Creating Customer Engagement

Hotels are always looking for new, creative ways to encourage social media interaction between guests and their property.  When considering where to stay on your vacation, the most highly regarded suggestions will come from personal acquaintances, not advertisements or Google suggestions.  Other than word-of-mouth, social media is the best way to get your customers to brag about your property to all of their friends and family.  So how do you get them to interact with your property on social media?  Kimpton Hotels and Marriott have both recently launched a new rewards program giving guest’s benefits and loyalty points for certain “behaviors” on social media.  While a points program is a little more complex, this can easily be used at smaller and non-branded properties to generate “buzz” for your hotel.  Here are a few examples of how this can be done at your property:

–Upon checking in, provide an offer, “Check in on Facebook upon arrival for a free drink coupon or $5 voucher to our restaurant/dining.”

–Upon arriving to the room, “Tweet your favorite feature of the hotel for a free drink coupon.”

–“Post a photo of your room/window view with the hashtag #HotelViews (or anything that fits) for a chance to win a free night’s stay.”  By using a hashtag, you’re able to track all of the participants.

–“Tweet and tag a photo upon arrival to receive 10% off your stay.”

While these are just a few examples and drink coupons are an easy reward to think of, there are tons of different ways to utilize this tactic.  You could offer points that add up to save on your next stay; the more social media interactions, the more points you can earn.  This could turn social media junkies, aka millenials, into a walking, talking customer review for your property by constantly flaunting it online.  Engaging customers online is a new practice and nobody has a clear cut answer as to what works, so be creative and try some new things!  Keeping guests engaged and interacting with your property/brand is an easy way to get free marketing on the most organic platform possible; person-to-person recommendations.  Check out the full USA Today article which discusses how some big brand hotels are utilizing similar programs.

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Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/hotels/2014/07/16/kimpton-marriott-rewards-points-twitter-facebook-instagram-foursquare/12696753/

Attributes of Hospitality Leaders

It can be extremely difficult to sort through hundreds of applications looking for the one employee that will satisfy the position and hopefully thrive within your organization.  Older employees will have already laid the groundwork of their career and it’s obvious which ones are successful after a handful of years in the industry.  But how do you recognize talent in a freshly graduated hospitality student?  There are a handful of attributes that standout in hospitality leaders that you can look for.

1. Leadership.  Hotels are never centralized.  It’s important for an employee to be able to manage and lead a team of their peers and interact with other teams throughout the hotel while deliver strong results.
2. Conflict resolution.  Hotels have TONS of conflicts.  They should know how to respond and react to unhappy guests and colleagues.
3. Globalization.  International travel is back on the rise.  Different cultures have different expectations of how they should be treated at your property.  Cultural sensitivity is very important to guests.
4. Regulations.  Hotel regulations and policies are constantly changing.  Employees must address these changes and adapt accordingly to continue success.
5. Internship experience.  The majority of your on-the-job skills that you’ll use are learned through experience, not school.
6. Communication skills.  Being able to effectively communicate via email, social media and in person is essential to a professional appearance in the workplace.
7. Ownership skills.  Employees should understand the management and financial structure as well as the management relationship with the owner or management company.  This helps them understand the top priorities in the hotel and will stand to benefit them in many ways.
8. Ethical behavior.  Golden rule.
9. Attitude.  Hotel guests and employees have an expectation to be treated like they would in the hospitality industry.  You must be friendly and personable at ALL times.
10. Personal appearance.  This one is a no-brainer.  Hotel guests expect employees to maintain a certain level of cleanliness.

While finding new employees that will thrive and grow with your organization is difficult, these are a few things to look for when picking your future leaders.  Students can use these as employee guidelines in any hotel or hospitality establishment.

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Source:

http://www.hotelsmag.com/Industry/Blogs/Details/51212