With an eye to financial and environmental concerns, tourism providers are vying with one another to develop inventive products and services to meet an increasingly diverse demand. This article discusses some of the trends and best practices adopted by mountain resorts as they redefine themselves.

A broad range of recreational activities

Summer activities are more and more popular with mountain resort clients. (Please see: La tentation quatre-saisons des stations de ski). One-quarter of the resorts surveyed by SAM reported that summer operations accounted for at least 20% of their annual revenue. Mountain biking is currently the most popular summer attraction on offer (61%) (see: Le vélo de montagne représente-t-il un potentiel touristique sous-exploité?), after business meetings (64%) and weddings (81%).

In the next two years, the resorts surveyed plan to focus more on family-oriented activities rather than traditional activities like tennis and golf (see Figure 1). A little less than half of the destinations surveyed are planning to add ziplines (42%), and nearly one-quarter plan to build alpine coasters (23%) or a ropes course (22%).

Climbing walls and bungee jumping are becoming more popular, as are skate parks, water parks and mini golf. In fact, the Massif du Sud area in the Chaudière-Appalaches region now calls itself a “four-season adventure sports outfitter.”

 New customer segments

Many resorts rent out their facilities for business and festive events. The Banff Centre, located in the heart of Banff National Park, now courts the meetings, incentives, conventions and events (MICE) market. Some resorts, like Crystal Mountain in the northwest United States and Mont Sainte-Anne in Québec, actively target the destination wedding segment during the summer and rent out the facilities located on their summits.

Source: Crystalmountainresort.com

Package deals: An ideal solution

Increasingly, resorts are turning to package deals. Packages help make a destination attractive to new visitors, increase business during the off season and draw regional clientele who are interested in shorter stays. In addition, packages fulfil the varied needs of multi-generational travellers and non-skiers.

Relaxing getaways

Spas have become synonymous with the mountain resort experience. Health and wellness are now part of resort marketing and can even provide the raison d’être for a get-together, such as this year’s Wanderlust yoga festival held at Squaw Valley USA, California.

Source: First Track

Some resorts are improving their culinary offerings, sourcing food from a variety of providers and focussing on regional products. Last winter, the Samoëns ski resort in the French Alps organized its first Winemakers’ Week. Winemakers from various regions in France set up kiosks and presented workshops to introduce tourists to their wines. In Québec, Mont Saint-Sauveur recently began a major renovation of its bar and restaurant to offer patrons a wide variety of healthy foods and ensure that the bistro is the area’s trendiest restaurant.

Online marketing, mobile apps and new technology

Web marketing is now one of the most vital promotional channels available and some resorts are using it to great advantage. Wild Mountain in Minnesota posted a deal on LivingSocial, a group purchasing site, offering a discount package of lift tickets and equipment rental. The goal was to attract a new clientele of novice skiers.

Source: Livingsocial

Snowbird in Utah, one of the first resorts to develop its own app, has implemented a social media strategy by including a community page on its site where visitors can share content.

Source: SnowBird

Brighton Resort in Utah has installed two automatic cameras on one run to photograph skiers and snowboarders, who can then download their performances on the resort’s Facebook page.

Vail Resorts has created EpicMix, an application for either mobile or online use that enables clients of its five ski resorts to share their stats on their social networks. The information provided is extensive and includes rate of descent, skier and snowboarder ranking, weather and real-time location of contacts. Last winter, 100,000 people activated an EpicMix account and 40% downloaded the mobile app.

Source: Epicmix

New technology has also had an enormous impact on resort operations. At the beginning of the 2011-2012 winter season, Mont Saint-Sauveur and Mont Avila will be installing a radio-frequency identification (RFID) system on their lifts to detect skiers’ cards so they don’t have to show them, just like the system already in place at Le Massif in Charlevoix.

A wide variety of lodging options

A great number of privately owned mountain resort rentals are available online. In Québec and British Columbia, such properties represent approximately 60% of the ads listed on HomeAway. These rentals help increase a destination’s potential customer base and many resort managers feel this type of accommodation complements rental condos and hotel rooms.

However, such rentals have not slowed the real estate developments of groups like Intrawest, Boyne Resorts, Aspen Skiing and Vail Resort. Furthermore, many people are buying second homes located at the base of ski mountains. Finally, resorts are also developing new projects. At Le Massif in Charlevoix, the La Ferme hotel complex will open for business in the spring of 2012, and Mont Sainte-Anne is planning to build a new four-season resort in the next few years.

Source: Le Massif de Charlevoix

Sustainable development as a key element of restructuring

The Whistler resort community has developed a long-term plan, entitled Whistler 2020. It defines various priorities and strategies for achieving the sustainable development of the resort and uses indicators to monitor its progress on its Website.

Source: Whistler 2020

The Quebec Golf Course Owners Association (ATGQ) launched a sustainable development initiative this summer with the creation of the ParTROIS program. This measure helps golf clubs take steps towards eco-sustainable certification.

The National Ski Areas Association in the United States recently added a new component to Sustainable Slopes, its environmental charter for ski areas. Called the Climate Challenge, this friendly competition aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. With the help of experts, the employees of the eight resorts participating in the voluntary program took action to fight climate change.

Clientele looking for new experiences, threats of global warming, technological advances and the popularity of social media: the industry does not lack for challenges. However, it is these very issues that have led ski resorts to develop innovative ways of maintaining their attractiveness, and the recent projects launched in Québec hold the promise of a bright future for mountain destinations.

Sources:

- Bast, Morgan. “EpicMix gets nearly 100,000 activations in first season”, buzz.snow.com, April 22, 2011.

- Bergeron, Patricia. «Réaménagement à la base de la montagne- Mont Saint Sauveur se peaufine», carnetduski.com, 13 juillet 2011.

- Kahl, Rick. “Condos on the Cheap,” Ski Area Management, Vol. 50, No. 2, March 2011, p. 54.

- Morrison, Alastair M. “International Trends in Mountain Tourism, Marketing and Development,” Belle Tourism Consulting, 2010.

- Rufo, Samantha, Ken Castle, and Katie Bailey. “Best/Worst Marketing 2010-2011,” Ski Area Management, Vol. 50, No. 3, May 2011, p. 41-45.

- Ski Area Management. “Sustainable Slopes Report Highlights Resorts’ Green Efforts” saminfo.com, July 8, 2011.

- Ski Area Management. “Summer in the Mountains,” Vol. 50, No. 3, May 2011, p. 46-47.

- Urban Land Institute. “Ten Resorts Trends”, www.uli.org, consulted July 13, 2011.

- Watson, Tom. “Brighton offers freestylers an ancillary stoke,” National Ski Areas Association, Vol. 19, No. 3, July 2011.

- Wine Tourism in France. “L’oenotourisme, nouveau sport d’hiver”, winetourisminfrance.com, December 29, 2010.

- World Tourism Organization. “UNWTO congress to debate the future of snow and mountain tourism” www2.unwto.org, March 31, 2011.

