Facebook Travel Marketing And Bookings – The Personal Touch
Saturday, May 28th, 2011[youtube:BnC-XebZw78?fs=1;[link: -Fan Page Manager & Bookings- Demo];http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnC-XebZw78?fs=1&feature=related] More and more, hotels are turning to Facebook Hotel Marketing & Bookings to connect with their customers. In April 2011, The New York Times published an article indicating that hotels were beginning to offer room bookings directly through Facebook and mobile telephone applications. The article noted that there are now several companies supplying technology that helps hotel build and manage Fan Pages complete with Booking Engine.
A poll conducted by a marketing research organization showed that more than 30% of smart phone users plan to make hotel reservations using their mobiles some time during the next year and more than 10 per cent of social networking users intend to shop for hospitality services on FB and similar sites.
A travel research organization recently conducted a poll that showed over 30% of smart phone users expect to book hotel reservations some time in the next year by using their mobile telephones. More than a tenth of users of social networking sites plan to shop for travel deals on these sites.
Some large chains are offering check-in by smart phone. This allows guests to check into the room while waiting for their baggage and simply collect the key on arrival. Another offers a mobile phone application that enables guests to make a reservation or request a hot meal on arrival!
FB as the inherent flexibility of guests adding up to the minute comments on the company’s ‘Wall’, either reviewing their experience afterwards or communicating with staff during their stay. Guests can even communicate with each other, either making real time social arrangements or catching up long after they’ve gone home. The company, on the other hand, has the ability to post updates, contests or special offers. These options simply aren’t available on conventional web sites or online travel agencies.
Twitter is another site that connects the travel industry with its users. The vice president of a hugely successful international hospitality chain has more than one million followers. This is an immensely powerful knowledge base. Companies can maintain one corporate account for general announcements, still another specifically for recruiting staff and as many individual Twitter accounts as they have franchises in different cities and countries throughout the world.
By offering direct services through phone apps and social networking sites, providers save money by not paying fees to online booking agencies. Another important difference is that clients build their relationship directly with them, and not the online agency.
Networking sites allow companies to attract clients away from the agencies to form personal relationships with their clients and encourage them to book direct. Travel companies can use them to respond to complaints or to direct their followers to freshly posted reviews of their recent travel experiences.
Facebook and similar sites provide key demographic data to the modern travel company, telling them what times of day and months of the year people are Googling for travel info. This helps them to target their advertising campaigns more effectively and find the best times and types of special offers and contests for free travel.
arcResBooking for Facebook Fan Pages as noted in the New York Times article, are only one example of ways Hotels use social media to improve revenues. Travellers use AXSES Facebook Travel Fan Page APP to get quotes and book.
