In this week’s news, the Four Seasons welcomed new president and CEO Allen Smith; Greek authorities considered out-of-town tourist zones for rowdy British holidaymakers after the murder of 19-year old Tyrell Matthews-Burton in Crete last week and tourists are coming back to Las Vegas in droves, but spending has declined, and most of it appears to have shifted away from gambling to entertainment and dining venues. Spas in New York are offering bird poo facials and there has been an increase in mobile bookings and a decrease in prices paid for cruises over the past 5 years.
In the most popular articles of the week we looked at Facebook images of your hotel captured by others and how you can use them, training your staff in the ‘essence’ of your business rather than just their job function, how to upsell in the hospitality industry and how to increase your direct website traffic. Read the most popular articles below:
How to Take Control of Publicly Posted Facebook Images of Your Hotel by Kelsey Nupnau
With the introduction of Facebook Graph Search, hoteliers are able to see the public photos in which their hotel is tagged and can use those photos (share them) on their hotel's Facebook page as valuable content! This gives hotels the ability to see which features of their hotel attract guests most based on their photos of the hotel, in addition to any feedback or review that gets posted with that picture. Sharing tagged photos on the hotel's Facebook page can also provide an authentic glimpse of the hotel experience for future guests, as captured by a previous guest.
From Ordinary to Extraordinary Hoteliering by Steve Curtin
Instead of employees hearing supervisors say, "Remember to practice assertive hospitality" (usually after thoroughly detailing operational priorities pertaining to employees' job functions) and figuring out for themselves what "assertive hospitality" looks like, give them a concrete reference that reinforces the behavioural expectations of them by hotel leadership.
Intelligent Upselling In the Hospitality Business by Mike Waite
Intelligent upselling doesn't just increase customer spending one time. It enhances the guest experience in a way that converts to greater satisfaction, loyalty, and referrals. Guests want to be heard. But even more than that, they want to be known. Your guest feedback data is one very smart way to show your guests they are known, and drive up profits at the same time.
Ten Simple Measures To Increase Your Direct Website Traffic by Pedro Colaco
Hoteliers not only need to have potential customers land on the hotel's own website: they need a website which is an attractive enough channel so as to guarantee that customers will actually book their stays instead of booking through other channels. So, how can hoteliers increase direct website traffic?