See also:

Les activités hors saison pour les centres de villégiature: tendances et nouveautés

La tentation quatre-saisons des stations de ski

In the last decade, the Internet has reshaped the way people plan for and consume tourist products and services. More recently, the most significant development in Internet applications has been in the area of user-generated content (UGC) and peer-to-peer applications, the so-called Web 2.0.

Research is shedding light on the significant influence that UGC and Travel 2.0 applications have on generating the idea of travelling, both during the real planning process and even after travel decisions have been taken. Recommendations of friends and colleagues are less important to business travellers than they are to leisure travellers (McCarthy, Stock and Verma, 2010).  Sometimes UGC also induces tourists to alter their decisions after obtaining further information online.

Some empirical data

eMarketer (2007) reports that, among tourists who use peer reviews to help them make their hotel bookings, the percentage of infrequent and frequent leisure travellers who changed their booking based on reviews posted online by other consumers is 25% and 33%, respectively. An empirical investigation on a sample of 823 Italian tourist (Del Chiappa, 2011a) confirmed this figure with respondents reporting that, after having read reviews and comments posted online, they changed their hotel accommodation sometimes (64.8%), almost always (12%) or always (0.5%). In particular, Del Chiappa (2011a) found gender differences in this likelihood, with female respondents doing so (“always” or “almost always”) more frequently (14.8%) than male respondents (9.4%). Another study on a sample of 1,448 Italian tourists reported that 31.56% of respondents had changed the accommodation suggested by a traditional travel agency based upon UGC (Del Chiappa, 2011b).

Credibility and trustworthiness of UGC: Perceptions of American tourists

On the whole, UGC sources are considered more credible and trustworthy than market-provided information and, consequently, are more likely to direct and influence tourist choices. For marketing strategies to be effective, it is therefore crucial to know to what extent tourists consider the different types of Travel 2.0 applications to be trustworthy and whether these applications do in fact exert different influences over the way tourists perceive company image and make their decisions.

Interestingly, recent research has started to analyze the credibility and trustworthiness that tourists confer upon different Travel 2.0 applications, which helps clarify the extent to which they affect tourists’ attitudes and purchasing decisions.

A survey carried out on a sample of 1,900 of American tourists who usually buy tourist services over the Internet underlines the different influences that different Web 2.0 applications have on tourist behaviour (PhoCusWright, 2009). In decreasing order, these are: reviews on OTAs (50%), traveller-generated photography/virtual tours (43%), online travel reviews from travel experts (41%), professional photography/virtual tours (39%) traveller review websites (33%), professional online travel video (29%), traveller-generated online travel video (28%), travel blogs (22%), social networks/people you know (22%), social network/people you do not know (15%) and travel-related podcasts (13%).

Another study (Yoo, Lee, Gretzel, & Fesenmaier, 2009) of a sample of 1,170 American tourists indicates that UGC is most credible when posted on: official tourism bureau websites (41.2%), travel agency websites (36.8%), third-party websites such as TripAdvisor (33.5%), travel company sites (31.2%), personal blogs (18.1%), personal websites (16.1%), social networking sites (13.2%) and photo and video sharing sites such as YouTube (10.7%). To sum up, the aforementioned research underlines that tourists’ choices are influenced more by reviews and comments on online travel agencies (OTAs) than those on tourism-related social networks.

Credibility and trustworthiness of UGC: Perceptions of Italian tourists

Similar findings to those of the aforementioned research have recently been found in Italy. Based on an analysis of 823 questionnaires, the study shows that, for both female and male respondents, OTAs are considered the most trustworthy and therefore exert the most influence on company image and tourist choices. In order of importance, OTAs are followed by: tourism-related blogs, tourism-related social networks, video sharing, photo sharing, forums on the company’s website, non-tourism-related social networks and microblogging (Del Chiappa, 2011a). On the whole, the aforementioned study partially confirms the findings of prior research carried out in the United States by Yoo, Lee, Gretzel and Fesenmaier (2009),  where  OTAs were found to be the most credible Travel 2.0 applications, while non-tourism-related social networks were found to be the least trustworthy. Nevertheless, photo and video sharing sites were found to be less credible in the United States than in Italy.

Moreover, in the same study, respondents reported that they consider comments and reviews posted online to be more trustworthy when there is the same proportion of positive and negative comments (51.2%), or when there are fewer of the latter than the former (39.9%).

Managerial implications and suggestions

On the whole, the findings of the aforementioned research support the marketing and communication strategies of hospitality marketers who have to develop, monitor and manage their corporate brands in a practically infinite virtual domain. Indeed, the research suggests that, in terms of marketing and communication activities, hospitality marketers should split their time and financial resources differently between different Travel 2.0 applications, and pay attention to other differences such as the gender and age of their customers. In particular, hospitality managers should pay attention to UGC posted on OTAs as several studies highlight the great impact, the so-called “billboard effect,” these applications have on the hotel business and the fact that consumer decision-making frequently really starts by looking at these sites, both abroad (Anderson, 2011) and in Italy too (Del Chiappa, 2011c).

References:

Anderson, C. (2011). “Search, OTAs, and Online Booking: An Expanded Analysis of the Billboard Effect,” Cornell Hospitality Report, 11 (8).

Del Chiappa, G. (2011a). “Trustworthiness of Travel 2.0 applications and their influence on tourists’ behaviour: An empirical investigation in Italy,” in R. Law, M. Fuchis and F. Ricci (Eds.), Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2011. Vienna, Austria: Springer.

Del Chiappa, G. (2011b). Disintermediation of hotel reservations: the perception of different groups of Italian online buyers, in proceedings of TTRA Europe and AFM Conference 2011 “Creativity and innovation in tourism.” Archamps: April 11-13.

eMarketer (2007). Niche Sites Invigorate Online Travel. Accessed online April 11, 2007, at http://www.eMarketer.com.

McCarthy, L., Stock, D. & Verma, R. (2010). “How Travelers Use Online and Social Media Channels to Make Hotel-choice Decisions,” Cornell Hospitality Report, 10 (18).

PhoCusWright. (2009). Consumer Travel Report.

Yoo, K.H., Lee, Y.,  Gretzel U. & Fesenmaier D.R. (2009). “Trust in Travel-Related Consumer Generated Media,” in W. Höpken, U. Gretzel and R. Law (Eds.), Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2009, 49-59. Vienna, Austria: Springer.

Giacomo Del Chiappa – Assistant Professor in Marketing, Faculty of Economics, University of Sassari

Giacomo Del Chiappa received a Ph.D in “Marketing and Business Administration” at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Milan-Bicocca. He was Visiting Scholar at the University of Melbourne (Australia). He is Assistant Professor in Marketing at the University of Sassari, Faculty of Economics. He teaches in the areas of “Tourism Management and Marketing” and “Destination Management” for the Degree in Tourism Marketing and Management, based in Olbia (Sardinia). He is a member of the editorial board of the journal “Tourism Analysis” and referee for international journals. His research topics are related to destination governance and branding, convention site selection criteria and meeting industry and, finally, consumer behavior in tourism. In this latter field his studies are concentrated on responsible tourism, on web 2.0 in the hospitality sector and, finally, on community-based tourism.   Fields of expertise: Destination governance and branding Convention site selection criteria and meeting industry Consumer behavior Organization Web site

Throughout our nearly 15 years of hotel Internet marketing experience, we have been consistently concerned about the increasing level of disparity between savvy Internet/Mobile marketers in hospitality and travel, and the Internet/Mobile Marketing-inept players in the industry.With the advent of social media in recent years, Web 2.0 technologies and the mobile Web, this disparity has accelerated dramatically.

