This post is by guest expert Rajul Chande.

As of July 2009, The Egerton House Hotel is currently the number one guest-rated London hotel on TripAdvisor.  I recently met Jonathan Raggett, CEO of Red Carnation Hotel Collection, to try to understand how it got there.

This group runs a stunning 4 of TripAdvisor’s top 6 London hotels at present, including the Egerton House.  It’s an enviable position to be in.

But the focus here is on the Egerton House: this is after all the current “number 1″  and was also the venue of our meeting.  How did a relatively unsung and small (30 bedrooms) hotel make it to the top of the charts?

Before revealing some answers, let’s peek at a few recent TripAdvisor guest comments which have lifted the Egerton House to top spot:

The above comments clearly highlight that staff at the Egerton House possess bucketloads of character and charisma.

From what Mr Raggett told me this is not accidental.

They consciously recruit “characters” with personality and flair.  So for example you have Antonio at the hotel’s bar who is famous for his martinis.

Head Barman Antonio struts his stuff at the cosy Egerton House bar

Then there is Alex who not only checks you in but may also sing at your table!  There’s also friendly Murat – one of the managers who cheerfully showed me around the hotel.

All the staff I ran into had a calm and relaxed attitude.  This isn’t always the case in luxury hotels which often have an overbearing formality in the air.

The staff here seem to be driven by an expectation of success rather than a fear of failure.  This frees them to be themselves and excel.

I also noticed that the hotel cultivates a distinctly cosy and intimate atmosphere – helped by its small size.

It’s a place that doesn’t stand on ceremony and is rather a hotel where guests can simply chill out, unwind and feel pampered.

Mr Raggett told me that although great effort is made to recruit the “characters” described above, continuous training is equally critical.

There is a focus on “TNTs” (“Tiny Noticeable Touches”).  So for example, guests’ favourite drinks and newspapers are remembered, their favourite music arranged in advance in their rooms and so on.

Training is also tailored to the hotel’s specific needs and driven by continuous “mystery shopping” rather than generic standards.

This – as well as the emphasis on personalisation – echoes the approach taken by Claridge’s.  And to the extent that you can usually stay at the Egerton House for a few quid less than Claridge’s, it offers good value.

Rooms at the Egerton House have a comfy, traditional style

When I walked around to see some rooms, I found them nice but fairly standard fare for a luxury hotel.  They were immaculately presented but I don’t think you’d choose this hotel on the strength of its rooms alone.

For me the hotel’s main asset is the intimacy and warmth conveyed by the surroundings and above all the staff.  It’s a unique establishment run by a talented team with great attention to detail.

With only 30-odd rooms to supervise they know the hotel inside out and obviously feel comfortable and confident within its walls.

The manageable size also makes it easier to deliver unusually consistent performance.  And I think that this consistency and the hotel’s special intimacy are what make it a deserved number 1 on TripAdvisor.

Location-wise, Knightsbridge is one of London’s upscale neighbourhoods and very close to Harrod’s, so it is perfect for shopping trips. You’ll come back to the hotel bar with your pile of shopping bags to be greeted by one of Antonio’s G&Ts or martinis!

Rajul Chande writes about London hotels on his blog, LondonHotelsInsight.com

Josiah’s update 30 July 2009: At the time of the article’s writing, the Egerton House was #1 in London. TripAdvisor rankings change weekly, and the hotel is now at position #3. However, the two hotels that overtook it are sister properties under the same management – which makes this article’s lessons still very important.

Kristy and her husband were not happy with their recent stay at a Utah Comfort Inn. A lack of daily room cleaning and the busload of noisy teenagers staying on the floor above (“like sleeping under a herd of elephants”), caused her to complain to hotel management. Unsatisfied by a discount offer and apology letter, she tweeted about the hotel – getting the attention of Choice Hotels (the parent company).

This story was posted on the Consumerist yesterday, with most of the readers siding with the hotel in this case. Whether this person had a legitimate grievance is debatable, but the bigger issue is that guests are now taking their complaints online.

