There is sudden, endless interest on how to instill the labour for a social media person on the property level of a hotel. But if you look back in my posts, you will be reminded that hotels are not technological innovators, and are typically behind the curve. Nothing to be ashamed of, as we aren’t in the technology business. We are the hotel business. Sometimes, however, it feels like we have been co-opted (Some of us still remember punch card days).
Until we end up back in the “guest ledger on a lazy Susan†days, much of this “social†or “new†media is being thrust toward the marketing and PR firms of hotels, and they are panicked looking for measurable impressions, calculable effect, and readying themselves to be in control of a massive and daunting visual display of graphs, charts, and quantified data.
But data is not readily available, and measurements are confounding at best (Just because we have become comfortable with a tool of measuring impact of dollars spent, doesn’t mean it’s flawless. For this reason, I still suspect print measurement).
In the end I think “ROI†conversations will fall by the wayside as properties recognize that you simply need to be part of the conversation. It will be like a “internet conciergeâ€, and just part of your overall labour budget.
Back to the PR people.
It is damning for marketing groups however, because in a world of too much information these poor people just became responsible for so much more – keywords, tags, blogs, videos, user generated content, etc. Frankly, keeping up with my google alerts is a job within itself. So I have a empathic concern for marketing groups that will have to hire some Gen Y kid just to watch the stream of internet consciousness…. It is confusing, and overwhelming. Learning to not waste your time with some, while being hyper-aware of other data… this is the ultimate experience of separating the wheat and chaff, as well as looking for a needle in a haystack the entire time.
New Media and old Marketing have about as much in common as <insert witty dichotomy>, but these companies are still tagged with the responsibility of following this new stream of information. It is like when a F&B manager is fired, the floor manager fills in the F&B Manager spot… and then what do you have? You have a floor manager (someone skilled at a specific job) acting as an F&B manager (a totally different job)… you haven’t increased the floor managers salary (limiting incentive to fill the role), but that person becomes taxed/stressed and is doing a job outside their experience level or role. Such is the path of social media being slopped on top of traditional marketing firms responsibilities.
Until hoteliers, operators, marketing teams, and ownership step back, recognize what social media is, and implement someone who is meant to grow into the role and focus on the online concierge aspects of web 2.0…. owners will be anxious, marketing groups will be taxed and confused, and hotel management will be nervous.
Social media is not Marketing & PR the same way college degrees or public relations have prepared people for. Giving the job to someone that doesn’t understand it in the hopes of being successful with a campaign, while performing on the job training, is dangerous and we need to move past it.
At least, let’s let them focus on their skill set, while allowing already operating members of the social media conversation to fill in as “online conciergeâ€. Traditional marketing and PR is changing, but it will never go away. It will be in flux for some time, and might put a new notch in the belt buckle, but it will always be necessary and vital. It won’t be, however, the long term mitigator of social media. This is a slapdash approach to new media, and in time it will move to a property level, corporate/property specific job.
What’s more is that this is an exciting moment in hospitality. This is new job forming! How often does that happen? We have been skilled at getting rid of the labour pool for years (just think of the last time you saw an elevator operator or shoe shine booth). This new position will be a customer relations specialist , and will be filled by erudite, excited, savvy people that have hospitality’s core beliefs at their forefront: Be aware of the guests needs, and service them based on those needs. Whether they are in front of you or not is irrelevant. It isn’t about controlling your brand, damage control, or PR. It is about earnest concern about a guest’s reactions, needs, or thoughts. It is about being real in your conversation with a guest, precisely what much of marketing is not. To be fair, at least we can lighten the load on these confused firms that overreact to one bad review, or panic because they still don’t “get†twitter.
I look at this as a great opportunity for hotels to transcend the limiting mentality that web 2.0 is all marketing and PR. It is daunting to be sure, but it is also humbling, fulfilling, and vital to the ethos of your brand, and the core of your offerings.
It’s time to get hip, and it’s time to be real.
I like your thought here – that effective social media is built around authentic conversations intended to serve the needs of your guests.