On one side there are the extremely Web-savvy:

• Online travel agencies like Expedia, Travelocity, etc.
• Most major hotel brands’ e-commerce departments
• Airlines
• Some e-commerce departments at smaller and mid-size hotel and resort chains
• Some very bright individuals at the marketing departments of full service hotels, resorts and casinos

On the other side there is everybody else, which unfortunately means the majority of hospitality executives and sales and marketing professionals.
HeBS defines “Web Marketing Ineptitude” as the lack of hands-on experience in Internet marketing and all of its formats: website re-designs, SEO optimizations, search marketing, email marketing, strategic linking, banner advertising and online sponsorships, social media and Web 2.0 and more recently, mobile marketing. In addition, this ineptitude also indicates a lack of understanding of best practices and latest trends in the direct online channel.

In the 1990s, it was “normal” that only a few hospitality and travel marketers were proficient in the online channel.  Less than 3% of travel reservations in the U.S. were booked online back in 1999. In the 2000s (in 2001, online travel bookings reached 5.4% of all travel reservations in the U.S.), hospitality marketers and the major hotel brands began to pay closer attention to the Internet channel. In the years that followed, Internet travel adoption increased dramatically and in 2009 alone over 55% of all travel reservations in the U.S. will be online (45% of all hotel reservations) to the tune of a staggering $116.1 billion (eMarketer).

Yet, to our dismay, over the past 15 years the level of Internet marketing expertise in the hospitality industry has not kept up with this remarkable growth. On the contrary, we are witnessing whole new generations of hospitality executives and marketing professionals who are unfamiliar with Internet marketing in general as well as best practices and trends in the direct online channel.

This problem has been exacerbated by a) the social media and Web 2.0 phenomena, and b) mobile marketing. Both of these new marketing and distribution channels introduced an entirely new level of complexity and skill set requirements, as well as new best practices and trends.

• Social Media have changed how customers plan and purchase travel, how customers access information, and how customers perceive the credibility of information. How can hoteliers create/monitor/take advantage of the social media “chatter” around the hotel, target receptive audiences, and ultimately stimulate hotel website visits, interactions and bookings? What type of Web 2.0 and interactive features and functionality do you need on the hotel website?

• Mobile Web is expected to surpass the traditional Web within the next five years. The promise of “immediate, anywhere and anytime” Internet access, instant information and transaction capabilities, location-based services and personalization are some of the key factors for the “explosion” of the mobile Web. Hotel guests–past, current and potential–are increasingly becoming mobile-ready and hoteliers have to respond adequately to this growing demand for mobile services. This is the reason why hoteliers and travel marketers need to have robust mobile Web initiatives in place, including mobile brand websites, mobile apps, m-CRM and mobile marketing.

Why Is There a Growing Web Marketing Ineptitude in the Industry?

There are many reasons for this “Web Marketing Ineptitude” among the ranks, but here are some of the most important:

Franchised Properties:

• Many major brands control all Internet marketing initiatives at the corporate level, including property-level initiatives, thus depriving staff at the property from any meaningful experience in Internet marketing.

• We have seen a trend among small/mid-size chains to establish small but vital e‑commerce departments. In many cases, these companies outsource whatever online marketing they do to outside vendors. Here again, when outsourcing, they make a crucial mistake by not demanding professional development to be part of the Internet marketing vendor’s responsibilities. This results in Internet marketing expertise not being disseminated to the properties in the process.

Independent Hotels and Resorts:

• The biggest concentration of Internet marketing knowledge is at this level.

• Many big full-service hotels and resorts have some form of in-house Internet expertise. However, due to staff turnover and constantly decreasing budgets, these properties tend to have a very spotty Internet expertise retention rate.

• Smaller hotels and resorts are most vulnerable due to limited budgets and difficulties with hiring and retaining employees with expert knowledge.

Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) and Convention and Visitor Bureaus (CVBs):

• These organizations boast some of the brightest Internet marketing stars and some of the most inept marketers.

• In many cases among DMOs and CVBs, ignoring Internet marketing best practices is not even a matter of budget size, but a result of inertia and commitment to traditional advertising formats.

• The government or quasi -government nature of CVBs and tourism offices does not help with the hiring and retention of Internet expertise.

So What Is the Verdict?

HeBS believes there are different levels of Web Marketing Ineptitude in the industry regarding three important marketing media: Traditional Web, Social Media/Web 2.0 and Mobile Web. Here are our estimates of the ineptitude rates in each of these media:

Internet Marketing/Traditional Web

• Nearly 15 years of existence of the traditional Web

• Internet Marketing Ineptitude rate in hospitality:  65%

Web 2.0/Social Media Marketing

• Nearly 5 years of existence of social media

• Web 2.0/Social Media Marketing Ineptitude rate in hospitality:  90%

Mobile Marketing/Mobile Web

• Nearly 10 years of existence of Mobile Web but in reality, the Mobile Web in the U.S. exploded with the introduction of the first iPhone in June 2007.

• Mobile Marketing Ineptitude rate in hospitality:  97%

Conclusion

Hoteliers should strive to gain a crystal-clear understanding of what the best practices and latest trends are in hospitality Internet marketing: what works, what doesn’t, and why. Hoteliers should recognize that they do not have all the answers in-house and that there are thought leaders and other proven industry experts who can help them and their property stay competitive in these economic times, preserve and increase market share, and generate the highest website revenues and ROIs.

Hoteliers should take a hard look at how Best Industry Practices are being utilized by their corporate offices or major brands, as well as by the hotel’s Internet marketing vendors. Almost 15 years after the first online hotel booking, best practices have been established in practically every aspect of hotel Internet marketing. Hoteliers should not allow their Internet marketing vendors to “learn the business on the hotel’s dime.”

The prospect of professional development should become the main criterion when choosing an Internet marketing vendor.  Hoteliers should hire experts who are able and willing to teach the hotel and staff best practices and keep the hotel appraised of the latest direct online channel trends.

Hoteliers should work only with Internet marketing experts who can help them acquire new core competencies and adopt best industry practices in the direct online channel. 

They should provide crucial professional development as well as guide the hotel’s direct Internet marketing strategies, online brand building strategies, e-CRM, website re-design and SEO optimization, search and email marketing, social media and mobile marketing initiatives.

Uwishunu.com (You wish you knew…)

Written by forty or so “in-the-know” contributors, this blog presents the contemporary, non-traditional side of Philadelphia. Real Philadelphians reveal their secrets about dining, nightlife, music, culture, fashion, outdoor activities, design, etc. The goal is to enable visitors to experience Philly like a local. Though created and maintained by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, the site is presented as a separate entity. Readers are invited to post feedback and comments about the articles.

