Jun
29
Hotel websites all seem to be written in a strange, coded dialect known only to hoteliers.
I’ve been doing some competitor analysis as part of a project for a customer. Of the dozen hotel websites reviewed so far, I’ve identified twelve who speak in this dialect. There isn’t a name for it yet. I expect either I’ll invent one or somebody will suggest one…
It’s not a language the rest of us understand, yet hoteliers all across Britain keep using it for their website copy. It’s not gibberish, but it is very difficult to read!
As hoteliers seek to differentiate their services (for many of us one hotel is very much like another these days) they slip more and more of these strange phrases into their pages.
Let me give you some examples:
- Rooms that are “sympathetically” refurbished. Aww, there, there, never mind… here’s a lick of paint.
- Services that are “professional”. I used to work as a night manager in a large London hotel where part of my job was throwing "professional services" out…
- “Interestingly” arranged bedrooms. Hmm, so how long is it going to take me to find it? Should I bring Ariadne with me?
- Food is prepared by “enthusiastic” and “skilful” chefs. Well I should hope so...
Am I just being fussy? Well no, I’m not. None of these examples actually differentiate your hotel from any other and I’ll tell you why.
As you test your marketing copy, you should check your attempts to differentiate your business by making your claim a “negative” one.
If you can make it a negative statment, it doesn’t make sense or you wouldn’t say it, it’s not a source of differentiation. Here I’ll show you:
“All our rooms have been unsympathetically refurbished.” It has become a negative statement - You’d never say this! So the original phrase is not a source of differentiation.
“All our staff are unprofessional.” It might very well be true, especially in one hotel in Perth that I know of, but you’d never say it. Similarly steer clear of saying they are all professional – your guests are rather expecting them to be professional anyway.
“Your meals will be prepared by bored chefs who don’t know what they’re doing.” When I go out to eat, I expect the chef to be enthusiastic and have the appropriate level of skill. Telling me that they are in such simple terms doesn't really thrill me.
If you really want to differentiate your business, you need to work harder than this on your copy and make it interesting for people to read. Nobody is surprised or impressed with “hotelisms” and big words.
I’ve been doing some competitor analysis as part of a project for a customer. Of the dozen hotel websites reviewed so far, I’ve identified twelve who speak in this dialect. There isn’t a name for it yet. I expect either I’ll invent one or somebody will suggest one…
It’s not a language the rest of us understand, yet hoteliers all across Britain keep using it for their website copy. It’s not gibberish, but it is very difficult to read!
As hoteliers seek to differentiate their services (for many of us one hotel is very much like another these days) they slip more and more of these strange phrases into their pages.
Let me give you some examples:
- Rooms that are “sympathetically” refurbished. Aww, there, there, never mind… here’s a lick of paint.
- Services that are “professional”. I used to work as a night manager in a large London hotel where part of my job was throwing "professional services" out…
- “Interestingly” arranged bedrooms. Hmm, so how long is it going to take me to find it? Should I bring Ariadne with me?
- Food is prepared by “enthusiastic” and “skilful” chefs. Well I should hope so...
Am I just being fussy? Well no, I’m not. None of these examples actually differentiate your hotel from any other and I’ll tell you why.
As you test your marketing copy, you should check your attempts to differentiate your business by making your claim a “negative” one.
If you can make it a negative statment, it doesn’t make sense or you wouldn’t say it, it’s not a source of differentiation. Here I’ll show you:
“All our rooms have been unsympathetically refurbished.” It has become a negative statement - You’d never say this! So the original phrase is not a source of differentiation.
“All our staff are unprofessional.” It might very well be true, especially in one hotel in Perth that I know of, but you’d never say it. Similarly steer clear of saying they are all professional – your guests are rather expecting them to be professional anyway.
“Your meals will be prepared by bored chefs who don’t know what they’re doing.” When I go out to eat, I expect the chef to be enthusiastic and have the appropriate level of skill. Telling me that they are in such simple terms doesn't really thrill me.
If you really want to differentiate your business, you need to work harder than this on your copy and make it interesting for people to read. Nobody is surprised or impressed with “hotelisms” and big words.
