When it comes to hotel reputation management, there are some habits that can be powerfully beneficial to your business. These habits can influence the way in which current customers and future potential customers see your hotel and whether or not they decide to use your services in the near future. Today we’re talking about eight of these habits and why they’re important to your business reputation management process.
8 Healthy Habits of Successful Hotel Reputation Management
1. Engagement in Ongoing Education
Ongoing education is important in any industry, but when we’re talking about the digital aspects of a business, this becomes even more important. If you wish to create a successful hotel reputation management program, you must continually track industry trends, be familiar with and adapt to changes in online public platforms, and keep your finger on the pulse of industry change. This is time-consuming, but crucial which is why many companies turn to professional reputation management services for hotels like Online Presence Manager.
2. Not Micromanaging
Micromanaging isn’t just frustrating for employees and hotel guests, but it can create an unfriendly and unpleasant work atmosphere. A successful hotel reputation manager provides clear instructions to employees, shows employees and trains them how to perform tasks, then encourage employees to make decisions for themselves. This is important not only for the day to day activities inside the hotel but also for an online presence manager for hotels. For example, managing social media channels is a task that should be delegated to a single individual or well-connected team since micromanaging and fragmented management can result in inconsistencies.
3. Knowing When to Ask For Help
A successful online presence manager for resorts and spas or hotels is never a “know-it-all” and should always know when to ask for help. This is an applicable fact in multiple facets of your hotel’s online presence. For example, if business in your hotel is dropping drastically, you may turn to other successful hotel owners or even your previous clients to ask for help in the form of suggestions for improving your business. Being too proud to ask for help does no good for your business or your business reputation, whereas asking for help may be humbling, but it can greatly improve your business and consequently, your business reputation.
4. Being Engaging
A successful online presence manager for a bed and breakfast or hotel understands the importance of engaging with guests and potential guests. By engaging, you can not only glean valuable feedback that can benefit your business, but you also build relationships and report with customers, while proving yourself as a business that cares about their clients and about their own ability to serve the community. On the other hand, a business that is reluctant to engage with customers or potential customers presents a cold and corporate front that is much less likely to attract guests to your hotel!
5. Leading by Example
Leading by example is an important characteristic of any head figure in any business and this isn’t just true for in-hotel activities! Take, for example, the unhappy guest who posts a complaint to your hotel review profile on a large review website. Now, you would hope to be able to manage this review and rectify the situation, but what are the chances that you are going to get this done by bullying the guest who left the comment? Pretty slim. If, however, you handle the situation with grace – the same way that you would hope your guest would handle accepting your apologies and giving your business a second chance – the chances of a promising resolution are much more likely.
6. Delegation to the Right People
One characteristic that you will notice in every successful business is that the ability to delegate tasks to the right people for the job is crucial. The same principle applies when it comes to managing your hotel’s online reputation. Handing over the task of online reputation management to someone with the right tools and the experience needed to do the job well is just common sense and it certainly bodes well for your hotel’s reputation.
7. Making Use of the Right Technologies
As important as it is to delegate tasks to the right people for the job, it’s equally important to make use of the right technologies when managing your hotel’s online reputation. For example, when attempting to increase your hotel’s online profile, you may purchase AdWords to advertise your business to new guests. Now, when selecting those AdWords, do you simply pluck them out of thin air or should you consult a reputable software or tool that can analyze your keyword options and determine which is likely to be the most profitable, the most affordable, and the most clicked?
8. Taking Responsibility
Nothing good ever came from shrugging and uttering the words: “not my problem”. This is particularly true when it comes to managing a business. Hotel reputation management requires an ability to take responsibility for many aspects of factors influencing your hotel’s reputation. For example, if a previous guest leaves a review of a negative experience with your business and pinpoints one factor – for example, their room not being ready for check-in on time – it’s important that your online reputation manager is able to recognize where the fault lies and humbly offer an apology. On the same token, your ORM should also understand how to diplomatically manage these types of situations so that guests are willing to give your hotel a second chance.
Need Help with Your Hotel Reputation Management?
If you need help with your hotel reputation management from a company with experience and proven results, Online Reputation Manager can help. We have the experience, the professionalism, and the dedication to get the job done for you! Just pick up the phone today and give us a call for your free consultation to see how we can get you started on the path to success today!
