How hotels and businesses in the tourism sector can improve their sales and online reputation

Currently, Internet users in general enjoy sharing their experiences with other users and providing information about their trips. It does not matter if they write it on a blog, on Facebook, on Twitter or simply send an email to their friends to tell them about it. Everything that is said about these companies and businesses or about their services, opinions, comments, the experiences of other clients, etc … can be decisive or influence the decisions of other users, consumers and potential customers.

If we consider the statistics of media a person has about 130 friends on Facebook, we can get an idea of ​​the impact, coverage and level of influence that this type of comments or opinions can generate. That is why there are many reasons why any hotel or business in the tourism sector (among others) should pay special attention to its reputation and how to manage it properly.

A continuous and constant strategy in time

The companies of the hotel and tourism sector must not only influence these aspects and maintain an online strategy during peak seasons, those where the demand for their services increases, especially in summer, but this work must be prolonged over time, throughout year. Credibility and reputation will not be gained in a single day, but we can start losing it in hours.

Start with our own service

The use of social networks and the different specialized services of the internet, can undoubtedly be useful and beneficial for this type of business. However, we must begin to build our reputation from the moment we receive or offer a customer service. Depending on this and your level of satisfaction, we will increase the chances that your recommendations and opinions on social networks will be expressed in a positive way. The objective, therefore, will be to achieve sufficient credibility and confidence that later the clients themselves can transmit or share on social networks.

Generate control and follow-up on opinions and what is said about our business

However, although we think we are achieving this goal, we should never stop monitoring, keeping an eye on what is said about our online business. Due to the nature of the Internet it can sometimes be impossible to validate the opinions or criticisms of customers. This forces us to generate greater control and monitoring of what is published through social networks or other media such as forums, specialized websites, analysis, directories, etc … and as far as possible act or enter to form part of the dialogue and conversation with the aim of benefiting our reputation.

Build trust and credibility

If we seek to generate credibility and trust, it is essential to start doing it from our own website, showing positive and negative opinions, and offering replication or answers in a transparent manner that will allow our clients to perceive the feeling that we are being more honest with them.

Take advantage of the shortcomings and mistakes of the competition

We can make mistakes and also solve them, but in turn, we can take advantage of the opportunity to obtain new customers through the losses of other competing businesses. Competition is high in most sectors, and not least in the hotel reservation. The bad attitude or bad response of a hotel with a client can be beneficial for us. It is proven that a person looking for accommodation looks at least three opinions before booking online, and this is an opportunity that we can take advantage of without first learning from the mistakes of others to “never stumble on the same lose”.

Increase communication with customers

According to Forrester data, 49% of people do not make a reservation if that hotel does not have any type of user opinion, neither positive nor negative. When you have to decide between two hotels, 65% of the people decide for the one who answered them faster and better to their questions before booking.

Expand the effectiveness of social networks quickly and effectively

Undoubtedly, taking advantage of the potential of social networks, can give us great benefits with a well-planned and developed strategy. The presence in the most popular social networks can help our business gain more visibility, and serve as a meeting point for our customers to share their experiences. In addition, thanks to them, we can establish new communication channels and offer a great platform to offer our offers and promotions at any time of the year.

The content, a powerful weapon

Hotels, because of the characteristics of the type of business, are always directly linked to the tourist aspects of the place. Use the places of interest and their history, tourist routes, leisure activities, recommendations for eating, etc … as a central theme to generate content of interest can become a powerful tool to attract potential customers.

As we have seen, hotels can find great allies on the Internet and social networks. After the experience of good service and good management of resources and the correct use of this type of media, we can see how the positive results are reflected in the business itself, increasing our sales and improving the reputation and image of our company.