Amazingly, I am duly impressed with how quickly and efficiently hotels are picking up with social media. It’s easier for hotels to be on Twitter and Facebook, because of the immediacy of posting brief bits of information. Blogs are still not catching on as much though since they require more of a committment (I do think blogs add a personal touch, however). Regardless, this growing participation in social networking is helping hotels flourish in their market, particularly as they gnaw themselves out of the deep economic hole.
My little experiment with my Bruges’ client, the luxury, boutique Hotel Heritage, that recently joined the Relais & Chateaux family, is paying off just months later. Fans and followers are steadily growing, while it has been a great opportunity for past guests to reconnect with the property and all it is doing, from renovations to adding a new restaurant, etc.
From what I see, we’re now at the point where hotels know and understand the power of social media, and how to leverage these networks as an effective communications tool. However, I think we’re quickly entering a new phase: Twitter and Facebook competition within hotels. Fans and followers will soon drop out of fan pages depending on the information that’s posted. There is still a lot of overload out there that needs to be sorted out, and the next challenge for Twitter and Facebook facilitators will be to post frequent, accurate and good quality information. This is truly easier said than done.
We don’t all need to know that you’ve had three non-fat lattes with Splenda while you’re updating your status. Stick to hotel related stuff that guests, and potential guests, want to know about that will help them engage in good conversation.