The site makes full use of Web 2.0 and social media with blogging, podcasts, online networking, photo and video sharing and RSS feeds. The site’s administrators even use Twitter (a social network and microblogging tool) to promote certain events.

Uwishunu is also home to Illadates, a popular weekly series of video podcasts where two amateur filmmakers take viewers to the best places around town.

This very inspiring site can serve as a model for most destinations and help them create an inexpensive promotional tool that is more effective than many other Web strategies.

Holland.com

The Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions recently launched a typical Web 2.0 site targeting the North American market. In addition to providing access to tourist information, the site also invites users to join its virtual community where they can share past trips and publish articles, videos and photos and thereby enable the site to constantly evolve. Using RSS feeds, the site also posts information from other sites like Google News, Yahoo Travel and YouTube.

Like many sites, Holland.com enables users to rate articles and add their comments, thereby highlighting the most relevant ones.

Site content is therefore generated by users, the Board of Tourism and by a few third parties. By using various news items, videos and comments to bring together past and potential visitors, the site has created a credible information source that offers visitors the best experience possible.

And that’s not all: the Board of Tourism has also opened the first national tourism board in Second Life, yet another example of using the virtual world to encourage real-world discussion about its destination. Most importantly, this move has created another opportunity to attract media attention!

VisitMyBaltimore

To enhance the city’s allure, VisitMyBaltimore.com invites Baltimore fans and residents to upload amateur videos highlighting their favourite places, must-see events, and well-kept secrets. To launch the project and encourage locals to publish their videos, the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitor’s Association (BACVA) organized a contest offering the creator of the best video a prize of US$2007. For small businesses, the contest was an excellent opportunity for self-promotion and a chance to win the prize! The site is planning future contests to maintain user interest.

VisitMyBaltimore also had another good idea that has proved very popular: invite celebrities to upload their own videos of the town!

Ifoundmymontreal.com

Montreal has also been busy, launching a blog where visitors, businesses and event organizers can publish their thoughts and comments and promote their site or event. IfoundmyMontreal.com is managed by Tourisme Montréal and aimed primarily at international travellers.

The blog appears as an extension of the Tourism Bureau’s FindyourMontreal.com site, which introduces visitors to Montreal’s festivals, cuisine, eclectic architecture, shopping, nightlife and cultural scene. Information is presented in the form of videos, images and podcasts.

Tourisme Montréal is currently doing a complete overhaul of the city’s official Internet portal, creating a major section for user-generated content (comments, photos, creating and sharing itineraries).

To recap

Web 2.0 destination sites with “insider” content clearly benefit from being seen as new and credible information sources. Whether content comes solely from locals or from a mixture of travel professionals and select contributors, the unofficial character of such sites, combined with their opportunities for user interaction, questions and comments, gives the impression of authenticity and a sense of being able to experience the destination just like a local.

The top tips from our examples:

• Provide a showcase for small businesses who can present themselves in an innovative way
• Involve some celebrities
• Organize a contest to encourage participation
• Attract the attention of the media
• Add content using RSS feeds, simply and freely

In addition to their relevant content, these sites have become popular thanks to significant media coverage. Their innovative, youthful, hip and off-the-beaten path character attracts users and creates a buzz. For locals, they offer an opportunity to introduce one’s favourites and experience 15 minutes of fame.>

Current Website development platforms make it relatively easy to include the functions needed for these new Web 2.0 sites (account creation, file sharing, comments, etc.) and, furthermore, are low-cost. However, be advised: despite the technological simplicity of such sites, their popularity is not guaranteed! Projects must still be well planned, well communicated and well managed. They must also be easily referenced by search engines.

Among other issues, it is difficult to accurately assess the impact of these new interfaces, but they do seem to enjoy good visibility. Also, these sites must strike a delicate balance between true user-generated content and that created by businesses, contributors and the tourism bureau. After all, a site’s very credibility is at stake. And although content is usually monitored, blogs are open to criticism and negative comments.

Is this a trend to monitor, or to try yourself? It is your decision, but once word-of-mouth gets going, you have no idea how far it can take you!

For more information on how customers can influence others, see:
- Today’s customers influence tomorrow’s choices

Sources:
- Sauer, Abram. “Uwishunu,” [www.BrandChannel.com], June 25, 2007.
- [www.uwishunu.com]
- [www.findyourmontreal.com]
- [www.ifoundmymontreal.com]
- [http://us.holland.com/]
- [www.visitmybaltimore.com]

Recruiting 2.0

In today’s world where offline means off the radar, a company’s Website becomes much more than a display for job openings. It must introduce the organization and its values, provide background on the vacant positions, describe the work environment and spotlight the specific benefits of working at the company (stimulating challenges, opportunities for advancement, compensation strategy, etc.). Furthermore, it must do so in a dynamic fashion, making use of multimedia like video, music, etc. The information must also be up‑to‑date and easily accessible, because speed is the order of the day when it comes to browsing, using and communicating.

Combined technologies move beyond your Website

A corporate Website is not the only way to create a Web presence. Recruiting 2.0 requires using a variety of strategies, such as the examples provided below:

• Post the jobs to be filled on various employment portals. These types of sites offer various tools, to both employers and job seekers, for posting jobs and résumés, doing searches (by skills, competencies, types of job, etc.), interacting and even matching up jobs with candidates. In addition, the Internet’s elimination of geographic limitations increases the potential pool of candidates.

  

• Enter the YouTube era. There are innovative sites that make the recruitment process more dynamic: www.youjob.com calls itself the first Recruiting 2.0 Website. It provides job seekers and companies alike with a showcase and the technology to create and display video résumés and recruiting videos, as well as a platform for interaction. Pre‑hiring interviews can be conducted via videoconferencing. When we consulted the site, the Accor Group was listed first in the Company section. With a simple click, one could view a video explaining the company’s profile, its values, the types of employees sought, reasons to work there, etc. (Take a peek at the site and you’ll see what we mean!)
• Use social networks to get the word out about vacant positions. Some companies have used Facebook to create groups, free of charge, so they can present themselves as dynamic workplaces and recruit employees. An employee can become a member, broaden his or her network of contacts and engage in recruiting on the employer’s behalf. Now that technology allows external modules called widgets, companies can link their services to the Facebook platform.
• Use technology to facilitate the recruiting process. Webcams, cell phones, videoconferences, chatting and other methods can speed up the pre‑interview process, eliminate the problems associated with distance and solve mobility issues.
• Surf the Web. Job seekers have created their own blogs to publicize themselves and develop their network of contacts.

Five companies even banded together to launch a recruiting drive in the virtual world of SecondLife. The most convincing avatars then pursued the traditional process in the real world.

Sephora, a major retailer of beauty products, is planning to launch an HR blog to advertise the company’s jobs: fifteen or so employees selected from around the world will go online to describe what they do all day.

Software programs can be used to manage (that is, tag, classify, order, etc.) an entire “pile” of electronic résumés.

