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HOTEL BUSINESS REVIEW

FEBRUARY FOCUS: Social Media

 

Growing Hotel Revenues by Activating the Social Voice of Traveler Data

By Brandon Billings Vice President of Social Media & Content Strategy, MMGY Global Company | February 2020

Social listening is an invaluable tool that allows our travel partners to tap directly into how visitor prospects are talking about their brand across social media. MMGY Global has extensive experience using social listening across our full range of travel and hospitality partners.

Personally, I've spent the past decade using social listening to support all aspects of digital marketing including crafting the strategy, optimizing live campaigns and measuring performance to inform success. From a category focus, I have used social listening across a range of client verticals including CPG, financial, QSR and a specific focus within hospitality and tourism for clients such as Princess Cruises, Travel Texas, Choice Hotels International, Paradisus by Meliá, Rhode Island Tourism and many other clients.

Social listening is much more than a tool to help you manage customer service inquiries. Some of the key benefits social listening can provide are a broad background on not only who is talking about your brand but also who isn't currently engaging with your brand. Social listening can also be leveraged to better inform existing audience segments you are targeting as well as uncover new audience segments as part of a client growth strategy. Social listening can also help you understand how you need to flight your social media campaigns based on purchase intent indicators for when visitor prospects are actively talking about booking travel.

These are a few of the key areas on which I'll be focusing within this article to help hoteliers and destination marketers better understand how they can use social voice of traveler data uncovered through social listening to drive stronger revenue growth.

Choosing the Right Social Listening Platform Solution

Social listening collects data from social (i.e., Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, etc.) as well as from blogs, forums, reviews and news sites. MMGY Global is a platform partner with NetBase Social Analytics, which is consistently ranked as a leader in The Forrester Wave™ annual Social Listening Platforms report.

NetBase provides the software solution and data visualization to allow MMGY Global's social teams access to filter down to the most actionable data available in what's defined as public profiles across the social listening landscape. A public profile is one that does not require a user to have permission to access their posts and comments across social listening. Recent privacy changes across Facebook and Instagram have made it much more difficult to access this data across all social listening platforms. This is important to keep in mind when identifying a platform partner to help you access social listening.

There are a number of service providers available across the social listening space. Pricing can range from a few hundred dollars a month (basic) to up to $100K annually (enterprise). It all depends on the level of complexity you are hoping to achieve through social listening. You should go into the selection process with a clear understanding of what your goals are in partnering with these providers to get the best match for your needs. Highlighted below are some of the leaders across the space according to The Forrester Wave: Social Listening Platforms study as referenced earlier.

My recommendation is to start with a technical requirements document to narrow your focus on a social listening provider – listing out such items as budget considerations, primary capabilities and identifying key goals you expect to achieve through social listening.

Uncovering the Social Voice of the Traveler

Social listening is one of the easiest and most authentic ways to understand how visitors are naturally talking about a travel brand across social – the good, the bad and, at times, the ugly. At MMGY Global, we use social listening solutions in conjunction with our extensive years of travel marketing experience to filter our social listening topics to the clearest view into the social voice of traveler. We then use these key insights uncovered through listening to inform all phases of the travel conversion funnel – helping travel brands better understand how to market to these visitor prospects.

Understanding How Social Voice of Traveler Data Informs Hotel Pacing and Key Booking Windows

A key part of what social listening can provide for hotels is a general pacing analysis around when traveler prospects are actively talking about booking a property or destination. Social listening can be optimized to highlight purchase intent to showcase when people are actively talking about booking a hotel and/or destination. It can also be set to show when people are actually on-site staying at the individual property level as well as at the destination level. This can be especially helpful for individual hotels as they understand how their look-to-book and conversion ratios are comparing to other hotels and pacing across the destination in real-time.

Social listening is many times as valuable of an indicator around when people are actively talking about booking travel as Google Trends. The two tools combined are great to help travel marketers inform both pre-booking windows through social when people are talking about wanting to travel as well as informing more lower-funnel data uncovered through Google Trends as prospects narrow their decision and look for a stay at a specific resort or hotel property.

The screenshot below highlights purchase intent across social for people talking about wanting to take a vacation in the Caribbean in 2018:


You can see in these example graphs how the lower-funnel booking definitely follows the intent side as travelers are actually talking about needing and wanting a Caribbean vacation. Social listening and lower-funnel Google Trends data will help inform messaging and campaign windows at the property level to maximize paid social investments.

Identifying Relevant Destination Social Content Trends to Inform Hotel Marketing and Packaging Opportunities

Another key area in which social listening can help drive success for hotels is understanding what visitor prospects are talking about at an individual property level as well as across a destination. We'll optimize listening to pull in key insights across a destination and a hotel as it relates to dining and nightlife, attractions, cultural trends, family-friendly activities, neighborhoods and much more.

