WHY TO RESPOND REVIEWS

It's not all negative: why you should respond to good and bad reviews

If you did a web search for responding to negative reviews on TripAdvisor, you would get pages and pages of results with articles talking about how important it is. While I agree with these articles, just responding to only negative reviews should only be one part of your TripAdvisor strategy.

One of the most commonly overlooked parts of a TripAdvisor strategy for hotels is responding to ALL reviews. Just as with negative reviews, you need to take great care in crafting each response to ensure that you do not come across canned. You want your responses to be genuine and authentic.

Back in 2010, I took over an internationally branded franchise hotel which was performing extremely well, financially anyway. The hotel struggled with service and cleanliness and this was translating to a horrific online reputation. It was clear, before I even arrived, that the hotel needed some serious help.

Of course, I started immediately fixing the issues within the hotels, however at the same time I started pounding away on the keyboard responding to all the old TripAdvisor reviews from before I arrived, good and bad. Now, a lot of people will tell you this is a big mistake as it opens old wounds. I counter that by saying it is an opportunity to show past dissatisfied guests that there is new leadership and that you want to make things right. It also shows new guests that are evaluating your hotel that you are owning the issues and trying to make it right.

A couple weeks after I started, I received a hand written letter in the mail from a guest that said she had a reservation coming up and she was worried about having a bad stay. She told me in the letter that she had read the reviews and even had a friend tell her how bad the hotel was. She went on to tell me that she was impressed that a manager at the hotel was now engaged on TripAdvisor and because of that, she was going to give us a try.

I was excited that this guest was going to give us a chance and boy did we roll out the red carpet for her! She had an amazing stay with us and later posted a new review on TripAdvisor telling the world how impressed she was. But wait, there's more! A few months later she contacted me about bringing a group to the hotel with guest rooms, meeting space rental, and banquet revenue! Responding to all reviews (good and bad) ended up generating almost $10k in revenue from just this one guest!

The moral of this story is that responding to all guest reviews not only shows the traveling public that you are engaged and care, it will help to build loyalty among your more loyal guests and even build bridges to guests who may not have had a positive experience. It doesn't take a lot of time and the return on your time is immeasurable.

WORLD'S MOST EXCLUSIVE SUITES

The world's most exclusive hotel suites

With Valentine’s Day just two days away, Wealth-X, the world’s leading ultra high net worth intelligence and prospecting firm, reveals the world’s most exclusive hotel suites for lovers with deep pockets.

“For the world’s most demanding ultra wealthy individuals, only the best will do, regardless of cost,” said Tara Loader Wilkinson, editor in chief at Wealth-X and editor at large at sister publication Billionaire. “With the help of travel consultants Kiwi Collection and Elite Travel International, we have ranked these hotel suites top in taste, opulence and amenities.”


1. Royal Penthouse Suite at the Hotel President Wilson
Geneva, Switzerland
Average price per night: US$67,000
1,800 square metres



2. Ty Warner Suite, Four Seasons Hotel
New York City, USA
Average price per night: $45,000
400 square metres




3. Hilltop Estate Owner’s Accommodation, Laucala Island Resort
Laucala Island, Fiji,
Average price per night: US$40,000
1,200 square metres



4. Penthouse Suite, Grand Hyatt Cannes Hôtel Martinez
Cannes, France
Average price per night: US$37,500
180 square metres



5. The Royal Villa, Grand Resort Lagonissi
Athens, Greece
Average price per night: US$35,000
410 square metres



6. Royal Suite, Hôtel Plaza Athénée
Paris, France
Average price per night: US$27,000
450 square metres



7. Presidential Suite, Mandarin Oriental
Pudong, Shanghai, China
Average price per night: US$26,450
788 square metres



8. Shangri-La Suite, Shangri-La Bosphorus
Istanbul, Turkey,
Average price per night: US$26,385
366 square metres



9. Presidential Suite, Hotel Cala di Volpe
Porto Cervo, Italy
Average price per night: US$26,000
450 square metres



10. The Apartment at The Connaught Hotel
London, UK
Average price per night: US$23,500
285 square metres

FEBRUARY TRAVEL PICK

Coco Privé Kuda Hithi Island, Maldives

The ever-popular Maldives might not be the world's best kept travel secret, but those in search of a true off-the-radar escape should head to Coco Privé Kuda Hithi, a secluded retreat set within the lush confines of one of the Maldivian atoll's private islands. 

Designed by Singapore-based architect Guz Wilkinson, the sumptuous lodgings sleep a total of 12 people and comprise one master residence and five airy villas with views of the Indian Ocean and beyond. The interiors are clean and classic with neutral modern furnishings set against wood interiors, and among the facilities are a library, cocktail bar, gym and steam room, as well as a personal chef for those out-of-hours cravings.\

Coco Privé is located on Kuda Hithi Island, North Malé Atoll, Maldives; 

www.cocoprive.com

HOTEL WEBSITE MISTAKES

Hotel website mistakes that may cost you bookings!

