| Hotels failing with poor PR |
| Wednesday, 02 June 2010 07:14 |
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No sector has been safe from the ravages of the recession in the UK, and hotels & hospitality is no different from any other. Phil Hooper, chairman of the British Hospitality Association’s Food and Service Management Forum said in March this year that the last 12 months had been tough for companies in the sector but, despite the recession, turnover had moved ahead by 0.7 per cent. Set in context against slumps in overall sales, unemployment and rising costs in overheads, this should be seen as positive; and yet so many hotels are losing out on increased profits and repeat sales due to poor public relations. Take for instance the provision of Wi-Fi for use by guests and visitors. How often is this provided but at a charge? I recently visited two hotels for business lunch meetings. On entering both I spotted that Wi-Fi was available. "Great" I thought, "I'm a bit early, so I'll get out the lap top and do a little light work." On further investigation I discovered that Wi-Fi was only available free to staying guests, not to those taking advantage of the other business related services that had attracted me in the first place; unless of course I was willing to pay for it. Now I may be frugal at times, but being asked to part with a fiver for 35 minutes of Internet time had only one effect on this customer - I'll think more than twice before agreeing to meet a client, supplier or colleague at either of these hotels. It's a classic case of a service provider completely forgetting about their public relations strategy. Glenn Haussman, Editor in Chief of website, Hotel Interactive.com says that the hotel industry as a whole overlooks Public Relations and is losing business as a result. I've had the pleasure of working with and for a great hotel that does take it's PR very seriously. Whitley Hall Hotel in South Yorkshire is a beautiful place to have lunch, stay for a short break or hold your wedding reception. The whole service ethos is built on looking after the person as an individual. Rooms are distinctly designed and food can be ordered to suit your own palate for special occasions. Gary Leopold is President of a marketing consultancy that has worked with major hotel chains in the US for more than 20 years. Although his experience is Stateside, his comments about hotels failing to implement a Public Relations strategy are still pertinent in the UK. In essence what Leopold and Haussman are saying is that hotels are overlooking the personal aspect - they are forgetting their public and how to make the visiting experience memorable for all the right reasons. Imagine if I had walked into that hotel in West Yorkshire and been told that not only was Wi-Fi available, it was free and guests could have short-term use of a laptop provided by the hotel. Would I have walked out of there thinking " I think I'll find somewhere else for my next meeting," or would it have been far more likely that I'd have told everyone I knew about the great service? How many hotels ask for customer feedback as a given? My partner and I stopped at a four star flagship hotel in Chelsea earlier this year. Apart from the sky high bar prices and the fake Cumberland sausage for breakfast (we are both sausage snobs) the stay was lovely. However, they spoilt the experience by asking us for feedback on two occasions and then not publishing it. Our report was honest and 95% positive, but we now feel that our opinion does not matter to them unless it is a glowing reference. We won't be going back as a result and I've already told several people about the poor public relations. Public Relations for hotels does not have to be expensive, complex or rocket science. As with any other service sector provider all it needs to do is consider the needs, aspirations and desires of its customers. Be remembered for all the right reasons with your PR strategy and your occupancy rates will increase by a lot more than 0.7%.
Comments (2)
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Reading the above comments is not correct in our experience. After a poor experience at a recent dinner I wrote to Whitley Hall Hotel on 27.05.2010. I explained our problem with dinner & requested a refund for an amount we had been over charged. Apart from a brief message on our answer phone last week we have heard nothing more. I believe this is appalling & the worst possible PR.
Shirley price