Highlighted below are some key insights captured through social listening that provide a snapshot of top conversations happening in January through March for San Diego as a destination as well as travelers specifically talking about hotels across the city:

One of the key aspects when using social listening is understanding what the broad conversation is and then diving deep into specific streams to better understand the social conversation. This can at times be a manual process, but it is one that has to be taken to get to the deep insights that inform program success.

In the short social conversation stream example below, you can see some key themes already begin to emerge across individual social posts from travelers. These observations include appeal of a weekend getaway during the fall, sharing the holidays with a favorite person and the importance of taking time for yourself while on vacation via a spa day.


As mentioned, this is only a brief glimpse into how the data can start to be used. It takes time to optimize the listening filters to get to the most actionable data and requires a more manual process to then review and understand where the data is helping guide your marketing programs.

Understanding Traveler Demographics to Inform Your Targeting and Marketing Approach

Another key area of social listening that can help drive success for hotels is understanding the demographic profiles of visitors actively talking about a destination and a hotel across social. Some of the key ways in which we use this data to inform social programs based on key demographic data include the following:

  •   Confirming existing audience segments as well as uncovering new segments
  •   Benchmarking audience segments for growth potential
  •   Informing interest-based targeting across paid tactics and content angles

Below is a breakdown of demographic social listening for people actively talking about travel to New York City. We use this data alongside other first-party traveler demographics to help inform content as well as paid social targeting for travel clients.


Again, this is just a small snapshot into the demographic data available through social listening. It's important to remember that platform capabilities vary in this area, so make sure you fully vet the platform based on your goals when beginning a social listening project.

Using Artificial Intelligence to Help Uncover New Insights

Artificial intelligence is a new area that is starting to develop across social listening. This machine-based learning is especially helpful as you begin to research a topic to understand initial opportunities to begin exploring and filtering listening streams.

Artificial intelligence is still very much in its infancy as it continues to be refined and optimized across social listening platforms. Our teams have found it extremely helpful in the initial kickoff phases of a social listening project. The example below is an initial look into travelers talking about Arizona as well as a brief sample tied to people talking about varied hotel brands (Hyatt, Marriott, Sheraton, Wyndham) throughout 2018.

Leveraging Social Listening To Uncover Competitive Insights

In addition to identifying what's being said about a hotel brand or destination across social, listening can also be used to help pinpoint what's working when it comes to direct and aspirational competitors. For many of our clients, we approach setting a larger social strategy by first anchoring ourselves in a comprehensive social listening and competitive audit.

We develop a social listening audit that can act as a stand-alone research document or as part of a larger brand study to inform a clear strategic roadmap for travel and hospitality partners. The key outputs from our social listening and competitive audit include:

  •        Social Research, Trends and Best Practices
  •        Social Listening Performance and Observations
  •        Social Audience and Content Analysis
  •        Competitive Review
  •        Aspirational Review
  •        Opportunity Analysis

Conclusion

Social listening can provide a great return on investment as hotels look to drive increased revenues by clearly understanding the emotional triggers associated with their target social voice of traveler data. Social listening is definitely part of a recommended toolset for hotels of all sizes. The ability to use social listening in the most actionable way should be something on which you consider partnering with an expert to help manage platform expenses as well as the most valuable observations and insights.

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Hotel Newswire is a newswire service that distributes press releases on behalf of our users. If you decide to submit a press release for distribution through our system we will transmit your entire press release including any personal information therein contained to our media contacts and online distribution points including search engines. This is the only redistribution of your information that we engage in. Your submission of press releases through our system indicates consent with this policy. The information we collect during your registration process is used to notify users about updates to our service and inform users of any special events hosted by Hotel Newswire. This information is not shared with other organizations for commercial or non-commercial purposes.

Cookies: Our system requires the use of cookies to enable the user to log back into our website to access information from the newswire, without having to log in each time using the required username and password.

If you do not want to receive email from us in the future, please let us know by following instructions included in our communication with you. Users who supply us with telephone numbers online may receive telephone contact from us regarding their account, or informing them of new products and services available on the HotelExecutive website. If you do not wish to receive such telephone calls, please edit your account and remove your phone number from your account profile. This can be done from your user account menu.

Ad Servers: We do not partner with or have any relationship with any ad server companies. From time to time, we may use customer information for new uses not previously disclosed in our privacy notice. If our information practices change at any time, we will post the policy changes to our website to notify you of these changes and provide you with the ability to opt out of these new uses. If you are concerned about how your information is used, you should check back at our website periodically.

Upon request we provide site visitors with access to all information (including proprietary information) that we maintain about them. Users can access this information by logging in to their account.

Security: We always use industry-standard encryption technologies while transferring and receiving user data exchanged with our site. We have appropriate security measures in place in our physical facilities to protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of information that we have collected from you on our site. We do not store credit card information in our systems.

If you feel that this site is not following its stated information policy, you may contact us.

