The results of the Revenue by Deign Hotel Social Media Monitor survey 2012, run in association with Rate Gain. Presentation made at the HOSPA members event

1. INCREASING
Hotel
Profitability
HOTEL
SOCIAL
MEDIA
MONITOR
2012
From
Revenue
by
Design
and
in
Associa@on
with
RateGain

2. Why the survey ?
To assess engagement in social
media programmes
To understand how hotels are resourcing, managing
and tracking programmes
To assess the level of investment
and ROI in social media
To understand governance guidance and support for
programmes
How seriously do we take social media?

3. Length
of
experience
working
with
social
media
EXPERIENCE

4. Which
of
these
phrases
would
best
describe
the
extent
of
your
company’s
acQvity
in
social
media?
None
at
all
4%
Fully
involved
Experimented,
32%
but
not
much
30%
About
an
average
amount
34%
The
range
of
experience
with
social
media
indicates
that
hotels
are
evenly
split
however
34%
sQll
have
liSle
or
no
experience
in
the
use
of
social
media

5. How
long
have
you
parQcipated
in
social
media
programmes?
More
than
2
years
Between
1
and
2
years
Between
6
months
2011
and
1
year
2012
About
6
months
Just
started
within
the
last
3
months
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
More
hotels
have
been
chaTng,
for
longer……
Half
of
respondents
have
less
than
1year’s
experience
working
with
social
media.
This
is
similar
to
last
year
and
the
propor@on
with
more
than
2
years
experience
is
growing;
once
hotels
are
in
–
they
remain
in.

6. Who’s
responsible?
Do
we
out-­‐source?
Which
departments
are
involved?
HOW
IS
SOCIAL
MEDIA
MANAGED?

7. Who
manages
your
social
media?
24%
8%
68%
Someone
in
my
Company
We
give
it
to
a
third
party
We
use
both
Social
Media
is
predominantly
managed
in
-­‐house
Most
social
media
is
managed
in
house,
with
only
6%
giving
responsibility
in
its
en@rety
to
a
third
party.
However
a
quarter
seek
services
from
outside,
and
this
propor@on
is
growing
as
skills
become
more
specific
to
each
channel

8. Do
you
have
a
Social
Media
Sponsor
at
Board
or
Director
Level?
Yes
No
48%
52%
Over
half
of
hotels
have
no
senior
level
sponsorship
This
reflects
the
lack
of
maturity
of
Social
in
the
industry
and
its
level
of
importance
in
the
eyes
of
senior
management
Lack
of
senior
management
involvement
results
in
unregulated
programmes
and
a
significant
risk
for
the
property
and
the
programme
manager

9. Hotels
are
shiYing
more
people
How
many
people
are
involved
in
social
media
on
to
social
media.
management?
2012
sees
investment
in
more
people
(more
than
1
person)
to
support
programmes.
6%
2011
This
reflects
cross-­‐ 9.3%
1
person
departmental
involvement
17%
9.3%
29.6%
plus
an
increased
emphasis
43%
Between
1
and
3
on
the
importance
of
social
people
media.
This
year
also
sees
the
Between
4
and
6
introduc@on
of
more
specific
2012
people
Social
@tles
such
as:
More
than
6
51.9%
• Digital
Marke@ng
Manager
34%
people
• Content
and
Community
Manager
•
Social
Media
Manager

10. MarkeQng
takes
ownership,
but
many
more
are
involved
Social
Teams
have
mushroomed
over
the
past
12
months.
In
2011
overall
ownership
was
difficult
to
establish.
2012
sees
social
media
demanding
effec@ve
partnerships
across
departments
and
outsource
partners
contribu@ng
specific
skills
to
support
new
Social
channels
Third
Party
Outsource
Partners
None
of
the
above
Social
media
Consultancy
SEO
Company
Marke@ng
Consultancy
Ad
Agency
AddiQonal
Departments
involved
Other
PR
Agency
Head
Office
Digital
Mkg
Management
Agency
Exec
Team
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
40.0%
45.0%
FO
Res
RM
PR
Marke@ng
Sales
0.0%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
80.0%
100.0%

11. What
support
is
given
to
those
responsible?
GOVERNANCE
&
GUIDANCE

12. Governance
for
staff
on
Social
Media
usage
Governance
for
staff
on
personal
use
whilst
responsible
for
posts?
of
social
media
whilst
an
employee?
Don't
Don't
know
know
Yes
7%
2%
Yes
Yes
No
41%
46%
No
No
47%
57%
Don't
know
In
the
wrong
hands,
and
without
safeguards
social
media
is
high
risk
Many
hotels
have
not
shored
up
their
risk.
Almost
half
of
those
surveyed
had
no
formal
governance
place
offering
guidelines
for
those
responsible
for
placing
social
media
posts.
This
propor@on
rises
to
almost
60%
having
nothing
in
place
to
guide
employees
in
their
use
of
social
media
whilst
an
employee
of
the
company.