Your hotel website is the key to being found and the most profitable pathway for room bookings. So why do so many hospitality websites make the same mistakes and turn away booking leads? There are dozens of small issues that appear again and again, but for this article I will focus on these six issues. As with all my posts, the goal is maximizing your booking conversion rate.

Take action to avoid these easy to fix hotel website mistakes.
Frightening your website traffic away



I realize that many hoteliers invest a lot in professionally produced videos of their property and services. This is a sensible and effective way to promote your hotel and showcase its best features. So do not squander your investment by auto-playing videos on your hotel website.

You may think you are doing your visitors a favor by setting auto-play to on. After all they probably want to see your hotel and hear about your luxurious, award-winning, relaxing, active, ... amenities. However the reality is more complicated. Here are the reasons why your hotel web videos should default to paused.

• People may be researching a trip itinerary at the office, perhaps when they are supposed to be working. The sound of your video playing will cause disapproving stares from co-workers. As a result, your target customer will end up closing his or her browser before you had a chance to sell your travel brand.

• Whether at work or at home, many people use headphones to listen to music while they are surfing the Web. Playing your hotel video with its background music or voice over is only going to annoy or perhaps even scare the people who are considering booking a room.

• Speaker volume on home computers is often turned up to full blast, whether as a result of watching a movie or talking with family on Skype. So when your auto-play kicks on without permission, your message gets blasted to someone who is just getting to know your hotel business. Not only are you startling your visitors with an unwanted message, you may be disturbing the baby (or husband) asleep nearby.

For a hilarious take on why NOT to auto-play your hotel sales videos, you must read this Travergence auto-play music on websites blog post (which laughed about an earlier blog post on this subject). Here is a quote:

• Of course the sites that play animal sounds or babbling brook noises or god-awful new age music are still better than the sites that launch videos with voices telling you about the joys of jet-skiing, or some other travel activity... Most of us are conditioned to think if we hear a voice when we open a website we're about five seconds away from unleashing a hideous virus on our system.

Glossing over your Wi-Fi capabilities
Free Wi-Fi has become the most requested hotel amenity (see TripAdvisor Hotel Amenities Travelers Can and Can't Do Without) with 89% of travelers surveyed wanting it. More and more hotels are offering it as part of the room rate, but many are not "going all the way". Not all free WiFi is truly free when it comes to meeting the expectations of your guests. Here's why...

Regardless of whether your Wi-Fi comes with limitations or not, you may be losing bookings if you don't document what is available. Is your Wi-Fi free in public areas only and not available in most rooms? Is it possible to request a room with a strong Wi-Fi signal? Does the internet connection limit the number of connected devices or the number of minutes per day? If there is a cost to in-room Wi-Fi, what is the price and what do you get in terms of speed and sharing with phones and tablets?

Those are the types of questions people are seeking answers about. They will likely be getting those answers from reviews of your hotel on TripAdvisor or Booking.com and those guests may not be telling a complimentary story. Just read the many easy to find reviews for hotels on TripAdvisor that talk about how their "free" Wi-Fi experience was slow, broken, or frustrating to connect. Every minute spent jumping through hoops to access your Wi-Fi network is a negative review in the making.

That is why you must list your Wi-Fi offering in complete detail. By being complete and upfront about your internet services (avoiding surprises), you will get more bookings from people who must stay connected for business or leisure.Hiding behind your hotel brand
This mistake applies mostly to Bed and Breakfast properties, but is also applicable to small, boutique, and independent hotels as well as tour operators. When you run a small business, consumers are often curious about the owner and why they are passionate about what they do.



People stay at a B&B for reasons beyond just a place to sleep and a free breakfast. They want to know the place is run by a real person who cares about delivering a pleasant and memorable stay or travel experience. If something goes wrong, they want to know there is someone (and not an "I just work here" type of person) ready to help. When your travel business is independently owned, put your name and face on the brand.

Therefore it is a best practice to include the name(s) of the owner or property manager plus photo on the "About Us" page. Forgetting to include this information makes your property seem less authentic and could be perceived as possibly misleading. Travelers are seeking a personal experience when they choose to stay at an independent hotel. Welcome first time visitors to your hotel website with real photo of both owner and front desk staff.
Discouraging direct bookings

Your travel marketing goal is to get more bookings, but it is more profitable to get more direct bookings (yes, I know that is obvious but keep reading). That is why you created a professional and optimized hotel website, is it not? So don't stop there and hope that visitors will book direct without a tangible reason.

