You can also use this information to create offerings that
will help to differentiate your hotel from the competition – in the above
example you could consider offering free transport to the most popular
attractions, and, of course, publicising this offer.
You can then use this information to derive themes, and spot
areas where you can fill a gap and differentiate yourself from your
competition, and determine where your competition has the upper hand.
Create unique offerings based on what guests want
Keeping an eye on your online audience, and that of your
competitors, will help you to gain a better understanding of your prospective
guests likes and dislikes. If you can understand your target market well
enough, you may be able to cater better to their desires than your competition.
For instance, you could take note of the kinds of activities
that travellers in your target market tend to enjoy, and put together special
packages for next year that include these activities at discounted rates (you
might also want to offer these packages exclusively to guests who book
direct to help you curb spending on commission in 2017).
Find out what you have that can't be copied
The Umaid Bhawan Palace (which was voted the world's best
hotel on TripAdvisor for 2016) is a functioning palace and is still the
residential abode of royals. The hotel staff are the same staff that service
the royal family, and a brief browse through the hotel's online reviews will
show you that the guests notice this, that it permeates the palace and colours
their experience if it. Other hotels, no matter how luxurious they are and how
well trained their staff are, cannot imitate this.
While your hotel might not be the seat of royalty, there
will always be something that makes you unique. Keeping track of what guests
mention frequently online can help you to see where your unique strengths lie.
For example, your hotel might be situated closer than any of your competitor's
hotels to one of the activities guests frequently mention online – make sure
that people know about this.
Make the most of what guests have said
Your future guests are much more likely to believe what
people similar to them tell them about your hotel than they are to believe what
you tell them – use your past guests positive comments (or social
proof) to highlight something that your hotel does better than your
competitors.
Consider a review collection and online reputation
management partner
Of course, the more feedback you get the better, so
employing a review collection system that automatically asks guests for
feedback can help you greatly in determining what your guests are enjoying
most, what really makes you stand out, and where you need to work harder.
Many review collection systems also offer online reputation
management features as well, which can help you keep track of reviews of your
property from multiple sources, as well as help you to keep an eye on what's
being said about your competition online.When pressed for time, as hoteliers
almost always are, it can be tempting to only pay attention to reviews and
mentions of your own hotel, but this will not help you to define your
competitive edge. When you know what the competition is selling, you can be
certain of where your product outstrips theirs, and you can discover your
unique selling points more easily. If you believe in your product and are
confident of its merits, potential guests will sense this, and be more inclined
to choose to stay at your hotel.
For more information on Guestline's integration with
GuestRevu (our review collection and online reputation management
partner), please email sales@guestline.com.