What does the first hotel to introduce Twitter booking suggest about the sales potential of social media?
The impact of social media on customers of the accommodation industry is growing by each passing day. New generation hotel guests book mobile and online applications rather than calling the hotels. They also share their satisfactory experiences or complaints first with their friends and followers on social media.
While trying to adapt themselves to the changing preferences of guests, the hotels are seeking new and more creative methods to access potential customers that are active on social media. “Online booking through Twitter”, the new application of Loews Hotels, is probably one of the best indicators of a new paradigm in the social media and accommodation industry relations along with creative examples of Twitter-themed and Instagram-themed hotels.
An innovative method: “Social Reservation”
One of the best ways to turn your followers into “customers” is to use social media creatively and effectively, according to Piper Stevens, Social Media Manager of Loews Hotels pioneer of the the “social reservation” application.
Stevens points out that they initially used social media only as an incentive for “proper reservation”; however, they later developed the option of “accepting online bookings through Twitter”, inspired by customer demands.
“Social reservation” works as follows: Guests that would like to stay at your hotel send a tweet with the hashtag “#ReservationHotelName”, mentioning the room type they demand. The booking officer sends a response tweet with the link of the “secure chat room” on the hotel’s website to discuss the details and payment options. Then the reservation is completed online.
Hotel booking trends are changing
Adam Weissenberg, vice president of Deloitte company’s “Travel, Accommodation and Holiday Applications”, attributes the sale increase efforts to the transformation of social media approaches. He notes that customers hoping to interact with companies constantly transform them as well, so presence in all forms of social media is a wise action for companies.
Weissenberg points out that such transformation becomes most visible when comparing the amount of online bookings to that of telephone-based bookings.
He also emphasizes that hotel guests on social media consist of technologically-competent young people who are not loyal to any company. Besides, their number is increasing rapidly. Interacting with these users naturally result in more bookings.
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