They go to Twitter

Kristy isn’t alone. A quick search on Twitter reveals hundreds of hotel complaints each day. The stream-of-consciousness format makes it very easy for guests to share what’s bothering them.

They go to their blogs

Ranting about a poor hotel experience on a blog is nothing new: there are whole blogs built around this concept.

The problem with a negative blog review is that it typically has a long shelf life – and can rank highly in search engines for your hotel’s name. This greatly increases the chance a potential guest will find it when they look for you.

Another interesting thing I’ve observed is that unhappy guests will sometimes post a complaint on a seemingly unrelated blog. For example, Wyn complained on my Hyatt Twitter Concierge story that unless the company fixes their customer service and loyalty programs, Twitter isn’t going to help. (point taken)

They go to TripAdvisor, Yelp, Qype…

Of course. You know that.

But even if you have the good humor to create staff t-shirts with 1-star reviews – like San Francisco’s Pizzeria Delfino – these negative reviews can seriously cut into your hotel’s profit.

They go to OTAs

In my experience, hotel marketers generally check guest reviews on sites like Travelocity and Orbitz less often than TripAdvisor.

Unless you monitor your reputation here as well, negative comments could fly under the radar and reduce the revenue you receive through these channels.

They go to Facebook

More and more hotels are moving to set up a presence on Facebook, and as with Twitter, the convenience makes it easy for people to share a bad experience with hundreds of their friends.

They go elsewhere

People can post complaints anywhere on the web: YouTube, Flickr, forums – the possibilities are endless. The reality is that the internet empowers consumers like never before. Anyone can say anything – with a megaphone.

It’s a control freak’s nightmare, but shouldn’t be a huge concern to hotels that make guest satisfaction a top priority.

The lesson

Customers are quickly taking their complaints online if they don’t receive a satisfactory resolution. Neglecting to solve problems offline could really damage your reputation online.

Your Homework: Make sure you’ve set up “listening tools” to quickly catch if someone makes a comment about your business like this.

For a list of free listening tools – plus an action plan for managing your online reputation – see my article on beating negative hotel reviews.

Josiah’s note: Today I’m excited to welcome guest expert Neil Salerno to share his insights on budgeting for hotel internet marketing. Neil has worked over 35 years in the hospitality industry, and has experience with franchise and independent hotels ranging from small boutiques to world-class resorts.

I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve been asked how much hotels should spend to develop a successful presence on the Internet. I guess this is one of those questions that would get many different answers from many different people, but I will attempt to present a common-sense approach to the Internet budgeting conundrum.

I’ve read a recent article which produced a survey as a budgeting guide for hotel Internet marketing. I think it’s good to know what others are doing and focusing on, but most of the numbers, that the survey offered, have little relevance to the average hotel. As an example, the article suggested that 33% of their respondent hotels budgeted $100,000 to $500,000 for Internet marketing in 2007; this obviously includes franchise spending versus individual hotels, it appears somewhat unrealistic for the average hotel.

Internet marketing starts with an optimized proprietary web site followed by a well-conceived SEO, web marketing, and link strategy program. Internet marketing is not rocket science; hotels need a site which is easily found through generic search and one which contains the right content to generate reservations.

Make no mistake; the Internet is still the best value in hotel marketing. Dollar for dollar, nothing you can do to promote your hotel can equal the resulting benefits from having a significant presence on the Internet. Most hotels have a web site, but too many of them are ineffective in today’s web marketplace; mediocre is no longer good enough.

The question of how much a hotel should invest in Internet marketing is largely an individual hotel assessment, however, every hotel, small or large, franchise or independent, should have a strong presence on the Internet. The best part is, unlike other areas of marketing expenditures, Internet marketing results are completely measurable and transparent; and therefore, this is spending which can easily be justified to owners and managers.

