When I look at digital transformation there are several key factors that will move the needle for hotels.
Three of the most important factors are;
- Improved customer experience
- Connectivity between employees, customers, partners, vendors, and the local community
- Increased distribution and access to critical data
Successful digital transformation happens when people and technology work in harmony towards a common goal.
Building a captive digital audience is not optional today for hotels. Being found and seen is essential for all hotels, but that alone is not enough you also have to engage and entertain. When you have also these factors in place customers with then share your hotel with positive educational sentiments.
Let’s start building a captive digital audience for your hotel!
Digital Transformation: Captivating your Hotels Digital Audience
What is a captive digital audience?
A captive digital audience represents a group of people that is engaged and captivated by how your hotel is found, seen, experienced, and shared. The sentiments that lie within a community will captivate a digital audience today.
That is why hotels today have to understand their community to capture the attention of the right people.
In the past, it has been important for most hotels to have a good understanding of their ideal customer. Today we are shifting towards that is more important to have a good understanding of the ideal customer experience.
A remarkable customer experience is critical to the sustained growth of any hotel. A positive customer experience promotes loyalty, helps you retain customers, and encourages brand advocacy.
Your hotel needs to engage with your audience when and where they need you. Set aside time every single day to answer or respond to comments on social media, reply to emails and go above and beyond to help customers in all of the places they’re reaching out to you.
How can hotels captivate a digital audience?
We started out by identifying and engaging the right people. Next, we have to provide a remarkable customer experience.
To do this I collaborate with my partners at rainmaker to help hotels by providing a remarkable customer experience.
Our goal is to help your hotel significantly reduce the complexity with regards to everything digital in your business, increase your income, and grow direct bookings and thus enabling you to create more value for your brand and your destination. We call this economic sustainability.
And our focus is to help the essential sentiments of the digital community;
- Being found
- Being seen
- Being experienced
- Being shared
Visibility
Your hotel has to be found and seen in some way digitally today, or else you will no longer exist.
Make sure that your hotel’s organic visibility and findability in the Google universe is optimized in such a way, that you are found both directly and indirectly when potential travelers search for you or search for accommodation or activities within your region. As a result, more potential guests are directed straight to your website.
This is why your hotels need to take a holistic approach. In simple terms, “holistic” refers to understanding the relationship between all parts of a whole. This is an essential part of the digital transformation process where a holistic approach starts by first identifying an obstacle, then taking a step back to understand the situation as a whole.
Digital Presence
One of the first places customers experience your hotel is at your website.
Abandonment rates have for many years been very high. In 2019 data showed an abandonment rate of 84.63%.
Hotel websites are among the biggest disconnections for travelers.
Your hotel’s website should be visually appealing. Use high-quality images and videos that accurately represent your brand. People are visual creatures, so make sure your website catches their eye. In addition to using attractive visuals, you should also use clear and concise text. Potential customers should be able to understand how you add value to their experience within a few seconds of landing on your page.
Make that your digital presence corresponds with the “best practice” of customer needs. Start to take care of components such as experience optimization, individual design, fast loading time, and ongoing maintenance.
Reputation
For 59% of travelers, guest reviews have the greatest impact on their booking decisions. Therefore, reviews and the answers to them are of enormous importance for every hospitality and tourism provider. Especially the neutral and negative reviews need special attention. We take care of them.
Do you already respond efficiently and promptly to every review received?
Reviews – people always make judgments. But without information, it becomes prejudiced. We turn reviews into bookings for you.
We analyze all ratings and comments from over 200 reviews and social media platforms. This creates a perfect basis for observing the competition and improving your products and services. Together we create the foundation for your perfect reputation. This creates trust and trust generates direct bookings.
Marketing and Advertising
Since more than 75% of all Internet users conduct vacation searches online, digital marketing and advertising are an integral part of any integrated and professional marketing strategy.
Focus on the most cost-effective alternatives for hotels.
Many hotels try to compensate for weaknesses in visibility, digital presence, reputation or sales with expensive advertising or other costly marketing measures. But that is often not useful, nor practical.
We help your hotel create a unique community so your hotel is perfectly positioned to get the most value from your ROAS (Return on Advertising Spend).
Property management – Booking engine – Distribution – Revenue Management
We want to make sure your hotel’s distribution channel is generating revenue and profit for the hotel.
Part of the ideal customer experience is to educate the community about the benefits of a direct booking with your hotel.
It is important to understand why customers prefer to make a booking with a third party, and it is equally important to understand why they make a direct booking.
Would you like to become independent of market-dominant online platforms now, reduce the complexity of your operation, increase your occupancy and improve your profitability?
We will ensure that you will have enough time again to focus on creating memorable experiences for your guests that makes them happy.
Our task is to increase your visibility to potential guests and to grow direct bookings. After an unforgettable vacation, their great reviews will help you attract new guests. All managed by us.
Digital Transformation Framework Partnership for Hotels
Hotels today have to invest in people and technology in a context that adds value to everyone involved.
Don’t continue to neglect or take the people’s transformation for granted. Technology is a digital tool that will help your hotel when implemented in collaboration with your employees.
Partner with your employees and they will help with retaining and hiring people.
I invite you to partner with us to help implement a new innovative digital transformation framework that opens the digital gateways to more direct bookings without competing with the OTA.
Are Morch
Digital Transformation Coach
Are Morch, Digital Transformation Coach
View source
Hospitality Net membership explained