are performing.
Nowadays TripAdvisor(c) is an essential tool for hoteliers that want to engage with their former and possible guests. The innovation of the Web 2.0 is that customers have their say and what they think about your property is going to be out there, for the whole online community to see. It is a mistake to ignore this reality that may hurt the hotel integrity and image in the World Wide Web. Be it through the handy Owner Center or not, it is really sensible to observe what is being said about your property in TripAdvisor(c) and act in response: The first effort to being part of any online community is to listen to the conversation, and then to join in.
Stefano Maranzana is PR Director for EPOQUE HOTELS, and AVANTGARDE HOTELS
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