The amount of money which any hotel can invest in Internet marketing is limited by its total marketing budget; so, how much should be devoted to the Internet. I have always been an advocate of proportional spending in hotel marketing. If your goal for Internet generated sales is 30% of total sales, it is certainly reasonable to devote 30% of your marketing budget to achieve that goal.

The challenge is that not enough hoteliers know how much business their site is generating or how much business their site should produce. Franchised hotels have an edge, in this regard, since most franchises produce a periodic report of Internet production, which can then be compared against their spending for Internet marketing.

Independent hotels can gauge production through reports from their online reservation booking engine. Their advantage is that booking engine reports provide much more detailed information than that which is forthcoming through the franchises. The combination of web site analytics reports, to evaluate visitors to your web site, and booking engine reports, which measure reservations made, gives hoteliers the opportunity to assess the effectiveness of their web site.

The actual dollar amount which should be devoted to Internet marketing will vary greatly depending on the characteristics of the hotel, its market environment, total dollars available, and other factors. As one hotel owner mentioned to me recently, “I don’t have a pre-determined Internet budget, but I am willing to invest whatever is necessary to get my share of Internet reservations.” This is sound thinking.

Invest too little and your results could be below acceptable levels as well. Short-cuts, such as using a web site design template or employing a site designer with no hotel marketing experience or a proven site development record can also be too costly in terms of booking results.

Every time I think of this subject, I think of the story my friend David Brudney offers about the man who is frustrated with a loud creak in his stairs. He calls in a carpenter to fix it; the carpenter examines the stairs, promptly hammers in a nail, eliminating the creaky noise. He hands a bill to the man for $65. The man says “all you did was put a nail in the stairs.” He then looks at the bill and it says:

Adding a nail to the stairs…$2.00

Knowing where to put the nail…$63.00

Knowing how and why consumers search for and choose a hotel, how the search process works on the net, what content is needed on the site in order to have the site found and what is needed to drive visitors to make a reservation; this is all more important than simply knowing how to design an attractive web site.

As I have said so many times before, a hotel web site is not merely an online brochure of your hotel. It needs to be an interactive sales piece designed to be easily found through generic search; and, once found, it must be designed to produce reservations. It is simply not enough to have an attractive web site.

The cost to develop a web site is largely a matter of the time it takes to research, prepare, and create it. There are a number of search and sales elements which are necessary to make it a functional hotel web site. Many people think it’s simply a matter of creating a unique design, but there is a lot more involved. Here are just some of the necessary steps:

• Perform research to find and exploit the most popular search key words and phrases
• Perform a comprehensive online competition analysis to shape the site’s overall substance and design.
• Compose body text (Content) which incorporates those key words in a hierarchy format to facilitate search.
• Incorporate good quality, high resolution, and optimized images into the overall site design to focus attention on site content.
• Design a functional site navigation scheme to facilitate easy viewing of site pages and favorable acceptance by search engines.
• Develop site sales content which contains the necessary hotel sales essentials, such as location, facilities, and attractions.
• Craft a design which is totally compatible with search engine guidelines.
• Develop a “white hat” link strategy to popularize the site and produce a higher page ranking.
• Build local & regional search listings to dominate local competition.
• Monitor site traffic results to evaluate the sites effectiveness.

Once a site is properly developed and published, then and only then, is it ready for search engine optimization and other site marketing techniques necessary to dominate your competition. Any efforts to search optimize or market a poorly developed site is a waste of time and effort.

Making Difficult Choices

Most other forms of hotel marketing have a very limited shelf-life. Printed brochures, print advertising, and even broadcast advertising have very short life spans. Yet, the effective life of a well designed web site is five years or more.

Before the Internet, hotels budgeted and spent huge sums to promote their hotels, with no guaranty of results and, even worse, no practical way to measure results. Web site analytics provides detailed data which smart hoteliers use to track, modify, and measure the results of every Internet dollar invested. Never before have we had that ability.

