Archive for May, 2010

Coping with Earthbreak

Sunday, May 30th, 2010

My daughter likes eating fish at least once a week. I fondly remember how fascinated she was at 12-18 months every time that “green” BP commercial came on with the catchy song, “make the day a little better… say hey!” What a terrific campaign that was.

I have held up writing a post on the oil spill in the Gulf, mainly because I wanted to allow some time for my outrage to subside, but mostly, waiting for the final solution to an environmental problem that a number of incapable people in positions of perceived power have created.
Living in Florida, it is heartbreaking to read about the current and potential effects of this catastrophe. The PR person in me though is extremely disappointed in the manner this crisis has been handled… passed off on, mishandled, and without concrete answers. The situation is out of control, and getting control is the first step to containing a crisis. Over a month has passed since the drill in the Gulf and the information the public is getting is, at best, scattered, vague and murky.  Where is the messaging?  Where is the preparation for a crisis of such magnitude?  With an obvious lack in issues management from BP, I think that spending time finding one person to blame isn’t the point. There probably isn’t just one person solely responsible for the drill, but several who contributed. So, why aren’t we seeing those people in hip boots trying to salvage coastal wildlife and assuming social responsibility? Where is the human element in this entire situation? Oh, but no, it’s so much better to send useless robots to plug concrete stubs to plug the oil spill.

Finger pointing continues as our beaches and wildlife erode at the dawn of the 2010 hurricane season.  I read theories of how the spill can actually help the biodegrading process, but that doesn’t have me convinced when I see the pelican drenched in oil just because he is searching for food in his habitat.  I don’t see the BP CEO anywhere near there, either.

Clearly the PR process needs to be better managed, and research on this should have been better conducted.  Maybe BP will finally close down after all this.  Maybe BP will keep throwing us millions to advertise about our gloriously oil spilled beaches.  Maybe Anna will stop liking fish.  Maybe BP and the government will continue down playing the issue.

Or, maybe they are holding out for something groundbreaking and earth shattering to happen.  Say hey.

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Posted in Integrated Marketing Communications, Media Relations, PR, social media | 1 Comment »

Hotels: information overload and reputation management

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

I was talking to Ann Manion yesterday, a highly regarded hospitality consultant, who focuses on hotel reputation management with her new company Hotel Advantage.  She and I were on the phone for nearly an hour talking about independent hotel trends as it relates to PR, content, messaging and the complex world of maintaining an excellent reputation in a rich media world. 

We both have similar perspectives on hospitality, though practice different areas in communication.  We touched on several topics and found that it isn’t easy to manage a hotel’s reputation, especially when the property is independently owned and managed.  It takes a dedicated effort to respond properly to anything from horrific reviews, poorly positioned articles, and bad blog posts that unfortunately GMs have no control over in a social media environment.  As the old saying goes, when you can’t control what happens around you, you can still control your reactions (or ”freactions” as I like to call them).

Sometimes hotels take poor reviews very personally, and it’s tempting to lash out and become defensive on a response post on TripAdvisor, Yelp, etc.  While a response is the right course of action, it should be well thought out and positioned in a constructive way.  Chances are you may lose the guest who had a negative experience anyway, but the way you respond will speak mountains to those potential guests who read the thread for years to come. 

Ann had some excellent points on hotel reputation management via social media media, and how important it is to train the right staff to guard a hotel’s message.  Keeping things viral isn’t enough, it is about maintaining quality in the overall social media marketing strategy.  Right now, there is still too much information out there on the web that should be shaken out.   

And unfortunately, there are still many independent hotels who don’t feel ready to grasp the opportunities social media can offer in the travel and hospitality world.   However, the more hotels understand the concept of content quality in the social media sphere, the more hotels will be apt to give it a try. 

I believe that the ones who have created a social media strategy (and actually followed through with it), even as a simple means to market their message, have not looked back.

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Posted in European Destinations, Hospitality, Integrated Marketing Communications, Media Relations, PR, Top Accommodations, social media | No Comments »

Foursquare and hotels

Monday, May 17th, 2010

We talked about Foursquare a couple of months ago, and since then the app has been more and more popular!  It’s a digital form of crowd sourcing, and the popularity of becoming “Mayor” of a place, shop, store, hotel, restaurant, or any other location is quickly becoming competitive.

What does this new app mean for hotels, and how can they use it as a marketing tool?  Okay, so first it’s probably a little too soon to know exactly who your Foursquare users really are, although you already know that they are tech savvy, have a smart phone, and more than likely are avid Facebook and Twitter users. 

Depending on the social media strategy of the hotel, Foursquare could be an excellent outreach tool, especially when it comes to offering Foursquare “specials.”  For instance, some restaurants are offering free appetizers for those who “checkin” on a certain date and show their phone to the host.  My friend Mark Johnson of HotelChatter posted an article about which hotels are using the app to promote deals and specials. 

The immediacy of Foursquare is very attractive, as well as the potential of guests randomly running into someone they know.  The deals are a good thing, too.  Collecting badges and becoming mayor are a whole other story, though there are multiple marketing opportunities for hotels to capitalize on frequent and loyal Foursquare users.

By the way, from my 3750 approx Gmail contacts 15 are now using Foursquare - nearly twice as many from almost two months ago!!

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Posted in European Destinations, Hospitality, Integrated Marketing Communications, Media Relations, PR, Top Accommodations, social media | No Comments »

The PR process differs by hotel type

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010

One of the main reasons I started my own PR practice with a focus on hospitality and travel is that I wanted to communicate messages about the unique, personal, memorable - and sometimes quirky- hotels and destinations in the world to the avid traveler.  I wanted to help small, independent hotels tell their story to travelers who sought a different experience than the mainstream chains.  My philosophy has been that the luxury in travel is not in the money one spends, but in the richness of the experience.

With that in mind, there’s a distinct difference in practicing PR among the types of hotels, and it each type has strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities and threats from a PR perspective (indeed, I am referring to a SWOT analysis… it’s important to do before undertaking any major marketing / marcomm initiative).

For example, in my experience I have found that the main challenge of doing PR for independent boutique hotels is that you must create a name that resonates with its brand positioning.  Plus, you really only get one chance to get it right, so your strategy must be studied and executed carefully.  Therefore, the PR process is very different between launching, say, an unknown, 15-room boutique hotel in Easter Island, versus a business Starwood hotel in London. 

The destination of the hotel is also an important ingredient in the PR campaign, regardless of the type of the property, and whether or not it is new to the travel market.   Corporate hotels (chains) may sometimes be less challenging to do PR for because they are already members of an established brand with generally predictable coverage in the pipeline (print/online/social media).

However, independent, boutique properties who invest in PR call for a fresh strategy, that talks about a new experience, a new travel opportunity, and a new perspective to the potential guest.   Sometimes it’s the story behind the owner, or the exclusive travel niche a property has that starts conversations.  It might be about how the owner gives each guest a personal tour, the success of the compost program the hotel implements, or the taste of the organic coconut water at turndown that stands out.  Whatever the angle, the key is to provide quality, interesting and continuous information to the media (and social media) and tailor your PR efforts accordingly. 

Regardless of the property’s size, preference, or type, as PR practitioners specializing in hospitality we must build and maintain great relationships with the appropriate tourism boards, tour operators, as well as press and social media who report on the destination… and then in turn the hotel.  I have found that incorporating holistic, destination-focused PR strategies for the independent hotels I have worked with so far have yielded not only continuous results and success, but also healthy, long term relationships.

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Posted in European Destinations, Hospitality, Integrated Marketing Communications, Media Relations, PR, Top Accommodations, social media | No Comments »