Ms. Lutz

Social Media & PR

The Role of Social Responsibility in Hotels

By Didi Lutz, President, Didi Lutz PR

Today, the term of social responsibility is well known as the obligation a business has towards society as whole; to voluntarily seek and pursue objectives that are ethical and respectable, and to responsibly act with concern for the surrounding community, and the world.

Nearly every corporation and large company has created a program reflecting social responsibility. Nowadays, the public expects these programs from large companies. But, all of us have to do our part. It doesn't matter if you manage a small boutique property, or a large hotel chain, social responsibility is about following principles and a code of ethics that impact the community, regardless of organizational size or profit margins.

Practicing social responsibility in your business can also help you from a public relations standpoint. Showing that you care is not complicated. Strategic social responsibility programs help shape your hotel's brand and creates a respectable identity. Depending on the programs you create, you can get you in the news faster and become a trendsetter. And before you realize it, you have set an precedent for other hotels to do something similar for their communities.

Social responsibility requires strong organizational skills and a dedicated team who will follow the principles in place, and lead by example. Here are some suggestions as to how to start becoming involved:

• Focus on the areas you can help. Create an outline of existing community initiatives you can help fund or assist with. Do you prefer to partner with a national organization instead? Where will your efforts to help be better utilized?

• Consider your own branding. It is essential that you know what you are associating your name with. Is it about going green? Is it funding education? Is it matching funds to provide vaccines to third world countries? Hosting blood drives? Take the time to discuss and decide what you want your hotel to be associated with. Remember once your name is connected to a specific initiative or project, guests will remember it as if it were a catchy slogan.

• Think of ways to get your employees involved. It's not just about throwing money at a charity, social responsibility is everyone's obligation without exclusions. Reward your employees for donating blood, for instance, or participating in community activities that you sponsor. If you make it a priority, your employees will follow your example.

• Involve guests. Guests are more than happy to oblige to help in many little ways. Provide the option to your event clients to donate left over banquet food to the local food bank, if possible, instead of throwing it out. Place recycling bins for newspapers and magazines throughout the property to help the environment.

• Write it out. Have your PR professional and marketing team create a plan on how to implement programs on social responsibility. Make sure you review everything carefully to ensure all steps are in place before you begin writing press releases and announcements.** **

• Share your message. Inform the news media of what it is you are doing. People love to read about what businesses do for the common good. Have your PR professional write press releases about a new partnership or a program initiave you have put in place for your hotel. And don't just do it once. Keep feeding the media with news and updates on the program. Share your goals and the progress you are making by adding your bit of the puzzle to help the world. E-newsletters are a great tool to communicate your message to your guests and other stakeholders. And don't forget to update your website with the progress you're making, or list events that you're sponsoring and post photos to make it more interactive.

• Blog about it. This is really up to you. I know some hotels love to have blogs, which by the way are an excellent web optimization tool, but there are other hotels that frown upon blogs. Either way, blogging is an effective way to spread your message about how you are helping the community and getting other members interested and involved in the process. Ultimately, it can become a great PR tool.

• Advertise. Yes, I actually said you should advertise! Social responsibility is a theory in practice, and needs to be constantly communicated in order to become effective. I do think that advertising your program initiatives in community papers or other vehicles that reach your audience makes sense and will pay dividends. This isn't about advertising packages or end of the season rates, it is about letting people know you care about them and measures you are taking to show how responsible your hotel is.

• Measure. As with any program, you have to measure social responsibility. Could your efforts be allocated better elsewhere? Do current conditions force you to end certain programs and try out new ones? Where the employees involved? How did the community benefit? What where some of the things that worked well and some that did not? Could another program benefit more? These are questions to ask every so often, to ensure that you are doing the right thing for the community while sticking to your principles.

Social responsibility may have entered our textbooks fairly recently, but it is an ancient theory of leading a way with principles and ethics. With economic conditions changing every day, and industry trends coming and going, every hotel should have a proposed value system to guide their day-to-day business that includes aspects of social responsibility.

The world benefits, your hotel becomes a better place to work, your guests will appreciate your efforts and will know that next time they call to make a reservation.

The most important thing is that you will have added a link into the chain securing a healthier and better future for everyone.

The impact of social responsibility on any business is enormous. While you are creating programs to benefit your community, for instance, supporting a charitable organization, taking measures to go green, funding children's initiatives or anything else, your credibility increases greatly as a business. You may think, "We're in the hospitality business, why should we care about building a playground in another part of town?" The answer is, your hotel is part of the community and the world. We are all responsible.

Didi Lutz is an internationally acclaimed hospitality public relations professional specializing in boutique hotels, luxury travel, destination and tourism communications. Prior to starting her own business in February 2005, Ms. Lutz was the Director of Communications for the Hotel Commonwealth, a 150-room luxury property in Boston. Within the first year of the Hotel Commonwealth's opening, she established the media relationship that led to worldwide recognition for the property as one of Ten Best New Business Hotels by Forbes.com. Ms. Lutz can be contacted at 561-628-7422 or didi.lutz@gmail.com Extended Bio...

HotelExecutive.com retains the copyright to the articles published in the Hotel Business Review. Articles cannot be republished without prior written consent by HotelExecutive.com.