Just a few years ago, it was difficult to find a web site design company that had any hotel marketing experience. Today, it seems that there are so many more designers laying claim to that experience. Choosing the right company to design, optimize, and market your hotel’s web site is critical to its ultimate success. Every day I hear from hoteliers, from all over the world, who have had attractive sites designed, but are getting terrible booking results.

The first thing one has to do is to stop judging a web site by how nice it looks. The way your site looks is not nearly as important as the way it functions in search and sales. A well-designed site can function well and be attractive, but function is by far the most important.

There are too many so-called hotel web site design companies who know all the Internet buzz-words, but have no clue how to design and market a site for search and sales. Don’t be fooled by the size of the design company bidding to design or re-design your web site; large or small, do they develop functional hotel sites and marketing programs for an affordable price.

When creating your Internet marketing budget, my advice is don’t let yourself be influenced by surveys, tables, and graphs; your Internet marketing program should be decidedly exclusive to your hotel, or group of hotels; their individual markets, funds available, and your goals for Internet sales. Choose a marketing partner with the knowledge of how hotel Internet marketing can work for your hotel.

Neil Salerno, the Hotel Marketing Coach, advises hotels on how they can best use their websites to attract more guests. You may email him at NeilS@hotelmarketingcoach.com.

A negative online reputation can severely limit a hotel’s ability to succeed today. With more and more people using the internet to make their travel plans, reviews by other travelers are playing an increasingly large role.

If your hotel has received negative reviews, you need a solid action plan to work around them. And that’s exactly what I intend to do in this post. Let’s get started…

Step 1: Listen to the feedback

What are people saying about you? Set up tracking tools to be aware of both praise and criticism.

• For Google: Google Alerts (email or RSS updates of the latest Google search results)
• For Blog posts: Technorati (the largest blog search engine)
• For Blog comments: Backtype (what people say about you in response to blog posts)
• For Twitter: Twitter Search (monitor real time feedback)
• For other social media: FriendFeed search, a social aggregator that combines YouTube, Delicious, Flickr and more
• If you’re willing to spend a little money, tools such as Radian6 and Trackur allow you to monitor everything from one dashboard

Knowing exactly what your guests are saying helps you take appropriate action. Many times negative reviews require action at an operational level, so it helps to have a system for sharing this information with the management team.

It’s useful to note that not all reviews are created equal. As any hotel marketing manager will attest, negative reviews typically come in two forms:

Step 2: Respond to the reviews

TripAdvisor allows management responses. So does Qype in Europe, and more recently, Yelp.

When you see a negative review of your property, it can be tempting to fire back with a nasty response. But be careful – doing that can damage your reputation even further. Instead, follow these best practices for responding to negative reviews:

1. Thank the reviewer for their feedback
2. Respond to any positive comments
3. Apologize for any legitimate negative experience
4. Explain the steps you’ll take to prevent that from happening again
5. Allow the guest to contact you offline if followup discussion is needed

Avoid:

• Angry, abusive responses…or any type of personal attack
• Questioning the reviewer’s legitimacy (yes, fake reviews do happen from time to time, but they can be very difficult to prove and it’s better to avoid this accusation)
• Only replying with a discount or coupon (which indirectly encourages abuse)
• Corporate babble with no substantial change – such as

“We are sorry to hear about your inconvenience, and appreciate your comments here. We are happy that you have spoken up so that we may better our property. We will be working diligently to make your stays much more enjoyable in the future.”

If I had a poor experience at a hotel, this type of management response would do absolutely nothing for me. I want specifics! It’s unlikely I would return in the future to see if my stay is “much more enjoyable.”

Step 3: Fix what’s broken

There’s no getting around this. Fundamental flaws that repeatedly leave guests unsatisfied cannot be glossed over with a slick marketing campaign. That’s denial at best and borders on unethical.

Train or change your staff. Bring in a consultant. Hire a designer…or maybe just a plumber for that leaky sink! Do whatever it takes with the resources you have.