Employers: monitoring your Web image

If TripAdvisor makes you shudder, you should know that employers can also be rated on the Web. Not surprisingly, just as there are sites to review doctors and teachers, there are now sites targeting companies, bosses and even internships and summer jobs.

To evaluate a company on www.jobvent.com, all one does is enter the company’s name, address and phone number, rate it from ‑5 to +5 on various criteria (salary, respect, benefits, job security, work environment, etc.) and then explain the ratings given. Result: the site lists the most appreciated companies (I love my job) and the most detested (I hate my job).

Using the Web to check up on potential employees!

As an employer, should you wish to find out more about interesting job applicants or even your current employees, you can find a wealth of information on the Internet because Web activity leaves a trail. In fact, all blogs, social networks (Facebook, FlickR, etc.) and discussion forums on the Web can reveal a lot about a Web user’s personality and cyber‑reputation. Employers can “happen” upon an employee’s indiscretions or even go as far as to register under a fake name to infiltrate social networks.

Discriminatory practices?

These new practices can obviously cause some controversy. While a paper résumé enables candidates to avoid disclosing certain things about themselves, a video résumé is much more revealing.

In addition, the growing popularity of exclusively using online forms for job applications has earned the UK hotel industry a warning from a London law firm. The industry may face charges of age‑based discrimination (with laws and statistics to support the claim), because the practice excludes people in certain age groups who do not know how to use a computer.

Don’t just be a top employer, be a top recruiter

These new tools not only facilitate the recruitment process, they also:

• Project a cutting‑edge, dynamic corporate image
• Help you be more competitive
• Speed up the recruiting process
• Suit the lifestyle of young people and attract people with various profiles
• Eliminate geographic boundaries and increase the pool of potential candidates

Everything moves very fast in cyberspace, so the number and variety of sites and tools will continue to multiply, evolve and change; it can be difficult to keep up. Welcome to Recruiting 2.0!

Sources:

- Ancelin, Brice. “Youjob se lance sur le marché du recrutement 2.0,” [www.focusrh.com], September 19, 2007.
- Chevrier, François‑G. “Contrôler son image sur le Web, comme employeur,” 7th annual HR day for the tourism industry, La gestion du changement pour réussir le virage techno en RH, held in Trois‑Rivières by the Conseil québécois des ressources humaines en tourisme, September 26, 2007.
- Hunt, Susan and Robert Landry. “Chapter 7 – The Importance of Employer Branding,” The Future of Work, Financial Sun Life, [www.sunlife.ca].
- May, Kevin. “We Need To Talk the Language of Social Networking Sites,” [travolution.blogspot.com], September 13, 2007.
- Montaigne, Caroline. “Séduire et recruter grâce à Internet,” [www.lesechos.fr], July 16, 2007.
- Rocha, Roberto. “Facebook Used To Recruit Employees,” Canada.com network, September 4, 2007.
- Ross, Jeff N. “Why Hospitality Employers Are Poor at Replying to Job Applications,” [www.hotel-online.com], September 28, 2007.
- Walton, Christopher. “Online Recruitment Only Can Lead to Age Discrimination,” [www.caterersearch.com], October 19, 2007.
- Zerbib, Corinne. “Voyage dans la blogosphère emploi,” Courrier Cadres, No. 1623, March 30, 2006, p. 40‑41.

Employment portals:

www.emploitourisme.ca
www.youjob.com
emploiquebec.net/francais/index.htm
www.guichetemplois.gc.ca
www.jobboom.com
francais.monster.ca
www.workopolis.com
carrieres.lesaffaires.com/RepereEmplois/fr/carrieres/accueil.asp
www.cvtheque.com
www.jobster.com
LEntreprise.com
www.careertours.com
www.i-resign.com

Company review sites:

www.jobvent.com
www.bossrater.com
www.stagescritics.com
www.ehss.org/sections/students/student_eval.htm

Some concrete examples from the industry

In its September edition of Cultur@, Tourisme Montréal discussed Facebook’s compatibility with the urban and culture sectors. Both sectors already attract the 18-35 year-old customer segment, which is also the most active demographic on Facebook. Many organizations are now using it to communicate with specific clienteles. For example, the Mutek group includes more than 300 fans of electronic music. These group members, in turn, have a multiplier effect. Les Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois has also made good use of Facebook, promoting the activities of this cultural event to its target public: a community of nearly 600 members, all devotees of Quebec film (see illustration).

In the hotel sector, some establishments use it to promote one-time events like a networking happy hour, reunions or art exhibits. For example, Montreal’s the Place d’Armes and the Nelligan, both boutique hotels, use viral marketing to promote their activities and send invitations to potential clients. The owner of these establishments, Dimitri Antonopoulos, uses his own Facebook social network for this e-marketing and has obtained good results. Art galleries are adopting the same strategy to announce upcoming openings. Ski resorts are using Facebook to stimulate discussion among their keenest customers, promote their new season passes, etc. In all cases, it is essentially free advertising.More and more businesses are also using Facebook to recruit employees. Its structure makes it a valuable, easy-to-use tool for recruiting candidates based on their qualifications, current employer, professional title and geographic location. Professional networks can also be used to efficiently circulate information about an opening, while employees can use them to indicate their availability.

Many tourism-based businesses are developing applications

Many businesses are attracted to Facebook’s open platform, developing third-party applications (widgets) that users can add to their profile pages. There are already more than 4,000 such free applications of various types (including 131 associated with travel). The following are a few travel-related examples:

• Mobissimo Travel: to get rates directly from travel partners of this meta-search engine
• Hostels: to search for inns and B&Bs around the world, consult commentary and reviews from Facebook members (anyone or just friends) and, ultimately, complete a transaction on the site itself [www.hostelbook.com]
• Fly by Farecast: to display the best rates and forecasts about one’s preferred destinations (see illustration)
• CityGuru: to find out where to get advice on what is in and out in a specific city
• Trip Planner: to plan and share trips among friends (automatically recognized by Facebook)
• My Travel Blogs: to create a personal travel blog
• Restaurant Reviews: to share advice and commentary about restaurants with friends
• Fly to Friends: to constantly monitor the Kayak meta-search engine for the prices of flights to visit one’s friends
• Cheap Deal Finder: to stay up-to-date on the best travel deals offered by the STA Travel network of travel agencies
• Video Travel: to share one’s most recent travel videos with one’s friends

Although there are countless ways to find travel-related information on Facebook, another relevant aspect is its role as an “influencer.” Unlike travel review sites like TripAdvisor, Facebook acts as a tool for sharing travel experiences and tips from trusted acquaintances and friends. According to Patricia Brusha of the firm A Couple of Chicks, the viral effect of a network of friends can have a tremendous influence on travel decisions.

For better and for worse

Many observers are noting that the effectiveness of traditional online marketing channels, like advertising banners, is likely to decrease rapidly. The Facebook phenomenon is leading the way to a new reality: with so many Internet users actively commenting on brands via their social networks, a company’s reputation on the Web is becoming a major issue, particularly in tourism. According to a study published by UK firm Tamar (specialists in emarketing), travel brands comprise the sector most at risk from negative comments spread through social networks. Furthermore, the great majority (80%) of users of these networks noted that they had used the network as a podium to discuss or comment on a brand or product.

