The Art of Hospitality and Social Media
Hospitality and Social Media can be very complex at times. I say as J W “Bill” Marriott, Jr. “Hospitality comes from our soul, and it has to be genuine”.
To me Hospitality is Art. It is like the painter that uses a combination of colors to create a picture. And we all will have a different perspective of how we view the finished product. The key is to bring out the commonalities that tell us that this is an experience we want to share with others.
The Hospitality Experience is no longer just about Hotel Experience and Reviews. Though both are important components of the Total Experience. Today it is about how your Social Community interpret your experience, and how much this will impact their decision.
When it comes to Social Media the Hotel Industry has not been first in line to adapt to change. No doubt we have some Hotels that is doing an awesome job in today’s real time consumer-driven market. But we still have too many that are sitting on the sideline and believes all these Social Media is a lot of hype that eventually will die out.
In Hotel Industry we have very long traditions, and this is not a bad thing. It has created a group of trusted Connected Hoteliers that has taken on new challenges and opportunities to make a difference.
Hospitality and Social Media
Old school Hospitality represented values like Clean, Comfortable and Convenient. These values are still very important today. But today the Hospitality Industry has become part of the sharing economy. The sharing economy takes a variety of forms, often leveraging information technology to empower individuals, corporations, non-profits, and government with information that enables distribution, sharing and reuse of excess capacity in goods and services.
In today’s sharing economy old school Hospitality has shifted into being an important part of the Customer Experience. It is almost at a point where the consumer is dictating how Hotels should apply new values to meet their approval.
I see the Customer Experience in 3 stages; Customer Care – Customer Service – Customer Retention. In the front end, it about creates enough awareness for the Hotel so the customer makes an educated booking. In the back end, we want to be sure the 2 previous stages build upon each other so the customer will 1. come back 2. refer hotel to friends.
Customer Service is that art that balances these stages. Here I would like to see Hotels introduce Performance seminars. To me Hotel Service is not static, it is very dynamic. And the old answer we gave consumers might work in the Hotel context at the time. Depending on how they perceived your Hotels resolutions to a concern they would provide their feedback on surveys, and give reviews on TripAdvisor.
We now live in the sharing economy and the context of Customer Experience is a different level. Consumers might still do the surveys, and provide reviews via TripAdvisor. But Social Media is like an amplifier that will blow the roof of the Hotel.
We have to learn how to become Hospitality Performers in today’s sharing economy. Don’t let New Media, Consumers or innovations outperform your Hotel. Airbnb and similar services are proof of that Hospitality have stepped out of its traditions. Consumers are already providing dedicated Hospitality Services that take advantage of the sharing economy.
Should the Hotel industry be concerned? If Hotels ends up holding tight onto old school traditions and norms, then YES. But even if the Hotel Industry has not adapted and changed as fast as many would like to see I am very optimistic.
Today there are larger groups of trusted Connected Hoteliers that has embraced these new shifts. Our goals and mission are to coach and mentor a new generation of Hoteliers. And at the same time provide old school hoteliers with data and information that make sense and will help them get on board.
When Hospitality and Social Media meets we have a synergy that will take the art of Hospitality to a new level.
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About the author
Are Morch is the founder and owner of Are Morch – Hotel Marketing Coach. Get more from Are on Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Pinterest | Instagram| Podcast