Step 4: Tell people you’ve listened and fixed the problem

Now that changes have been made, you need to go back to the audience and let them know you listened and acted on their suggestions.

• Tell the guests directly – in your replies on TripAdvisor and other guest review websites
• Tell the story of how you did it – through videos posted to YouTube…or interviews published on your hotel blog
• Tell the media – with a press release or full-scale PR campaign (depending on the changes you made, of course)

Step 5: Start building your new positive reputation

Effective online reputation management is more than just playing defense – it’s all about proactively building a positive buzz. This is pretty straightforward stuff, but is an essential ingredient of this action plan.

Ask satisfied guests for reviews. Specifically, ask them to review your hotel on sites where you’re struggling the most. If you’re not sure, start with most popular: TripAdvisor.

Launch a special blogger’s campaign. As Malcolm Gladwell taught us in The Tipping Point, obtaining the help of a few influential people is essential to spreading a message. In the online travel community, bloggers often act as Gladwell’s Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen – playing a big role in shaping perceptions. Take advantage of this by finding authors of the most influential blogs, and inviting them to review your hotel.

Begin an aggressive content publishing effort. Content is the key to staying relevant in today’s web. It’s also the best way to build a loyal fanbase. Publishing a large amount of very useful content in multiple media channels is the only way to make sure your voice is heard. It takes a lot of work, but there’s no better way to build a positive web presence.

Dealing with Negative Reviews FAQs

Can I remove negative reviews?

Yes and no. TripAdvisor lets you start over with a clean slate if there was a change in management, but not if you did a renovation.

Can I get in touch with a guest to resolve a problem?

Usually you can only use a website’s management response function to publish a reply. You may try leaving a customer service phone number to encourage offline resolution.

I think a competitor is writing negative reviews.

I recommend you contact the review site directly, and explain your reason for concern.

Can I ask someone to remove their negative review?

Most sites do not allow this. You’ll need to follow the steps above to improve your reputation.

Recommended resources for further research

• Basics of Online Reputation Management by Lee Odden
• 10 Reputations All Hotels, Resorts & Inns Should Monitor Online by Andy Beal
• Which TripAdvisor Reviews Should You Respond To? by Micheal Hraba
• How Companies Should Respond to Negative Reviews by Lisa Barone
• How to Promote an Unpopular Hotel by Alicia Sheber

• Think like a publisher
• Create informative content our readers will love
• Distribute it as far as possible

That has been my mantra for the past 7 years I’ve been working online. I’ve been involved with a wide range of companies, and this policy has worked equally well in every industry. Why?

Photo by mpclemens on Flickr

Content is your web presence. It’s why the web exists. It’s how people find you.

Content makes it easier for people to find you. When people perform a web search, they’re looking for some specific information. The more information you have published, the chances for people to find your website improve.

Content makes you a subject authority. As a hotel, you want to be the source of information for people planning a trip to your city. Now more than ever, people want to be educated before they make a purchase.

Content makes you more valuable to your customers. For instance, if you’re trying to sell to corporate meeting planners, a portfolio of informative content makes that easier. Research performed for the development of your content makes you a better resource, and increases the value you offer.

Content has multiple uses. The educational material you produce for your target audience can be adapted to multiple formats and uses. For example, one good article could become a series of blog posts, videos, or a podcast.

Content almost always provides higher ROI than advertising. I have managed campaigns for myself and other clients, and in my experience, building a network of great content provides more benefits than paid “interruption” messages.

Content has long-term payoff. Unlike advertising, great content will stay around and provide you with ongoing results. It’s an investment that keeps on giving.

Probably the top three people that have influenced my thinking over the past few years are:

• David Meerman Scott
• Scott Ginsberg
• Joe Pulizzi

(These guys publish some great content on…publishing great content. I’d recommend you subscribe to their newsfeeds and read daily.)