Take the example of Delta Airlines. Facebook has several dozen groups related to this company. Some are made up of Delta employees and communicate a rather positive image. Others, like “Delta Airlines Sucks” and “Warning: Do Not Fly With Delta Airlines,” are used primarily to express frustration with a bad experience and thereby damage the company’s image (see illustration). Other carriers like Air Canada and Air Transat are not immune to this trend either.

On the other hand, aficionados of a product, members of groups like “I Love Tremblant” and “Montreal – The best city in the world” (13,000 members), can become brand ambassadors par excellence. Ultimately, the influence of such groups depends on the relevance and truthfulness of the cause defended by their administrator and, above all, on the credibility and influence of its members.

Of course, the phenomenon is still very young and sceptics are probably right to say that Facebook has yet to prove itself and that some other site could eventually surpass it. In addition, concerns about data privacy could arise and dampen user enthusiasm. However, whether one is talking about Facebook or another leader in the field of social media, the fact remains that businesses who neglect these networks in the next few years or whose managers fail to understand the importance of these new mass communication tools will face a steady decline in their brand reach and influence.

Sources:
- Bly, Laura. “Travelers Arrive at Facebook,” USA Today, August 30, 2007.
- Brusha, Patricia. “How Facebook Will Impact the Summer Tourism Season,” Hospitality Net [www.hospitalitynet.org], April 11, 2007.
- Burgin, Ken. “How to Use Facebook to Market your Restaurant, Cafe, Hotel or Bar,” Hotel News Resource [www.hotelnewsresource.com], August 27, 2007.
- Locke, Laura. “The Future of Facebook,” Time [www.time.com], July 17, 2007.
- Puchot, Pierre. “Facebook est-il l’avenir du Web?” Rue89 [www.rue89.com], September 6, 2007.
- Renaud, Jean-François. “Social networking and marketing: concrete opportunities,” Adviso Conseil [www.adviso.ca], July 12, 2007.
- Rocha, Roberto. “Facebook used to recruit employees,” CanWest News Service [You haven’t heard the last of Web 2.0!
- Your client’s friends are your friends

What is Facebook?

Facebook is hard to understand without experiencing it for yourself. To begin with, Facebook is more than just a Website; it is an entire online social network. However, unlike other virtual community sites focussed on creating new virtual connections, Facebook works exclusively with its members’ pre-existing contacts. One of its founders, Mark Zuckerberg, describes the site as a form of “social mapping” that enables people to communicate with friends, family and co-workers, share information, and create and post a variety of content, all within an extremely efficient, user-friendly environment. Experts are calling Facebook a revolutionary portal and some have even compared it to Google in terms of its eventual impact on society.

The popularity of this collaborative platform is impressive. Founded in February 2004 by some Harvard students, the site had already signed up more than one million active members within its first ten months. Initially reserved solely for students, Facebook did not really take off until it opened registration to everyone in September 2006.

Although the phenomenon is still very young, the site now boasts 40 million members around the world, with more than 6 million in Canada. “Facebookers” are very active; more than half of active users visit the site daily. Since January 2007, it has registered 200,000 new users a day. Interestingly enough, the site is not simply popular among adolescents; in fact, the demographic segment showing the most growth is that of 25 years and over.

For the time being, Facebook seems to be most popular in big cities. The Montreal network already has over 229,000 members, compared to that of Québec City, which has approximately 18,000. However, this data is for illustrative purposes only, given that individuals are not obliged to associate with their given geographic network.

How does it work?

Users start by creating a personal profile, and then connect with other people they know (either directly or through friends) who are already registered on Facebook. There is also a function for inviting other friends who are not already on Facebook to join their network.

Once a user has created a virtual community of their friends or professional contacts, this network is used as a platform for communication: to announce events, support causes, and post blogs, vacation photos and videos, parties, various activities, etc. What distinguishes Facebook in particular is that people use their real identities (see illustration). Users interact with their real-world contacts, whether friends or co-workers. Facebook is a dynamic form of networking and features a number of tools that facilitate communications among existing communities.

Beyond these basic functions, the possibilities are endless. With Facebook, users can share different types of content in a single location and enjoy access to an open technology. This technology has led to the creation of numerous new third-party applications (widgets) – some of which are useful, some of which are just fun – that can be used to personalize one’s profile. For example, the following image illustrates the connections that exist within a Friend Wheel.

According to the research firm comScore, last April this type of online application received over 178 million unique visitors in all.

The impact for businesses

In addition to impressive traffic numbers that have made Facebook the second most popular social network site after MySpace (and number one photo-sharing site), the concept of trust is what justifies the interest in this type of development. From a business standpoint, everyone knows how important “word-of-mouth” is to sales. Facebook is the ideal vehicle for such a viral effect, because it is a human chain based on the built-in trust members have in the individuals that make up their world. For businesses, it offers access to a highly targeted, qualified population.

Businesses and interest groups can also create their own profile to promote an idea, a concept, an event, etc. Facebook’s tremendous flexibility offers users a variety of ways to control the content they send and receive. For example, they can screen irrelevant information, even from within their own network of contacts.

And this is only the beginning!

Facebook is thus a prime example of a major Web 2.0 player. Its rollout is just beginning and its founder recently turned down two purchase offers, including one from Yahoo worth US$1 billion! Valued at over US$10 billion, Facebook is already expected to make a big splash on the public market.

We are probably seeing only the tip of the iceberg. In fact, the company is working on developing an advertising model based on the wealth of information it has about each user. Like Google’s sponsored links, businesses will be able to purchase highly targeted advertising banners on Facebook that match users’ interests and their social network, thus highlighting the true value of this impressive community.

See also:
- What is Facebook’s impact on the tourism industry?
- You haven’t heard the last of Web 2.0!
- Your client’s friends are your friends

Sources:
- Bly, Laura. “Travelers arrive at Facebook,” USA Today, August 30, 2007.
- Brusha, Patricia. “How Facebook Will Impact the Summer Tourism Season,” Hospitality Net [www.hospitalitynet.org], April 11, 2007.
- Burgin, Ken. “How to Use Facebook to Market your Restaurant, Cafe, Hotel or Bar,” Hotel News Resource [www.hotelnewsresource.com], August 27, 2007.
- Locke, Laura. “The Future of Facebook,” Time [www.time.com], July 17, 2007.
- Puchot, Pierre. “Facebook est-il l’avenir du Web?” Rue89 [www.rue89.com], September 6, 2007.
- Renaud, Jean-François. “Social networking and marketing: concrete opportunities,” Adviso Conseil [www.adviso.ca], July 12, 2007.
- Rocha, Roberto. “Facebook used to recruit employees,” CanWest News Service [www.canada.com], September 4, 2007.
- Vara, Vauhini. “Facebook Gets Personal With Ad Targeting Plan,” The Wall Street Journal, August 23, 2007.

