Technique 181
Understand When to Mention Your Hotel’s Name When Responding to Consumer Blogs;
When responding to a negative online review, the name of the hotel should never be mentioned in the response. Con- versely, when responding to a positive online review, the name of the hotel should always be mentioned in the response.
Technique 182
Understand When to Use “I” or “We” When Responding to Consumer Blogs;
When responding to a negative online review, the hotel manager should use ‘I’ in the online response (e.g., ‘I will look into this issue’). The use of the word “I” signals owner- ship of the problem and resolution. On the other hand, when responding to a positive online review, the manager should use ‘we’ to spread the credit among the staff (e.g., ‘we are very glad that you enjoyed your stay’).
Technique 183
Paraphrase the Problem When Responding to Negative Consumer Blogs;
When responding to a negative online review, the hotel manager should paraphrase the guest’s concern in the online response. Such paraphrasing communicates to all those read- ing the response that the hotel has good listening skills.
Technique 184
Include a ‘Relate’ Statement When Responding to Negative Consumer Blogs;
When responding to a negative online review, the hotel manager should attempt to include a statement detailing how s/he can relate to the problem being communicated by the guest. Including a ‘relate’ statement communicates to all those reading the response that the hotel is empathetic to guests’ concerns.
Technique 185
Require One New Idea Per Week;
At every weekly management meeting, one manager should be required to share an innovative idea with the group that has never been attempted in the hotel.
Technique 186
Graph Guest Problems According to Frequency and Seriousness;
Guest problems should be tracked and plotted on a graph according to their frequency and seriousness. A cross-depart- mental team of 6–8 line-level associates and managers should be created to derive strategies for fixing the most pressing problems based upon frequency and/or seriousness.
Technique 187
Text Mine Consumer Blogs for Trends;
Hotel management should contract with a 3rd party ven- dor (e.g., Revinate) so that consumers’ blog postings can be analyzed for trends. Many of these 3rd party vendor products also enable management to monitor trends in competitors’ blog postings.
Technique 188
Data Mine the Centralized Reservations System for Trends;
Hotel management should data mine its centralized res- ervation system to identify non-obvious patterns and trends in guests’ habits and preferences. The results of such data mining can be used to better serve guests, but also to build an enhanced understanding of proper timing and placement of marketing messages. Chain affiliated hotels likely already have data mining services available to them. Managers at inde- pendent hotels can be taught some basic data mining func- tions by a consultant. The extent of data mining capabilities offered by 3rd party management companies appears to vary widely across the industry.
Technique 189
Utilize the Front Desk as a Listening Post;
Front desk associates should consider their work area a “listening post” from which they can overhear conversations between guests. Many guests may be reluctant to actively voice complaints to hotel staff, but discuss various issues among themselves (e.g., the ice machine was too noisy; the sidewalks leading to the parking lot were too icy). Such information should be entered into the logbook and denoted as “listening post feedback.”
Persian