Around 2002 when I was getting started in web marketing, great content was a good way to attract links to our websites. In 2004 when I started blogging, great content was needed to build our blogs. Over the past few years, the explosion in social media popularity (Digg, Facebook, Twitter) provided even further incentives with the opportunity for viral distribution. It’s been interesting to watch that while the publishing options may have changed slightly, the need for great content has remained.

A few days ago, Todd Lucier raised the need for two social media teams: one to listen to your customers, and the other to produce great content. If we believe the trends underlying social media truly represent a fundamental change in the way people buy, then we’ll allocate our resources accordingly. You need to get more people involved.

If you don’t have the time or expertise to develop all of your content, consider hiring a journalist. With the state of print media declining, many talented writers are open to taking part or full time work outside traditional media.

Whatever your publishing strategy is, you want to create content that is:

1. Timely (current and delivered to the right people at the right time)
2. Comprehensive (a true resource)
3. Useful to the reader (they bookmark & keep coming back)
4. Easy to find (search engine friendly)
5. Easy to share (linked to social media networks)

In the words of Scott Ginsberg, “The more you give away, the wealthier you will be.”

Today’s question: what valuable content can you produce and give away for free?

“The problem isn’t piracy, it’s obscurity.” – Tim O’Reilly

Photo by jurvetson on Flickr

Several people have commented on how they like the suite of web-based tools we use at Gradigio, and asked for suggestions on how they could implement a similar system in their hotels.  So while this post isn’t about marketing per se, it contains some resources you may find useful for yourself or your hotel. In the “work from anywhere” world we live in today, using hosted software is very convenient, and helps you become more productive online.

(Note: None of these are affiliate links, and I do not necessarily endorse them in all situations. My intent is only to share some tools that have helped me in the past.)

Google Apps for Business – Includes hosted Google email on your own domain, Google documents (a cheap Microsoft Office alternative), and more. Probably the best $50 you’ll spend on technology.

Google Calendar – Even if you decide not to go with Google’s entire software suite, try using a public calendar for sharing special events and deals at your hotel. Or, you can use a private calendar internally with your staff.

GoToMeeting – Meet virtually with anyone and share your screen so you can view the same things. Very helpful in working with colleagues around the world, and reduces your need to travel.

Basecamp – Manage projects and collaborate with others online. (Backpack is a personal version by the same company, and also good for organizing online projects.)

Present.ly – “Private Twitter for business”

InOutBoard – Employee time tracking and more.

Freshbooks – Create invoices online, send by email or mail, and accept payment with PayPal.

Batchbook – Contact management system with task lists and mailing functions.

MailChimp – Email newsletter software that, unlike most, offers a pay-as-you-go plan.

Survey Monkey – Create easy online surveys for quick customer research.

Box.net – Backup and share files online.

Yotify – Saves time tracking things that are important to you (purchases, media, etc).

Tuncel Toprak

In just one year, Tuncel Toprak has turned his new boutique hotel, Witt Istanbul Suites, into one of Istanbul’s most acclaimed hotels (currently #2 of 545 hotels in the city according to TripAdvisor). In the interest of full disclosure, Tuncel has hired Gradigio to enhance their digital media marketing campaign. But Tuncel has an fascinating story, and I think many of you would be interested in hearing how he did it. Let’s get started….

Josiah: Seth Godin talks a lot about product design being the foundation of marketing. You’ve focused on that from day one, studying design in New York, then hiring Autoban to design the hotel. Are you seeing a link from your emphasis on design to the press and referrals you’ve received?

Tuncel: Yes. When we were starting we didn’t have a set budget for different categories – we just wanted to create things we liked. So everything from the linens (commissioned from Denizli) to the bathroom fixtures (part of Ross Lovegrove’s Istanbul Collection) – are things I would want in my house. I would love to live in a house like my hotel. That was the concept of the design process.

