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Archive for the ‘Travel Review Sites’ Category

Get More out of TripAdvisor

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

Last month TripAdvisor launched yet another feature that is sure to broaden hotel exposure – Trip Friends, an interface that ties into Facebook. Now travelers can tap into their network of friends and see a list of who has been to that location. In addition, they can direct message those friends or post a message to a group of friends – taking the search for helpful travel info a step past reviews from strangers to first hand experiences from trusted contacts.

This foray into more focused social media isn’t the only new feature TripAdvisor has launched recently that could aid properties. The new business listings are streamlined way for hotels to list direct booking info that wasn’t previously available. This is not a free service of course, but for a fee your property can have increased visibility with a phone number, URL and email address – all valuable info for travelers and even more valuable to those looking to channel online bookers directly. (more…)

Posted in Travel Review Sites, TripAdvisor | No Comments »

Social Media Education – Your First Line of Defense

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

You’ve toiled tirelessly to work through and gain approval for your hotel’s social media strategy and now it is ready for action. Goals and measurement objectives have been put in place. You have identified team members to monitor your online reputation and set up a procedure to respond to guest comments. The executive team is on board. The sales and marketing teams are ready to participate. Online accounts and profiles have been carefully crafted. But you could be missing one crucial step.  Have you educated your front-of-the-house staff about the impact social media has on your business? (more…)

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Posted in Social Media, Travel Review Sites | 1 Comment »

Prepare Your Hotel for Google Sidewiki Comments! Tips on What Your Hotel Should Do, and How to Monitor Reviews with RSS Feed

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

speechbubble

It’s been two months since Google introduced Sidewiki on September 23, but it hasn’t really caught fire . . . yet. When it was first announced, there was a lot of buzz on blogs and news sites, and it felt that the internet would be taken over by user-generated comments and opinions, but so far it hasn’t gained that much traction. We believe it will catch on soon, and that your hotel should be prepared for when it does.

What is Google Sidewiki and will it go mainstream?

Sidewiki is part of a Google Toolbar browser plug-in that allows users to open a sidebar on any website they are visiting and comment freely on anything they like; the website, the content, how they feel about the topic or the brand, or what they had for breakfast. These comments can then be seen by other visitors to the site (provided they have downloaded the Sidewiki toolbar) and they can leave comments as well. Users can also add links and videos, and share their comments through E-mail, Twitter or Facebook. (more…)

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Posted in Hotel Websites, Internet Marketing, Reputation Management, Travel Review Sites, seo | 1 Comment »

Chris Brogan Interview – Hotels that Listen in Social Media Generate Business

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

Chris Brogan was very busy running the show at the 2009 Inbound Marketing Summit in Boston, MA, yet being the cool guy that he is, he took the time to share his own insight with us on how hotels should be using Social Media.

Chris is President of New Marketing Labs, and one of the masterminds behind the Inbound Marketing Summit Conferences. He is also the co-founder of the PodCamp new media conference series. His blog ranks #1 on the Ad Age Power 150, and in the top 100 on Technorati. Chris is the co-author of the New York Times Bestseller, ‘Trust Agents,’ with Julien Smith. Trust Agents is about using the web to build influence, improve reputation, and earn trust, as explained on the cover of the book.

Tom O’Rourke, founder/president of O’Rourke Hospitality Marketing caught up with Chris at the Summit, and asked him his thoughts on how the Hotel Industry should be using Social Media. Tom explained to Chris that many General Managers of hotels are thinking of getting into social media, but they aren’t too sure how to use it, or how to staff it. Many are not sure how it is going to help them in the business. He asked Chris what he would recommend to these general managers.

(more…)

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Posted in Conferences, Reputation Management, Social Media, Travel Review Sites, Videos | 1 Comment »