Power Switch

Marketing is changing. Back in the day, companies spent a pretty penny on controlling their image without much trouble (barring tough competition). Back then, if you had the money, you could build a marketing strategy strong enough to propel your brand into the mainstream public consciousness (regardless of the quality of the product being advertised). These days, the Internet has made it possible for anyone to reach the masses on the cheap. While this is a good thing in many ways, it also leaves hotels vulnerable to the whims of (sometimes angry) average joes, armed with laptops and decidedly not on the company payroll.

So how much stock do potential guests put into the musings and reviews of their peers? As one of those potential guests, I can say with confidence: we take peer reviews seriously. Case on point: next week I’m heading to Vegas, so I checked Yelp for restaurant reviews. I trust Yelp because real people (without agendas) provide honest, no-holds-barred reviews. I'm sure sometimes the system is abused, but it has yet to steer me wrong after several trips all over the country.

Like so many others, I check out the user-submitted (cell phone-quality) photos of the restaurant's eats before planning my meal. Ever find yourself thinking that the food you see on television never looks like real-life? Its amazing what you'll find when you strip the stylization out – the truth is revealed. Take, for example, the following two pictures. One is a professionally staged and stylized photo, while the other was snapped from a camera-phone and shows the real food one can expect.

There is no stopping the momentum change. Either accept that control is being shifted, or brace yourself for the consequences. Besides unappetizing photos from the restaurant for the world to see, hotel guests are reviewing the speediness of room service, the friendliness (or unfriendliness) of the staff, even the water pressure in the shower. Time has come for marketing to meet operations to ensure a positive brand image.

Because of this change, McConnell Marketing designed systems like reputation management, social media packages, and mobile marketing technologies to make interaction between guest and hotel easy to design, execute and monitor. Your guests are out there talking; do you want to join the conversation?