Image courtesy of WittIstanbul.com

Nothing is ‘hotel furniture’. There is a whole industry of hotel furniture, and I hate it! All our furniture is designed for us and built for us by Autoban. When we were renovating the former Ogilvy & Mather offices, we could have installed 30 rooms. But we wanted the suites to be large, so we ended up creating 17 60-square-meter suites. Now we’re able to offer a spacious luxury suite for the same price as a standard 5-star hotel room.

People are sick of staying in chain hotels that are the same everywhere. For example if you’re staying in the Hilton Dubai you probably wouldn’t notice the difference from Hilton Tokyo – it’s the same concept. People like our large, home atmosphere with a unique design.

Image courtesy of WittIstanbul.com

We were the first hotel project for our architects. They are very young, but have won many awards from international magazines. There are a group of journalists that are following their work, and so when they did this project, they came to us to see what the result was. We didn’t pay these people…it was word of mouth buzz. One journalist would write a story about our hotel, then a few more would, and so on.

What other marketing tactics have performed well for you?

My aim has always been simple: try to get good online reviews. I know word of mouth is very important, so I never want a guest to leave unhappy. I don’t want to pressure our guests into writing a review, but I do try to talk with all our guests. If they say something positive, I try to refer them to TripAdvisor (or a similar site).

Image courtesy of WittIstanbul.com

So you’ve only focused on online reviews so far for your marketing?

Yes, we have a guestbook at our reception desk. If someone writes something in there, we encourage them to post a review to TripAdvisor or the online booking site they used to make their reservation.

It’s not easy for someone to write a review online. They have to go to the site, log in, and then write their thoughts. Typically people that have negative experiences at a hotel are far more likely to do this than people who have a good experience. This makes earning positive reviews harder.

Is there anything special you do for the Turkish market?

No, we actually don’t focus our marketing here. Some big local corporations find us online, and contact us after reading our online reviews. So they are coming to us, we don’t market to them.

I think we’re going to see more and more of that in the future. Improving ‘findability’ will give a better return on investment than outbound sales efforts. Having an impressive online presence pre-sells potential guests before they even contact you.

If they believe the reviews are authentic and true, and it contains a good third-party endorsement, then it’s more reliable information than self-puffery by the hotel.

We find our visitors are very informed when they arrive at our hotel…they even know the names of some of our staff. There are some reviews on TripAdvisor saying [name] was great, and so they arrive feeling like they know us a bit already.

What type of information do people want to find about (or from) you online?

Our guests don’t want to be tourists here in Istanbul. They want to know insider tips and information. So providing that to potential guests is a good way for us to help them. When I go to a new restaurant, I want to write my own review and take pictures so I can share that with my guests.

Do you know what method your guests want to access this information?

I believe blogs will be the platform of the future for hotel websites…continuously being updated with information. I don’t like the old, static web page format. It’s boring for the website visitor.

Finally, employees play an important role in any hospitality business, but your people are one of the biggest reasons people give you positive feedback. What’s your secret to finding and recruiting a great staff?

I look for people who love finding new things to do here in Istanbul, and can then share their first-hand findings with our guests. I want people on my staff that are travelers at heart, and can live the lifestyle that we try to provide for our guests.

Great! Thank you for your time, Tuncel. For more information, visit WittIstanbul.com or see their photos on Flickr.

(Josiah’s note: This is the fourth and final part of Alicia’s outsourcing for hotels series. You can also read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3)

Having explored the benefits and potential pitfalls of outsourcing in prior posts, it is important to use these criteria for assessing when it makes sense to outsource a particular task and when a hotel is best served by keeping it in house.

