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See you there.

Safe Travels – Madigan Pratt

 

Why People Hate Some Hotels

I’m sitting here writing this post in a rocking chair at the Charlotte, NC airport while enjoying free Internet service. It’s great. I love it! But it got me to thinking about the last three days.

I ‘m returning home from attending a hotel conference in the Bahamas earlier this week where I stayed at a branded business hotel.

When I checked into the room last Sunday I discovered the Internet service cost $20 per day! That came out to almost 10% of the room cost. Yikes! An unadvertised special. Executives and leisure travelers were allowed one free hour a day of wireless access…in the lobby.

It was almost comical seeing all those high powered executives in the lobby tapping away frantically trying to get as much done as possible before the hotel shut off their one hour of service. I’m sure they or their companies could have paid the $20/day for the in-room service. My guess is they, like me, just didn’t think it proper.

As I sit in the comfort of my airport rocker I have to admit it makes me think even less of the hotel than I did when I checked out.  Hotels that charge exorbitant prices for services other companies offer for free has got to take a financial toll in lost revenue and bad word-of-mouth.  Especially when people can provide hotel reviews on TripAdvisor for the world to see.

With so many hotels (airports and coffe shops, etc.) offering free Internet access – what would your opinion be of a hotel that charged $20/day? Let me know.

 

How Important is Word-of-Mouth Advertising

For luxury hotels the answer is word-of-mouth advertising is critical.  The Nielsen Internet survey released late last year concluded, “Despite the ever expanding array of advertising platforms and sources, consumers around the world place their highest levels of trust in other consumers.”

The #1 most trusted source of information is recommendations from consumers.  What’s really interesting is the #3 most trusted source is consumer opinions posted online!

I will be discussing the implications of this research on luxury hotel marketing in coming posts.  I’ll also discuss how luxury hotels can maximize word-of-mouth advertising – specific strategies are needed. 

If you’re a luxury hotelier I’d be interested in hearing what you think.  Share your ideas with fellow readers.  Here are the “Consumer-Media Trust Rankings”.