What will Web 2.0 do for you? (continued)

In the Web 2.0 realm, visitors often spend time on various social networking sites before they visit you. Recent research has shown that, on the average, people spend nearly a month researching their options online before making a booking. This means that at one point in their research process, your guests are likely to visit a social networking site to find reviews on your services.

Travel is a natural platform for the exchange of opinions between users – people love to talk about their vacations and look forward to their next journey. They trust reviews made by other visitors, as they see these as a ‘true’ representation of your service.

Studies show that most people would rather spend their time writing a positive review than a negative. But if you do receive a negative review, the good news is that there are several ways you can turn this to your advantage.

You may choose to create your own profile and respond directly onto the site where the review was published. Or you can influence visitors directly on your own site. Blogs (often thought of as journals or diaries, although they are much more powerful than this) can be used as a tool to directly communicate with your guests. Let people learn more about your services by having a member of your staff write weekly articles on the latest news and events. Because blogs add a “personal” feeling to your site, your blog is also a great place to politely respond to bad reviews and criticism in the web sphere. This will impress your visitors and reassure them that you take their concerns seriously. Communication and dialogue is an essential element of Web 2.0 - use it to your advantage!

Web 2.0 has made it possible to reach potential customers via social networking sites in a multitude of ways. It has become common in the industry to develop applications to plug into social networking environments, creating new avenues for marketing. Tripadvisor for instance, launched “Cities I’ve visited” for use on Facebook last year - an application displaying a map where the user pinpoints places he or she has visited. Installed by more than two million users on their profiles, “Cities I’ve visited” is now enjoying a tremendous success.

GHO is following online trends closely. A Facebook group called “I am a hotel Guru” has already been created by staff of GHO, inviting members to share their best hotel experiences. Some exciting, interactive applications for use on networking sites featuring our Great Hotels are also already under development.

Cont...