The goal of network‑based marketing is to increase (or create) awareness of a product or service by taking advantage of social connections between consumers – through either word‑of‑mouth or viral marketing (see also: Le marketing viral, le bon vieux bouche‑à-oreille revisité). However, over the past few years, a new factor has emerged with the increase of web‑based social networks and the many possibilities they represent.

The proof is in the study results

In a recent study of a telecommunications company that was launching a new internet service, two different ad campaigns were carried out: one aimed at potential clients identified by demographic and geographic characteristics, and another aimed at people in contact with current internet service users. The study showed:

• The people who were part of an existing client’s network were 3.4 times more likely to adopt the new service;
• The people who were identified as potentially interested AND who were part of an existing client’s network were five times more likely to try it;
• People who were part of the existing client’s network BUT who did not seem to be potential clients were roughly three times as likely to choose the new service.

The results of this study suggest, in general, that a company can find more buyers for its products by tapping into the network of its current clients. It is also true that the results of network‑based marketing can be influenced by other factors and may vary depending on the product or service in question. For instance, a new and exciting product is likely to generate more buzz. However, the basic truth is that social networks represent a new avenue worth exploring in the search for potential clients.

Clearly, the e‑commerce company Amazon has grasped this concept (see below).

Web 2.0 opportunities

In addition to traditional social networks, the increasingly popular virtual networks have become a mine of information for marketing experts eager to make a connection between a product and a common interest among internet‑users. For example, social networking sites such as MySpace, Friendster and Facebook, and personalized Web pages (MyYahoo) are proof of connections between individuals and hence provide vital information for network‑based marketers. Blogs also attract people with common interests and often provide links to other blogs, thereby creating vast social networks.

Major players have their own means of gaining access to other networks. For example, eBay recently acquired Skype, a free internet telephony and videoconferencing software company, so it can find out who is talking to whom!

Local applications of the trend

Although obviously not all local tourism companies can join forces with MySpace or Skype, here are some action items which will help them take advantage of the network‑marketing phenomenon:

• In your client database, enter any information on your clients’ interests they have given you: whether or not they ski, like fine dining or are interested in regionally‑produced gourmet products, etc. This kind of information can help you define your position with respect to social networks.
• Conduct direct marketing campaigns by encouraging people to pass a message on to their friends (such as contests they can invite people on their contact list to take part in).
• Watch out for instances where people are talking about your company online. Identify the networks and set up a Web presence there.
• Make sure your clients are truly satisfied with their experience. A significant percentage of your clients will be members of a social network and will probably talk to their contacts about their experience.
• Go a step further and invite your clients to tell their contacts about you through sites such as TripAdvisor or by sending virtual postcards.

Create your own web‑based social network

These days, marketing is all about innovation, so why not create your own online community? A new business has sprung up which enables tourism companies to do just that, and it may well inspire a number of copy‑cat versions. Holiday Smilers is aimed primarily at resorts and provides a personalized online space where the company’s clients can create their own profile and talk to other clients, whether past, present or future. The site is set up to enable people to exchange photos of their experience, discuss common interests, ask for suggestions, etc. Members can share their vacation experience with friends by inviting them to become members.

Whether this kind of community is run by a third party (such as Holiday Smilers) or operated by the company itself, it still offers many advantages for a tourism organization. Some of the benefits include client loyalty, the ability to create a personalized vacation product through contacts with other clients (chat forums, organized group activities, photo sharing), the opportunity to e‑mail special offers and, above all, positive word‑of‑mouth referrals.

Resorts are a good example because, due to the very nature of the offer, the buyers of this kind of product tend to meet each other. However, the idea also has great potential for other kinds of businesses as well. After all, as long as people have interests in common, there are opportunities for networking!

Sources:

- Hill, Shawndra, Foster Provost and Chris Volinsky, “Netword‑based Marketing: Identifying Likely Adopters via Consumer Networks,” Statistical Science, 2006, vol. 21, No. 2.
- Hospitality Trends, “Netword‑based Marketing: Using Existing Clients To Help Sell to New Ones,” January 2007.
- Online: http://www.holiday-smilers.com/?&=eng

The 2.0 Philosophy

With Web 1.0, internet users could do little more than browse for information on professionally‑constructed sites, using tools developed by a limited number of companies. The advent of the 2.0 era means users are now active participants, able to produce their own tools and data. They interact with the medium by creating, modifying, organizing, commenting on and uploading content.

Users can take advantage of the internet’s expanded functionalities to build virtual communities where they share information, favourite sites, photos, videos and much more. A wide range of tools have been developed that strengthen the Web’s influence: blogs, news aggregators, forums, meta‑search engines, podcasts, and so on. Some of the better‑known icons of Web 2.0 are:

• Wikipedia: web‑based free‑content encyclopaedia project
• Flickr: photo sharing website
• Del.icio.us: bookmark sharing website
• Myspace: social website with filesharing
• Youtube: video sharing website
• Netvibes: personal news aggregator

The 2.0 trend is spreading!

Today’s internet community includes millions of members, and a great many of them are excited about 2.0. The number of online communities, websites and webtools is growing rapidly. When sectors see 2.0 added after the name, they know it identifies them as a domain where the critical mass of content and users matches the 2.0 mindset.

Already, there is increasing online use of the term “Medicine 2.0,” to refer to the proliferation of sites where people share information and advice, enabling them to confirm a doctor’s diagnosis or diagnose their own illness by comparing their own symptoms with those listed online.

Tourism 2.0

Already a mainstay of the online world, the tourism sector lost no time in adopting the 2.0 philosophy; after all, travel has always involved an element of exchange between individuals. Also, since nobody can try a trip before they buy it, tourism is the perfect commodity to bring individuals together online where they can provide the inside scoop on vacation deals. The kind of networking made possible by the web is the perfect stepping stone to sites that promote the sharing of photos, videos, opinions, advice and referrals related to tourism destinations.

With popular influence rapidly growing, the role of critic and consultant is no longer the exclusive domain of professionals and the same is also true of control over the image of a company or destination. One of the results of web users being able to produce and broadcast information and visual content is that the general public is faced with increasing amounts of material of uneven quality. The power of internet users is so great that it influences the way information is organized and accessed.

It is precisely the emergence of a significant number of web‑tools and sites, specifically geared toward tourism and inspired by the Web 2.0 mindset, that gave rise to the term Tourism 2.0.

Culture 2.0… it’s only a question of time!

Culture in general already has a significant web presence. Many cultural organizations and artists were quick to take advantage of the web’s ability to reach new audiences by creating virtual museums, online art galleries, live concert broadcasts and increased access to archival material – although these offerings are mostly based on Web 1.0.

However, we are starting to see an increasing number of cultural projects that have been more influenced by the 2.0 philosophy, where the general public participates and is involved in creating, personalizing, classifying and broadcasting content. This trend is particularly pronounced among those in the vanguard of Web 2.0, all of whom devote part of their space to culture:

• Wikipedia lets internet users collaborate on writing encyclopaedia articles on a wide range of cultural topics;
• Youtube lets millions of amateur and professional artists upload video clips and short films;
• Various blogs and forums provide a space for authors to share and discuss their work with other community members.