If people do not feel they are getting the best rate or something extra by booking direct, they will keep on looking. And when they are comparing places to stay on a meta-search hotel booking website (OTA), another hotel may catch their eye and you'll lose out a second time.

Optimizing your website for booking conversions means to convince people to complete a direct booking every time. So it pays to offer a good reason to "Book Now" direct, such as one of the following:

• Guaranteed best rates (don't promise this unless you can ensure it is always true)
• Free breakfast, meal, or drink at the bar voucher
• Complimentary upgrade upon check-in (based on availability of course)
• Early check-in or late check-out options
• A free bottle of wine or other welcome gift waiting in their room
• Other discounts on hotel amenities, parking, or local tours and attractions (talk to your local tourism partners)

Failing to start a book later conversation
Now it is time to get a stark reminder about the effectiveness of the booking conversion funnel. As much as 97% of your website visitors will not make a booking on their first visit. Whether they are likely to return and book later is up to your proactive efforts.

At the same time, email is still the most effective medium on the Internet. Therefore the best way to convert lookers to bookers is to start a booking conversation. How? Ask them to sign up for your hotel email newsletter. Don't have one? Now is the perfect opportunity to publish a monthly newsletter about your hotel or tour business.



Steps to an Email Remarketing Conversion Engine

1. Sign up for an email newsletter account. The free starter option atMailChimp is a very popular and capable choice. For more sophisticated email marketing tools and customer support, select the entry-level option at GetResponse or AWeber. Refer to the BookingCounts article on choosing a travel email service provider for detailed comparison points.
2. Embed your customized email sign-up form in the sidebar template (left or right) so it appears on every page of your hotel site. Don't have a sidebar? Add a link to your sign-up landing page (hosted by your email vendor) from within the website header so it can easily be discovered.
3. Turn on the welcome email feature and write a thank you message. Remind subscribers of the many reasons to book travel services directly on your site (include a link back for when they are ready).
4. Publish a monthly email newsletter to all subscribers which contains the latest happenings and events in your destination (non-promotional) along with a special offer for readers to book now.

Telling the world you don't care how you look

This last mistake is probably the most common, so unfortunately travel marketers still require a regular reminder to spell-check their website. People planning a trip to a foreign country realize that English may not be your first language. In these situations, you will be forgiven for at least a few spelling mistakes. However if your operation is in an English-speaking country, there is no excuse for not fixing those visible spelling errors.

Your website is your public image and it is your choice to look sloppy and disheveled or to look neat and polished. Too many glaring errors on a hotel website can raise concerns about the attention to detail (or lack of) at your property. If a spelling mistake is easy to spot on your home page, what are people to believe about your ability to deliver quality hospitality services?

With all the automated spell-checking tools at your disposal (grammar too!), you can quickly resolve this problem right away.Summary
There are many more mistakes that hotels make which are sure to appear in future posts on BookingCounts.com. In fact these same mistakes appear on all types of websites including tour operators and independent travel agents. While you may not have a website design budget like the big names in the travel industry, you can still look like a pro by avoiding all six of these common mistakes.

PEAK SEASON

LEAPrus 3912, Mount Elbrus, Russia

Close to the Georgian border, in a remote part of southern Russia, runs the formidable span of the Caucasus Mountains. In the centre of the range, topping nearly 6,000m is Mount Elbrus, Europe’s highest peak. The fifth member of the Seven Summits (the highest mountains in each of the continents), it is notorious for its extreme climatic conditions. 

Yet, perched atop the southern side of this peak, is a new eco-hotel. Determined on minimal environmental impact, the North Caucasus Mountain Club (NCMC) enlisted Italian architects LEAPfactory, who specialise in high-altitude design solutions, for this project. 

The result includes a purification system that uses melted snow to supply the bathroom areas with water. Fashioned from resin and fibreglass, the three cylinder-shaped units house communal bedrooms, a restaurant, lounge areas, a reception point and staff accommodation, while the remaining building houses the toilets, showers and biological depurifiers.

www.caucasus.ru

CONDOR WILL BE BACK?

New jet to bring back supersonic travel

Traveller's who lament the passing of Concorde - the aircraft was grounded for good in October 2003 and British Airways has given no indication it will take to the skies again - may yet have an opportunity to experience a transatlantic supersonic flight.

The Boston-based engineering firm Spike Aerospace has unveiled plans to develop Spike S-512, a 12-18 seater supersonic private jet designed for commercial use and supposedly capable of flying from New York to London in under four hours - that's about half the time taken by current commercial flights. Those aircraft typically fly at Mach 0.85 (about 900 km/h); sound travels at a speed of about 1234 km/h at sea level, and Spike S-512 is predicted to reach speeds of Mach 1.6-1.8 (1700-1900 km/h).

