The MT Conferences section did not involve the reporting or the editorial staff of The Moscow Times.
Elena Belashova
General Manager of Crowne Plaza Moscow World Trade Centre
The tourist sector is developing with great speed each year, increasing the number of coming travellers. As well continues to increase the individual traveller sector and a huge slip for any hotel would become missing out that part of guests. Individuals might be coming for business or for leisure though the ways they choose hotels for accommodation could greatly differ from those of the corporate sector. They are harder to achieve and harder to keep loyal. Individuals are strongly dependant on the word-of-mouth opinions and are likely to change minds as if with a wave of a wound.
Recent researches claim that first of all a traveller would go for opinions to various travel sites such as TripAdvisor. So keeping up your score could be critical and a lot of effort should be put to stable and elevate your online reputation. But even if you have fantastic reviews a rival hotel with not such great opinions might take the customer. This could happen due to various reasons as for example you never reply to reviews whether they are positive or negative or the price is too high though that might not be the answer you are looking for.
Once again going back to researches it was stated that when choosing an accommodation a guest would more likely give his or her preference to a hotel with a rich collection of visual materials. Such popular tools as photo images or virtual tours could not fully create the right impression and are not enough anymore. Travellers now want to get the image of the property where they are planning to stay as bright and lively as possible.
A new wave of interest could be performed by creating video tours that are an additional ponderable point of online marketing and they add interest to potential buyers. Shooting small and what is most important not professional videos (for example use your smart mobile device) could be an additional point to consider as they will create a feeling that the video is made 'not for selling purposes' but just to show the daily performance of your hotel. Such actions are likely to build a positive image and prove that your hotel is as great in daily routine as it is in the specially created advertisements.
Another smart idea — introduce video spots to your virtual tools. Our experience at Crowne Plaza Moscow WTC hotel shows that guests positively review such innovations and are likely to go through the tour again just watching small but thrilling videos of a moving rooster clock or a bartender virtuously making a delicious cocktail.
It is also vital to be on the go with trusted and authoritative companies like Google. Lately they developed a number of business decisions helping companies to develop their online presence and promote services. As an example — the Business photos project. It makes easier for users to find your hotel and take a glance at the property without even visiting your web site.
Moreover go and be mobile. You would hardly find a person not browsing the web from a mobile device. Decisions could be taken anywhere and anytime and your potential clients would just book their accommodation while riding a bus or taking a walk in a park away from the city.
A lot of effort should be put in successful competing and staying on top of the market. Though the result is always worth the consumed energy. As previously mentioned — individual travelers are the most 'troubled' and hard-to-get part of the tourist flow. Be creative, innovative and stable and then you would be sure they will continue coming and returning.
The MT Conferences section did not involve the reporting or the editorial staff of The Moscow Times.
