Reputation Management

After seeing the video United Breaks my Guitar, here are the answers to the questions :

1/ Importance of the Guitar? 
The Guitar is the work tool of the group, without it they are unable to sing and deliver their prestation. They were flying to deliver a concert, but arrived there with a broken guitar.

 2/ Brand? 
The group is complaining about United Airline company.

3/Problem? 
The problem the group is denouncing is that United Airline don't take care of the guest luggage and just throw them without taking care of it. They are denouncing the fact that luggage are often broken due to this and that sometimes it can be really damaging for the guest, as in the example they are singing, his guitar is broken, and he his unable to sing without it.

4/ How long to fix the problem?
The singer has tried to call different service to get a compensation for its broken guitar but the only answer he received was a NO.
By creating this video, and showing it to the world, United Airline, must take action and react to it.

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E.buzzconnect:

Define Reputation Management :
Reputation Management is the understanding or influencing of an individual's or business's reputation. Some parts of reputation management are often associated with ethical grey areas, such as astroturfing review sites, censoring negative complaints or using SEO  tactics to game the system and influence results. There are also ethical forms of reputation management, which are frequently used, such as responding to customer complaints, asking sites to take down incorrect information and using online feedback to influence product development.

Services :
E.Buzz connect provides an integrated single interface for the hoteliers to monitor reviews and social media buzz and to interact with consumers. The tool focuses on driving actions by hotel management to enhance profitability from review sites and social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter...  

Why it is important? and the impact for the hotel? :

Informations shared through social media platforms do affect the organic ranking of a website. Social media affects page rank.
However, just like page rank is determined not only by the number of links but the quality of those 

links as well, social ranks are affected not only by the number of followers (fans, etc) but the quality 

of those followers as well. Real people sharing real stories and opinions carry more weight than mindless bots.
Social media buzz and online guest reviews impact consumers' choice of the hotel that they book. 

With over 80% of travelers performing online research prior to booking travel, it is key that hotels

monitor and manage their online reputation.

Sell your solutions - independent hotels :
eBuzz Connect™ is a reviews and social media monitoring solution targeted specifically for hotels to help monitor and manage their online reputation and social media channels from an integrated single dashboard interface. The system enables hotels to respond to reviews and comments from the tool whenever the channel offers capabilities for hotel management to respond.
In addition to social media channels, eBuzz Connect™ also monitors Online Travel Agency (OTA) and reviews channels such as Expedia, Travelocity, and TripAdvisor. Using eBuzz Connect, hotels can measure their performance vs. social media marketing goals and benchmark vs. their competitors.

Advantages for the hotel :
- enhance its visibility
- gain competitive insight
- have a better understanding of your customer
- Build a strong loyal customer database
- Search engine placement
- Possibility to see conversations about the hotel and take part of it
- Orient room booking decision, through the various guest comments

Have a look at this video to see how amazing and useful E.Buzz connect can be for a hotelier!!!
Video E.Buzz Connect

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TripAdvisor Webinar Slides

Key Takeaway :

After sliding on slideshare these are the main points I get out of it :

- The hotel is responsible for its reputation and social media greatly contributes to it.

- Your employee are also responsible for the reputation of your hotel, that is why they must be smiling, happy and deliver a good service

- The reviews and comments can generate sales

- It can optimise the SEO

- People are aware of other guests comments

- People are sensitive to the GM answer to a positive or negative comment left by a guest - the comment done by the GM must be done on time and mustn't be aggressive.

Should a hotel use TripAdvisor reviews in their site?

To my mind, yes. TripAdvisor is a very good tool that helps guest tot take a decision wether to purchase the hotel or not. It reflects the hotel image and gives a first impression to the guest. If the comments are answered by the GM or one of the Manager, it can also give an idea of the employee and the way guest will be welcomed and treated during their stay. Another key point of TripAdvisor is that the hotel can position itself towards its competitors and allows guest to take the best decision that will best meet their expectations.

Should the Hotel encourage customers to comment on TripAdvisor?

Although the hotel can't have any control on goods or bad comments left on TripAdvisor and that there is a risk that a guest leave a very bad comments about the hotel, I think that hotelier should encourage guest to leave comments.

First reason is because, even if it is a bad comment, the GM will answer accordingly to it, and the impact of it will be minimized. 

Second, because it allows the hotel to position itself towards it competitors

Third, about 72% of the comments left on TripAdvisor are good comments, so positive for the hotel.

Opinion : Use TripAdvisor or your own Plateform?

To my mind, Hotelier should use TripAdvisor because it allow them to have a better visibility, to enhance their sales, to have a better opinion in customer's mind. If the hotel has its own platform, it will not be competing with the other hotels and guest won't be able to compare the hotel to another one and see the best benefit that the hotel has to offer. By being on TripAdvisor, and consequently in competition with other similar hotel, can help and guide guest to select this hotel rather than its competitors.