There are impediments to be overcome - not least a ruling from America's Federal Aviation Administration that prohibits supersonic flight over land in its jurisdiction and the estimated cost of up to $US80 million ($A91 million) per private jet - but the developers have spent years honing their design and believe the aircraft could take off by late 2018. 

Spike Aerospace is not the only company committing itself to offering supersonic flights, however. The Nevada-based company Aerion Corporation has submitted plans for the development of a private jet that could reach speeds of Mach 1.6, potentially carrying its first passengers by the end of the decade. HyperMach Aerospace Ltd, meanwhile, has proposed the development of SonicStar, a jet the company claims would reach Mach 4 (about 4200 km/h and approximately twice the speed of Concorde) and could speed from London to Sydney in an afternoon or from New York to London in about an hour. The firm estimates it could enter production in the 2020s.

Such claims might seem fanciful but supersonic travel, albeit on a rather grander scale, is set to become a reality for select members of the paying public in 2014. From its Foster + Partners-designed "spaceport" in the New Mexico desert, Virgin Galactic is scheduled to launch its first commercial flights into space before the year is out. The third supersonic test flight of its "passenger-carrying reusable space vehicle" SpaceShipTwo (SS2) took place in January and all of its test objectives were successfully completed.

YOUR IPHONE - YOUR ROOM KEY

SMART PHONE THE NEW ROOM KEY!

Global travelers will soon be able to use their own mobile phone as a room key and bypass the front desk using any of the 6.8 billion cell phones or smartphones worldwide with any mobile carrier worldwide.

OpenWays, a supplier of mobile key services for hotels, has announced its 

Mobile Key DUAL Bluetooth Smart, which is built on a multi-technology platform. 

It combines OpenWays' Crypto Acoustic Credential (CAC) Technology and Bluetooth 4.0 Bluetooth Low Energy to enable all travelers to bypass traditional hotel check-in/-out processes and proceed straight to their rooms upon arrival and securely open their room locks (existing locks supplied by the major electronic lock vendors) with any mobile phone, including non-smartphones.

"OpenWays is leveraging the Bluetooth Smart technology platform utilized by our new residential line of smart devices, OKIDOKEYS, which launched earlier this month at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show," said Pascal Metivier, OpenWays founder and CEO. "Mobile Key DUAL with Bluetooth Smart can be deployed globally by hotels without having to worry about which mobile phone device or mobile operating system their guests are using or which electronic lock vendor installed their door hardware."

It combines OpenWays' Crypto Acoustic Credential (CAC) Technology and Bluetooth 4.0 Bluetooth Low Energy to enable all travelers to bypass traditional hotel check-in/-out processes and proceed straight to their rooms upon arrival and securely open their room locks (existing locks supplied by the major electronic lock vendors) with any mobile phone, including non-smartphones.

"OpenWays is leveraging the Bluetooth Smart technology platform utilized by our new residential line of smart devices, OKIDOKEYS, which launched earlier this month at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show," said Pascal Metivier, OpenWays founder and CEO. "Mobile Key DUAL with Bluetooth Smart can be deployed globally by hotels without having to worry about which mobile phone device or mobile operating system their guests are using or which electronic lock vendor installed their door hardware."

Mobile Key involves a portfolio of intellectual property including 27 patents, design patents and pending patents. It is based on a multi-technology platform including Bluetooth 4.0 (BLE), Near Field Communication (NFC), RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) and Crypto Acoustic Credential (CACTM).



Mobile Key by OpenWays securely delivers an encrypted Mobile Key "credential" to the right user anywhere in the world. Installation of the technology at hotels involves a simple and cost efficient upgrade to the hotel's existing room locks to include an OpenWays DUAL decoding device. The solution does not require any door modification (drilling) which protects the fire rating of a hotel's room doors. New locks that are factory made with the OpenWays DUAL module built in are also provided by major electronic lock vendors.

Mobile Key DUAL with Bluetooth Smart enables hotels to offer a front-desk bypass solution that contains Bluetooth Smart technologies while still being fully carrier and lock provider independent. It is highly secured and operates on trusted networks. Apple's iBeacon is also supported as part of the Bluetooth 4.0 BLE release.

"Mobile Key DUAL with Bluetooth Smart is guest centric while building a strong competitive advantage for any hotel," Metivier said. "Fewer guest transactions at the front desk means lower transaction costs and the ability to streamline staff to other areas of the hotel where guest-facing services are needed most. It also reduces costs associated with purchasing plastic keycards; because Mobile Key is made only of data, it is the greenest key on the planet. In addition to its interoperable nature, Mobile Key DUAL with Bluetooth Smart is user friendly, and it is helping hotels deliver heightened customer satisfaction, guest loyalty and brand recognition."