May
28
This morning I logged in to the website I use to clean my database lists against the mail and telephone preference service (these are services designed to prevent us from sending unwanted sales communications).
I was on page four of my list when the phone rang:
"Good morning", the caller introduced himself as an employee of that very same website!
"I see you're using the MPS service today - do you need any help?"
I didn't, but thanked him anyway. (
and was quietly impressed at a company so "joined up" as to notice I was online and did something about it)
"While I'm on..." he continued... (
ahhh, here's the real reason for the call, I thought )
Continue reading "Make an impression - talk to a customer today"
Posted by HotelBlogger
May
12
If there's one thing the internet is doing very well it's getting people communicating with each other.
All these social networking websites mean that people can exchange information - however banal - quickly and easily.
There is a level of online sophistication amongst a large number of hotel customers. Yet most hotels aren't making much of an effort to make the most of this opportunity.
Instead, they're concentrating on removing cost from the booking process. They are automating as much as they can. Some hotels I know don't enter into any correspondence with a prospective customer until they have their credit card number. And even then the communication is on the limited side of monosyllabic.
Do you want to capture more business online? Automation is not the answer.
Continue reading "Automatic for the people?"
Posted by HotelBlogger
May
2
Tourism authorities all over the UK are all pretty chuffed with their predictions for a bumper year in 2009.
I’m not sure that they should be all that chuffed. Some of them are pretty poor and if the hotel industry in particular has a good year it has less to do with the efforts of tourism authorities and more to do with fate – or at least the combined delinquencies of our fatally flawed financial industry tripping hand in hand with inept government.
UK tourism is likely to be good until the end of the autumn. Tourism quangos will crow about the results and then the fun will stop. Come winter 2009/10 it is going to hurt and hurt a lot.
Anyway, now I’ve got that off my chest, let’s talk about who will feel the pain and who will feel – at worst - slightly queasy.
Continue reading "Is holidaying in Britain “trading down”?"
Posted by HotelBlogger
May
1
The other day, an article popped into my inbox about how 10% of "online hotel bookers" don't do any research at all, they just click on the "book now" button.
I'm not convinced that this research was particularly scientific, however it went on to declare that this was just the sort of customer you need and you should be building your websites to capture their interest.
Of course, there's nothing wrong with having an enquiry or teaser box on the home page of your website. Readers of this blog already know that if you want to capture the sale, you need to be there when the prospect is ready to buy. But to suggest that people go straight to the "buy" button? I'm not so sure...
Continue reading "To convert "lookers" to "bookers" you need to interact"
Posted by HotelBlogger