13. Do
you
train
staff
on
how
to
use
What
type
of
training
is
offered?
social
Media
networks
Tone
of
voice
Don't
Yes
know
How
to
answer
20%
ques@ons
0%
27%
Yes
No
38%
Escala@on
of
No
customer
62%
Don't
26%
service
issues
know
27%
Tool
to
manage
media
streams
Social
media
exposes
the
whole
organisaQon
–
staff
are
not
being
fully
prepared
62%
of
respondents
have
no
formal
training
in
place
for
social
media
management;
lack
of
training
has
got
some
companies
into
very
hot
water.
Training
skills
focus
on
brand
reputa@on
management
answering
ques@ons
correctly
and
applying
the
right
tone
of
voice
to
post
management

14. Strategies
used
by
brands
and
independents
to
manage
social
media
STRATEGIES
&
THEIR
MANAGEMENT

15. Technology
is
a
key
enabler
of
communicaQons
between
brand
and
hotel
Just
over
half
of
brands
surveyed
allow
their
hotels
to
follow
a
local
strategy
and
the
remainder
took
a
more
central
brand
driven
approach.
Brands
use
technology
to
support
management
of
communica@on
between
proper@es
and
cascading
brand
specific
messages
What
measures
are
used
to
control
social
media
at
brand
level?
No
formal
strategy
-­‐
we
communicate
as
necessary
Governance
over
brand
reputa@on
control
Training
Tools
to
manage
strategy
and
cascade
messages
between
brand
and
property
Overall
strategy
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%

16. None
of
the
above
We
are
guided
by
our
social
media
agency
We
take
advantage
of
tac@cal
opportuni@es
as
they
arise
We
plan
and
invest
in
our
ac@vity
on
a
project
by
project
basis
2011
We
have
a
propor@on
of
our
annual
budget
2012
set
aside
for
social
media
management
We
have
a
formal
strategy
that
is
agreed
by
our
management
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
How
do
we
strategically
plan
for
Social
Media?
2012
sees
a
greater
focus
on
budge@ng
for
social
media
but
ac@vi@es
remain
tac@cally
oriented
with
less
focus
on
formalised
strategies
than
in
2011.
Social
Media
agencies
gained
significant
influence
in
2012
over
2011

17. For
HR
and
Recruitment
To
maintain
a
presence
within
this
space
To
generate
referrals
To
develop
our
word
of
mouth
marke@ng
To
gather
customer
feedback
To
monitor
customer
feedback
To
engage
with
guests
2011
To
generate
more
bookings
2012
To
generate
more
sales
leads
To
publicise
new
products
or
services
To
increase
awareness
of
our
brand
or
hotel
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
What
are
we
trying
to
achieve
with
Social
Media?
Word
of
mouth
marke@ng,
guest
engagement
and
brand
awareness
feature
high
on
the
list
of
objec@ves
for
using
social
media.
Surprisingly
Hotels
are
not
yet
finding
a
way
to
transcend
the
dominance
of
Customer
review
sites
such
as
TripAdvisor
through
gathering
and
monitoring
customer
feedback.
There
is
more
realism
in
the
market
regarding
revenue
genera@on
in
2012
over
2011

18. Where
are
we
focusing
efforts
in
Community
Management?
COMMUNITIES
&
MANAGEMENT

19. What
acQviQes
are
we
engaging
in?
Par@cipa@on
in
Auc@on
Sites
Par@cipa@on
in
Flash
Sales
Par@cipa@on
in
Social
Buying
sites
Crea@on
of
QR
Codes
Development
of
Video
Development
of
Mobile
Apps
Running
Compe@@ons
Crea@on
or
management
of
user
generated
content
Wri@ng
of
a
Company
Blog
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
Content
Development
is
maturing;
expanding
across
channels
Developing
user
generated
content,
company
blogs
and
running
promo@ons
are
primary
plajorms
for
user
engagement.
Video
is
increasing
in
importance
as
video
channels
grow
in
popularity.
Flash
sales
and
social
buying
sites
lack
the
same
level
of
alrac@on.
QR
codes
are
yet
to
breakthrough

20. Google
Hotel
Finder
Google
Places
Which
plaborms
are
we
using?
Google
+
Business
Pages
TripAdvisor
StumbleUpon
Delicious
Digg
YouTube
2011
Flickr
2012
Foursquare
Twiler
Linkedin
company
profile
Linkedin
Individual
Profile
MySpace
Facebook
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
90.0%
100.0%
Google
finding
its
feet
in
Social,
TripAdvisor
and
Facebook
remain
key
channels
TripAdvisor
and
Facebook
as
important
in
2012
over
2011,
Twiler
growth
significant
YoY.
Google
makes
its
debut
with
Google+
and
Hotel
Finder

21. Administering
Campaigns
Other
Monitor
using
brand
reputa@on
reports
Manage
interac@ons
as
and
when
Respond
within
a
specific
@mescale
2011
Pre-­‐set
messages
2012
Online
dashboard
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
More
tools
are
used
–
but
hotels
sQll
struggle
with
Qmely
management
There
is
greater
use
of
technology
and
tools
to
support
automated
monitoring
of
interac@ons.
Use
of
brand
reputa@on
reports
has
increased
significantly
over
2011
to
support
customer
review
management.
Despite
this
it
would
appear
the
firehose
of
Social
remains
a
challenge
to
manage
with
hotels
struggling
with
@mely
responses

