Did you know that? E-tourism is the leading e-commerce sector in France. In 2017, 77% of French people went to websites to prepare their excursions.
In the digital age, going to the site of a restaurant, hotel or even a garage has become quite commonplace. Who has never checked the quality of a hotel or guest room before booking it? Today, very few. 95% of French people say they do it regularly.
It is therefore necessary for hoteliers to devote time to this new interaction system in order to keep up with the trend.
But beware, whoever says he is digitalizing, also says he is able to manage his e-reputation.
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E-reputation for better or worse
The arrival of the internet has given customers the opportunity to express themselves. Although this tool allows companies to make themselves known, share and promote their establishments, the Internet can also become the theatre of negative waves.
Hiding behind a computer, it becomes much easier to let yourself be criticized. The problem is that the comment is usually posted after the traveller has left the establishment. It therefore becomes almost impossible for the hotelier to recover it by talking to it to ease tensions.
This is why it is essential to be ultra-reactive in order to respond to his dissatisfaction and thus not allow other users to rely solely on his comments. In 2013, the tourism sector experienced 35.9% of online complaints. And with the widespread use of the Internet, we can imagine that this figure has changed.
Managing one’s reputation, a different approach between social networks and booking sites?
Social networks allow people to get to know each other, it is also a means of exchange. It is a place where the hotelier has to be active by regularly publishing content in order to give a dynamic and friendly image to Internet users.
The hotelier must consider them as an opportunity to increase its popularity, improve its image and its referencing. It is therefore important not to neglect this aspect of communication.
Unlike social networks, booking sites are not meant to be active by publishing content, but by responding to opinions, whether positive or negative. It is a way of proving its responsiveness and, above all, its desire to improve its service through customer feedback.
Responding to opinions, an essential investment
According to Dimensional Research, 45% of travelers share negative experiences on social media by posting comments. Moreover, it has been proven that consumers talk to their peers twice as much about a negative experience as about a positive one. (White House Office of Consumer Affairs).
It is therefore necessary to take the time to respond to messages left by travellers so as not to cut off part of its clientele. Today, there are a multitude of notice sites, which complicates the hotelier’s task. So to avoid complicating matters, the best thing to do is to direct the filing of notices so that consumers can take it easy on the site of their choice. The best way to do this is to let travellers know that they can leave their opinions on your website.
Second option: set up a system for collecting notices directly in the hotel, as with the downloadable application Nabl.
Today, there are two types of external communication for a hotelier. The traditional roadside signs, the presence on the directory or the websites. But also, the presence on social networks, the implementation of e-concierge applications, customer satisfaction harvesting, etc..
All these elements allow hotel professionals to increase their visibility or the satisfaction of your customers. It is therefore necessary to be reactive and to pay attention to sites and applications for publishing notices such as Critizr, which allow customers to call upon the managers of establishments to express their dissatisfaction.
