There's been a definite shift in how travellers are making hotel reservations. Traditionally, they would either call the hotel directly or use a toll-free central reservations line. As technology evolved, travelers looked to the web, making reservations online. WebsiteAlive and Loews Hotels & Resorts are taking that one step further by allowing travellers make hotel reservations via Twitter in an initiative called Social Reservations.
With Loews Hotels Social Reservations, travelers tweet to @Loews_Hotels with the hashtag #BookLoews to express interest in a room. A Loews Travel Planner then picks up the conversation. Once the person is ready to book a room, the planner tweets a link to a chat conversation, using WebsiteAlive's Shortlink System.
Social Reservations allows travelers to book rooms at 16 of its 19 properties via Twitter. The initiative does not include Loews properties in Orlando.
Because hotels are increasingly using Facebook and Twitter to advertise promotions and respond to customer complaints, Piper Stevens, director of social media at Loews Hotels, wanted to take that to another level. "We initially saw a lot of consumer activity to point them in the right direction of how to make a reservation, and we thought we could connect the dots for them and do so through social media," she says.
One conversation in particular sparked the Social Reservations idea. A traveller asked for Boston hotel recommendations over Twitter. Stevens reached out and recommended a Loews property. "We were able to convert that Twitter follower into a guest," she says. "We were already using AliveChat and AliveDial, WebsiteAlive's live chat and click-to-call solutions, so we also turned to them for our chat social solution."
Jimmy Suh, senior vice president of e-commerce and distribution at Loews Hotels & Resorts, believes the program has the potential to boost revenue. "We absolutely feel confident that it increases the value proposition of Loews Hotels, as it enables the person to make a transaction using a platform that is essentially a part of their everyday life," he says.
"According to PhoCus Wright, a travel market research firm, 34 percent of hotel room revenue comes from online and mobile app bookings," says Adam J. Stass, CEO of WebsiteAlive. "Why not take it to the next level and reach travellers via social networks like Facebook and Twitter? That's exactly what Loews Hotels and Resorts is doing with Social Reservations."