Front-of-House responsibilities require the ability to react quickly to guest demands; therefore, it is crucial that staff be empowered by the management’s support to do so. Communication needs to be instantaneous with as few hurdles as possible – not always the case with outsourced services managed by others. In order to maintain control over the quality of the face-to-face interactions guests have with staff, it’s a good idea to manage in-house employees who provide the hotel’s core services, i.e. front desk clerks, doormen, car valets, bellhop, concierge, etc…

Tangential functions of the hotel can be grey areas when assessing the suitability of outsourcing. Since increasingly more restaurants, clubs, spas, and fitness centers are co-branded, the hotel’s responsibility for these services are diminished. But when they are in fact brand extensions of the hotel, it again necessitates in-house management to maintain quality-control. Conference Facilities are an aspect where some, but not all, of the duties could be contracted out. While staff which interface with meeting inquiries and scheduling should remain under direct hotel management, outsourcing on an as-needed basis the supply, maintenance and support of the associated technologies could be best satisfied by an outside specialist.

Some Back-of-House and Administration functions are more likely candidates for successful outsourcing, Housekeeping and Facilities Management are examples where an outside contractor could either be cost-effective if the workforce remains consistent and knows the physical nuances of the property – or a financial loss if money is spent reeducating a quick turnover of staff.

Sales and Marketing roles are also instances where outsourcing makes sense for many, but not all, of the job responsibilities. Having an onsite Sales Director is of course crucial, but the majority of marketing duties can be successfully performed by an outside expert. Hotel marketing efforts are shifting exponentially towards online strategies as research and bookings are increasingly web-dominated. Remaining competitive requires a team of professionals with specialized knowledge of online interfacing. Partnering with the right marketing consultants is a terrific example of how outsourcing can make and save money.

As the economy leads consumer values to shift, it is vital that hotels find fresh approaches for identifying their guests’ needs and meeting their expectations. Hoteliers have a powerful research tool at their fingertips, one that provides innovative solutions speaking directly to their target market: their own staff.

Beyond the idea of impressing upon staff that they are brand ambassadors, establish cross-department brainstorming sessions for them to share trends in guest requests and comments about the hotel. It is important to include both front and back-of-house personnel, as their observations provide a variety of perspectives and visitors interact differently with them based upon their perceived status and influence.

In an open forum the team can strategize solutions for addressing guests’ concerns, such as suggestions for new amenities, promotions or local partnerships. Providing financial rewards for implemented ideas encourages staff to invest time and creativity while building their ownership in the hotel’s success.

Consider it a form of internal crowdsourcing, a way of gathering marketing ideas from informed yet unconventional sources. Of course at the end of the day there still needs to be decision-makers and reality-checks as to the ideas’ feasibility and benefits, but utilizing a property’s existing in-house research team to generate innovation is a smart, low-cost move for strengthening a hotel brand.

How do you involve your staff in the marketing process?

Photo by *L*u*z*a* lack of inspiration on Flickr

Our first two posts about outsourcing in the hospitality industry examined some of the red flags hoteliers must be aware of when selecting and negotiating with providers. With these criteria in mind, this third post evaluates solutions that harness the benefits of working with outside suppliers while empowering internal staff to build a brand’s strength.

For the majority of independent hoteliers it will always be fiscally sound to outsource at some levels. But rather than giving away control, outsourcing can be an educational opportunity for staff to learn about advanced product and technology developments from top-notch experts. By being an active partner in service implementation, staff knowledge increases and allows them to provide more valuable contributions to a hotel’s operations. Therefore, it is critical to select providers who keep abreast of the most current advances within their fields of expertise. As their acumen grows, so will the competitiveness of their clients.

Another option is “Work Place Optimization,” i.e. insourcing from within your current staff. With the trend towards employees who have had multiple types of careers in their past, innovative hotels are tapping into their diverse skill sets. The benefits are many:

• Financial costs decrease
• Flexible job descriptions impart employee satisfaction as they feel valued as individuals
• Increased morale means lower staff turnover
• More effective communication between departments as “not-my-job” attitudes diminish
• Staff is more open to change if their opinions and actions have helped shape it

Although the need for outsourced expertise is not eliminated, the management of these processes can be more creatively delegated to bring cohesiveness within the team and the hotel’s brand identity. Shortly we will be taking a look at the types of tasks a hotel must keep “in-house” as well as those which can be successfully outsourced.