A certain number of cultural entities are also trying to exploit the potential of Web 2.0; among them:

• www.cinemamontreal.com: A space devoted to commercial film, this site now lets people upload and read reviews and comments.
• www.librarything.com: This site lets people catalogue their personal book collection, share it with other community members and make recommendations; it claims it has 100,000 users and 7 million books.
• www.brooklynmuseum.org/community/blogs/: This section of the Brooklyn Museum’s website features blogs and photo‑, video‑ and document‑sharing as a means of promoting interaction with its community. The museum has also designed an impressive space on Myspace, the biggest social networking website (www.myspace.com/brooklynmuseum).
• www.australiadancing.org: Clicking on the Take Part tab on this dance site takes the user to a page that uses “wikis,” a collaborative online tool, to let people share their knowledge, ideas and news about dance.
• www.nzlive.com: Developed by New Zealand’s Ministry for Culture & Heritage, “New Zealand culture online” provides an online space that cultural partners and the general public can use to display information on a wide variety of cultural activities.

When the number of site and users reaches critical mass, the Culture 2.0 movement will take flight!

Culture 2.0…a world of opportunity!

Your clients want to express themselves and get involved, so give them the tools to do it! Adding a blog, forum, comments, opinion or review page to your site will enable them to interact not only with you, but also with each other.

Managers can make good use of this new public‑generated content (blogs, forums, virtual communities, social networks, comment sites, etc.) to learn what their clientele is actually thinking. Monitoring client comments is often much more effective than using customer comment cards, and definitely less expensive than setting up a focus group.

Sources:

- Krajewski, Pascal, “La Culture au risque du Web 2.0 – Stage d’étude,” École nationale supérieure des sciences de l’information et des bibliothèques, December 2006.
- Péloquin, Claude, “Web 2.0, vous n’avez pas fini d’en entendre parler!,” Réseau de veille en tourisme, Chaire de tourisme Transat ESG Uqam, June 27, 2006.

Welcome to the world of personal reviews

Not so long ago, recognized travel guides like CAA‑AAA, Fodor’s, Frommer’s, Michelin, Mobil and others were the primary reference tools for consumers trying to judge the quality of a specific hotel or restaurant. Written by professionals, these works nonetheless conveyed a single point of view, updated annually and articulated by a critic following a standardized evaluation grid.

Recognizing the limits of these traditional guides and the potential of the Web, consumers have quickly taken advantage of technological platforms enabling them to share their reviews and evaluations of their lodging, transportation and dining experiences. Since the Web also makes it easy to share visuals, these consumer‑generated reviews have quickly adopted the use of photos and videos to better illustrate an individual’s impressions of a business or destination.

Leaders in the field

With over 20 million unique monthly visitors, Tripadvisor.com is currently the uncontested leader of consumer review sites. The site contains more than 5 million reviews of over 164,000 hotels in 24,000 destinations. Travellers seeking the opinions of fellow travellers have a number of options to choose from: My Travel Guide, IGoUGo, Travelpost, etc.

Specialized sites, like Skytrax, have even been developed to enable travellers to consult and write reviews specifically about the airline industry (airlines, airports, types of aircraft, on‑board meals, etc.). Furthermore, some popular sites featuring general consumer reviews, like www.epinions.com, have now added “travel” to the long list of products and services that can be reviewed by members of the public.

In light of the format’s popularity, major travel portals like Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity have developed tools to enable users to post online reviews. For their part, major players like Cheaptickets and YahooTravel have opted instead for alliances, allowing them access to the peer review databases of partner sites.

The rapid growth of this mass‑audience Web‑based alternative has hurt publishers. To deal with the situation, some, like AAA, Fodor’s and Alastair Sawday, have chosen to add peer review sections to their websites.

Detailed evaluations and comprehensive reviews

To encourage consumers to write more specific reviews, the best systems ask users to evaluate various aspects of their experience. When it comes to lodging, reviewers are asked to rate the following: price, quality‑price ratio, cleanliness, location, service, reception, restaurant or bar, the pool or workout room, etc. This breakdown in the evaluation helps users develop a better idea of the product as it relates to their personal preferences and concerns.

Most sites also suggest that the reviewer provide a short personal description as well, which allows users to give greater credence to comments expressed by consumers with similar profiles. Some common descriptors are age, gender, purpose of stay, budget and previous travel experience.

Relevance and validity of peer reviews

Many people remain sceptical about this business model, which seems to allow people to write whatever they feel like with no validation process whatsoever. However, those running the sites feel that the sheer number of users and reviews helps ensure that these evaluations are both regulated and representative. In fact, when there are many evaluations, the overall average cannot be significantly affected by the addition of a single biased review. In any event, consumers appear to be more interested in establishments that attract a lot of reviews, regardless of whether these comments are positive or negative.

These sites are also starting to feature functionalities that let users rate the usefulness of a review or report a review as having inappropriate content. When a review is posted is another factor in its relevancy. In this respect, site policies vary when it comes to managing past reviews. Expedia only displays the 25 most recent reviews, Travelocity leaves all reviews online for one year and Trip Advisor never removes them.

Business responses to reviews

To enhance the integrity of its evaluations, TripAdvisor invites representatives of hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions to post responses to reviews of their establishments. This option is often very useful for informing travellers that a particular problem has been resolved (e.g., renovations are complete).

And should managers be tempted to invent fictitious customers to write glowing reviews of their establishments, they should know that the Sunday Times in England did a study of online reviews, leading to the discovery that some hotel and restaurant owners had done just that, a practice that severely tarnished their reputations.

Making good use of review sites

According to a survey conducted by the US firm HeBS (Hospitality eBusiness Strategies), over 81% of hotel owners feel growing consumer participation in generating Web content is a situation that can work to their advantage. Managers can use this new content (blogs, forums, virtual communities, social networks, review sites, etc.) to find out what their customers are really thinking. Quite often, monitoring customer‑generated reviews is more enlightening than using guest comment cards and less expensive than organizing a focus group.

The future of traditional rating systems

Given the popularity of consumer review sites, one wonders whether this new form of rating will replace the old system. For the consumer, traditional classifications are a simple way to quickly assess the array of services offered by an establishment and more easily determine its quality‑price ratio. However, if no ratings exist for a given service or experience, consumers are increasingly turning to peer reviews for help making their choices.

Sources:

Grossman, David. “Let your Fellow Travelers Be your Guide,” USA TODAY/Smith Travel Research [www.usatoday.com], June 25, 2006.
Lamb, Gregory M. “Next Wave of Travel Websites Feels Like MySpace,” eTurboNews, June 21, 2006.
Price, Jason and Max Starkov. “Consumer‑Generated Media, a Threat or an Opportunity?” ehotelier.com, December 13, 2006.
Swinford, Steven and Gareth Walsh. “Glowing Online Reviews by Hotels and Restaurants Dupe Customers,” The Sunday Times [www.timesonline.co.uk], November 12, 2006.