Robert O'Halloran Powerful Partnerships: Communication, Community, and Resources
  • By Robert O'Halloran, Professor & Director, Hospitality Management, East Carolina University

    • What is a partnership? As an observation, a marriage could be considered a partnership; however, it is more than an action entity, but rather a noun. A partnership is a way of thinking, a collaboration, or maybe a joint ownership agreement, or a cooperative that is in place that brings together people, organizations, and or communities to leverage each other’s strengths. From where I sit, partnerships are those entities or agreements that benefit our school and university. Our school also provides some value to the partnerships, regarding workforce, interns, and perhaps expertise. If one considers partnerships and being associated with...

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David Sherwyn The Supreme Court's New Religious Accommodation Requirements Game Changer for Operators
  • By David Sherwyn, Professor of Law, Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration

    • During the last week of June in 2023, the Supreme Court issued opinions on three discrimination law cases. While two of the cases, 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis and Students for Fair Admissions., Inc., v. President & Fellows of Harvard College, received most of the press, a third case will likely be the most consequential of the three for the hospitality industry. In Groff v DeJoy, Postmaster General, the Supreme Court, in a 9-0 decision, rejected a 25 year+ interpretation of a Supreme Court case defining employers' obligations to accommodate religion. Because the Court released its Groff decision during...

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Sofya Mcintosh How Sales Teams Can Turn Guest Feedback Into Revenue-Driving Gold Mine
  • By Sofya Mcintosh, Senior Vice President of Sales & Customer Success, ComOps

    • Traditionally, sales teams in hospitality have relied on gut instinct, market knowledge, competitor benchmarking, and historical trends to create their pitches. But in today’s hyper-competitive and data-driven world, guest feedback is the secret weapon providing the real, unfiltered voice of the customer.Everyone hates to lose. But instead of merely reacting to why a deal didn’t close, what if you could anticipate objections, personalize proposals, and win more business by using guest sentiment data? Here’s how hospitality sales teams can turn feedback into incremental revenue. The Not-So-Secret Sales Hack: Listening to Your Guests Guests love to share their opinions, whether through...

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Jan Jaap Van Roon How Can AI Enhance Hotel Guest Experiences and Increase Revenue?
  • By Jan Jaap Van Roon, CEO, Ireckonu

    • A new frontier in guest loyalty in the hotel industry, we’re constantly reminded of the same goal: building guest loyalty. Doing everything possible to keep guests coming back has always been the key to success in the hospitality industry. Hotels don’t just sell rooms—they create a brand universe, offering genuine experiences, comfort, and a sense of belonging. However, loyalty today is more fragile than ever. guests feel empowered and impatient; competition is constant: social media channels, review sites, online rate comparison sites or search engines. at any time, a guest can switch if another hotel offers better value or...

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Jacqueline Villamil Marketing That Moves: Why Storytelling is Hospitality's Hidden Revenue Engine
  • By Jacqueline Villamil, Chief Executive Officer, Strategic Solution Partners

    • The hospitality industry has long relied on aesthetics, amenities, and service as its primary marketing differentiators. Yet, in an age where digital attention spans are shrinking and customer acquisition costs are rising, these traditional approaches are no longer enough. Marketing that simply showcases rooms or lists amenities is easy to scroll past. With countless options available to travelers, visual appeal alone can no longer command loyalty. For hotels to stand out, they must connect with potential guests on a deeper, more emotional level. That connection is forged through storytelling. Storytelling is a strategic tool that builds emotional resonance, increases brand...

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Seth Skiles Navigating Data Security: What Hotel Operators Need to Know About Cyber Protection
  • By Seth Skiles, Founder & Managing Attorney, IO Law

    • The hospitality industry faces an unprecedented surge in cybersecurity challenges that demand comprehensive and strategic attention. Hotels occupy a unique position in the digital landscape, collecting and managing an extensive array of sensitive information that makes them particularly attractive targets for cyber criminals. In recent years, there have been a few major breaches which underscore the sector’s vulnerability to cyberattacks. Marriott International agreed to a $52 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) after enduring multiple breaches over the past decade. Omni Hotels & Resorts fell victim to the Daixin Team ransomware group in early 2023, leading...

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Haley Payne Bridging The Attention Gap: The Importance of Air Quality in Hotel Meeting Spaces
  • By Haley Payne, Head of Commercial, Pure Wellness

    • The distant stare, absent-minded twirling of the pen, subtle fidgeting on an uncomfortable chair - all too familiar signs of boredom, fatigue, and disconnectedness during meetings and events. This tendency to zone out has plagued the corporate world for eons and has become even more prevalent as companies embrace hybrid and remote work models, ditching their on-site meeting rooms (and, often, office spaces altogether) to bring like-minded individuals together off-site in hotel conference and event spaces. There, time spent together is a precious commodity, and attention spans are fleeting-therefore, maintaining focus and alertness in hotel meeting spaces becomes paramount....

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