Facebook nella vendita di servizi Ho.Re.Ca.

http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Article/13515/Distrikts-social-strategy-is-worth-sharing# Distrikt’s social strategy is worth sharing April 14 2014 The hotel uses Facebook to build a rapport with guests before they arrive on property, which typically leads to better post-stay reviews. By Barb Delollis HNN contributor NEW YORK— How do you make one of four similar, mid-block hotels built next to each other on an unattractive New York City block stand out? Simple. Create a friendly, larger-than-life personality using Facebook, giving tourists a warm and fuzzy feeling before they ever walk through the door. That's the unexpectedly successful strategy that the Distrikt Hotel stumbled upon shortly after opening in February 2010. Now, folksy, friendly and fun Facebook posts play a crucial role in driving sales with its primary audience of tourists, particularly first-time New York visitors from overseas who appreciate having a "friend" there to help them, says Distrikt GM Jennifer Rota. "I thought if we were going to cut away from the pack, we were going to have to resonate with the guest who stayed with us. We were going to have to get to know them," Rota said. "To say it was a strategic plan, well, it was a complete accident." The hotel's Facebook strategy was neither intentional nor applicable for everyone—but it certainly is worth sharing. The Distrikt's Facebook page had 27,033 "likes" as of press time, all obtained without contests or paid advertisements. Rival hotels on the same block have a fraction of "likes." The adjacent Four Points by Sheraton and Staybridge Suites, for example, had 1,177 and 2,477 respectively. The Distrikt markets itself through Choice Hotels International's Ascend Collection, a Choice affiliation group for hotels that wish to remain independent. The block of hotels opened at roughly the same time during a hotel construction boom on the centrally located block that's lined by a massive concrete bus station on one side. Plan? What plan? Before Rota and her team began experimenting with Facebook, she learned to communicate with guests in new ways through basic email. A self-admitted control nut when it comes to written guest communications, she reluctantly began delegating email responses to her younger staffers. "At first, I responded to emails and copied a few people at the front desk who were responding to guest emails," Rota said. "I said, ‘OK, now you do it and copy me.’ I was very formal, and I watched how they wrote. My replies were genuine and correct for what I grew up with, but when I read theirs, I found myself smiling." So when it came to dealing with Facebook, she decided to embrace their free flowing, Gen Y style. At the time, Rota recalls that her peers at other hotels were using Facebook for hard-sell style posts along the lines of "like us and you might win a free trip." But she had never been comfortable with the hard sell, even while she worked as a hotel sales director. "I never felt the in-your-face kind of thing was right for our industry," Rota said. "We're about hospitality. I'd rather do it this way and by osmosis get nice people." In one early post, she responded to a couple who said they booked a room at Distrikt for their anniversary. She thanked them and also told them she'd upgraded their room for free. That guest then went on to TripAdvisor and told other readers they might get upgraded if they communicate with the Distrikt on its Facebook page, which convinced Rota she was on to something. After seeing an impromptu series of "jump" photos—showing two young Distrikt employees leaping into the air at random places throughout New York City—on their personal Facebook pages, Rota asked them to repeat their quirky, random ritual for the hotel's Facebook page. The stunt quickly caught on with guests, Rota said. Guests would enter the hotel and ask if the jumpers were around so they could meet them in person. The series of jump photos ran for a while even after the employees moved on to other jobs. Given the Distrikt's huge Facebook following, Rota doesn't completely ignore the sales potential. The hotel's Facebook page offers a discounted rate, via a link to the Choice Hotels website. The discount ranges from 5% to 20%, depending on how busy the hotel is on a given day. Facebook spurs engagement The Distrikt has recently launched a separate website to provide New York City tourists with interesting details about New York, including restaurants and bars in 10 distinct neighborhoods. The blog is called stooptalkNYC.com, named after the New York word for front steps where people would gather, sit and discuss life. Different hotel employees and managers might write a review of a restaurant, or write a piece about what food they sampled when visiting Koreatown, Rota said. The links to the pieces are then highlighted on Facebook and the hotel’s other social media accounts. “We hope it evolves into a guide, and gets richer and richer,” she said. Positive impact The hotel's Facebook activity has had an unexpectedly positive side effect on the Distrikt's online guest reviews, Rota said. She explained that having the friendly chit-chat in advance of check in "completely changes" the nature of the guest-hotelier relationship because the hoteliers can be prepared for when they greet the guests. It allows them to personalize that guest's experience. "We are 'touching' them virtually in many different ways before they arrive," she said. "What better can you do? To me, it's like having a department store know me and know what I want when I walk in." The friendly conversations on Facebook ultimately translate into gentler online guest comments on sites such as TripAdvisor, she said. "They ‘like’ us, and when you ‘like’ someone, that someone is your friend. A friend will tell you that you have spinach in your teeth, but they're not going to make fun of you," Rota said. When something at the hotel is wrong—such as weak shower pressure or a non-working elevator—guests tend to tell staff about it so they can fix it rather than bash them on the social Web, Rota said. Meaning today Rota’s bottom line? In 2014, the social sites are crucial to running a hotel. “I'm a former director of sales,” she said. “But in today's world in New York City, I don't need a sales force as much as I need a social media force.” It also serves to weed out people who might not appreciate the Distrikt’s almost bed-and-breakfast-style attitude, she said. By the time guests arrive, they know plenty of information that will either entice them or turn them off, such as employees’ willingness to help answer a variety of questions, employees’ names, that the hotel provides evening turndown service and that breakfast costs about $11 on top of the rate. "We get guests who want our kind of thing," she said.