22. 2012
Investment
Levels
4.3%
4.3%
4.3%
6.5%
26.1%
Between
0-­‐1K
Between
1k-­‐5k
13.0%
2011
Investment
Levels
Between
5k
-­‐10k
15.2%
26.1%
Btween
10k
and
25k
3%
3%
0%
Between
25k
and
3%
50k
Between
50k
and
12%
40%
100k
Between
100k
and
500k
15%
24%
Investment
Levels
for
2012
Social
is
growing
in
importance
from
a
budget
and
commitment
level.
Investment
levels
have
increased
in
2012
with
a
greater
propor@on
of
hotels
moving
into
significant
investment
level
compared
to
the
very
small
budgets
of
£1000
allocated
last
year.

23. What
are
we
measuring?
OTA
results
placement
Travel
meta
search
engine
placement
2011
SEO
Placement
and
keywords
2012
Site
posts
and
comments
Customer
referrals
Customer
Reviews
about
our
hotel/s
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Engagement
with
CommuniQes
on
the
increase,
TripAdvisor
remains
focus
of
management
effort
Measurement
of
site
posts
and
comments
has
increased
over
2011,
reflec@ng
the
growth
in
use
and
and
engagement
in
community
sites.
Although
measurement
of
customer
reviews
has
decreased,
its
relaitve
importance
remains

24. We
don't
measure
or
How
do
we
track
success?
track
ac@vity
Online
brand
men@ons
2011
Authority
e.g.
Klout
2012
Sales
No.
of
referrals
to
web
site
No.of
followers/
friends
Posi@ve
comments
and
posts
All
comments
and
posts
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Authority
entering
slowly
into
mindset,
some
sQll
not
tracking
Brand
authority
and
integrity
is
a
key
factor
in
customer
engagement.
Measurement
of
authority
remains
small
across
respondents.
Emphasis
on
measurement
of
referrals
to
websites
has
decreased,
possibly
due
to
interac@vity
remaining
within
the
channel
of
engagement.
However
the
brand
web
site,
or
mobile
site
remain
the
key
transac@onal
site.

25. What
are
the
immediate
challenges?
CHALLENGES

26. Brand
ReputaQon
Issues
Ownership
of
response
Skills
to
manage
brand
reputa@on
Iden@fying
review
sites
Lack
of
resource
Customer
Review
Best
Bona
fide
comments
vs
Prac@ce
false
Minimising
future
search
on
nega@ve
comments
Right
response,
and
tone
of
voice
Managing
nega@ve
comments
Responding
in
a
@mely
manner
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
NegaQve
Comment
management
and
Qmely
responses
key
issues
for
reputaQon
Hotels
are
now
clear
on
who
responds
to
posts,
although
response
management
in
terms
of
skills,
resource,
tone
of
voice
correct,
and
responding
in
a
@mely
manner
are
challenging.
Managing
nega@ve
comments
features
as
the
top
concern

27. Key
Challenges
in
Social
Media
Management
Iden@fying
return
on
investment
Ensuring
a
seamless
response
Re-­‐purposing
hotel
content
Pressure
from
2011
management
2012
Gesng
buy
in
from
management
Mee@ng
business
objec@ves
we
set
Defining
meaningful
business
objec@ves
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Meaningful
business
objecQves
and
ROI
key
challenges;
once
defined
OK
with
achieving
Pressure
from
management
to
do
something
is
understandably
not
an
issue,
considering
the
overall
lack
of
interest
from
senior
levels,
however
defining
meaningful
business
objec@ves
and
gesng
an
ROI
show
that
Social
management
is
growing
up

28. Number
geography
and
hotel
type
RESPONDENT
PROFILE

29. Who
took
part?
Social
media
agency
Spa
Hotel
Resort
Hotel
City
Hotel
RepresentaQon
Company
Independent
Hotel
How
many
hotels
are
you
responding
on
behalf
of?
NaQonal
Brand
Hotel
1000
and
InternaQonal
Brand
Hotel
above
101
-­‐500
7%
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
40.0%
hotels
"I
work
for,
4%
or
represent
Property
LocaQon
51-­‐100
hotels
one
hotel
4%
30%
Oceania
Asia
La@n
America
11-­‐50
hotels
Caribbean
21%
North
America
Africa
Middle
East
Europe
2-­‐10
hotels
34%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%

30. Summary
Overall social is in its formative years
Brand reputation a key driver
Robust processes and investment levels are
increasing but have a way to go
Training and processes need to cover the
entire organisation
Lack of board level support restricts investment and
programme development
Technology increasingly important to keep up

31. So, how seriously do we take social media?
Thank you!
Contact – Ally Dombey
Revenue by Design
www.facebook.com/revenuebydesign
http://Revenuebydesign.wordpress.com
@revenuebydesign
ally@revenuebydesign.co.uk
07769 904076