The advent of social media websites has opened multi-pronged channels of communication and triggered an explosion of content on the internet that is still ongoing. While some flounder in the resulting clutter, the digital age has actually lent itself very well, especially to food promotions. Although it requires constant monitoring (a minor obstacle) and comments can come in fast and furious and even take an unexpected turn, F&B managers agree the benefits far outweigh such difficulties.
To be sure, the issue is attitudinal. “Feedback is never good or bad. It’s just feedback,” says Sachin Mylavarapu, F&B director, The Westin Mumbai Garden City.
“Any kind of criticism is ultimately only for the development of the property,” adds Sachin Dhingra, F&B director, Radisson Blu Hotel Nagpur.
In fact, these F&B heads have turned the situation on its head and proactively use social media platforms to answer queries, dispel doubts, address customer problems openly, reiterate the positive steps taken and ultimately win more customers.
Abig criticism of social media is that being a multi-directional open communication platform, there is a lot of scope for misinformation. How have you dealt with this aspect?
Ritesh Kumar Choudhary: One always likes to talk of the service aspect of big establishment like ours, so we do understand there will be criticism. However, we take this very positively. We reply instantly and go to the heart of the matter if the comments have not been very desirable. We make it a point to conduct an internal investigation and then reply on the same open platform. We also take it offline after getting into direct messaging mode with the concerned guest and put the issue to rest. That’s one way of dealing with this.
Sachin Mylavarapu: Social media is a 24/7 function for all of us as guests are always giving us feedback. Feedback is never fortunate or unfortunate. It’s just their experience of your service. Once we have analysed the points and addressed the issue internally and with the guest, it is also our responsibility to go back to the guest and give him or her confidence that we have fixed the issue and that we valued the feedback. We always invite the guest back to the hotel so that the next experience is better than the previous one. The closure is always important and that’s how we make a lot of loyal guests. We make sure the guest comes back and experiences the change.
Mohammad Khan: It is important for us is to understand the psychology behind this. Today, with technology, people sometimes want to show off on such platforms. Indeed, this is the flip side for us. People sometimes feel they are not given enough attention and as an industry, I agree we may be guilty of ignoring our Indian guests at times. And gen-Y today have all sorts of devices with them so they tweet about it, put it on Facebook or TripAdvisor as they know hoteliers will bend over backwards to do damage control.
Have you been unsure at times because you can’t control either the flow or direction of communication?
Sachin Dhingra: I believe any kind of criticism, in whatever form, is for the development of the property. You can’t fully satisfy each and every guest and expectation. But many regular guests return and they become loyal to us. I think we are in a business where we need to have an open mind, where we have to be open to criticism and learn from that, take corrective action and come back to the customer with the confidence that we are serious about what you told us. In my case, I have certainly developed a lot from these forums.
Sadanand Sawant: Over the last decade, the entire guest-care systems have changed drastically. Once someone posts a negative comment in all these digital media platforms which you have today, he has already damaged you. So, obviously there’s loss of control. But you, too, have the option of replying and how well you engage is what can make or break you.
Choudhary: Yes, we need to handle it smartly on a case-by-case basis. There’s no standard way or format in a dynamic platform such as this. What I’ve seen is, if each case is taken individually and handled smartly and effectively, there are many guests who go back and discuss how the complaint was handled. In today’s market, consumers are quite mature. Everyone understands in establishments like ours, there will be complaints. The degree will vary but the way you handle it matters a lot. As Sachin said and all of us unanimously agreed, guests who complain the most are probably the most loyal customers because they want you to improve. They have a continuous engagement with your establishment.
A classic complaint of social media is how to measure accurately the effects/impact of what you are doing on the digital platform. Sachin, what have you done at your hotel?
Mylavarapu: I don’t think there is any instant gratification for this. You can’t say that I’ve replied to two of the guests and hence this is the absolute measurable result. It’s not something I can quantify. It’s a pretty slow process but for sure, it’s got a much wider reach than the other marketing platforms or any other media that we use to reach our guests.
You are saying that social media has a wider reach. At the same time, you are not able to quantify it?
Mylavarapu: The point I’m trying to make is that it’s not transactional. It’s something that happens over a period of time. But in terms of the returns, we see a lot of long-term returns. We are trying to build a loyalty base, gain and respect guest feedback, reach out to everybody and into their personal spaces. It could be Facebook, Twitter or have someone subscribe to our blogs instead. So, the returns on the time invested and what we put into these efforts also happens over the longer-term.
Choudhary: Expecting instant results is not the right way of measuring the success of your social media platform. Being present on the platform is a brand building exercise. There are a lot of guests who come and visit us on these forums and talk to us and let us know how they are impressed by the things that we are doing, even though they are not physically present at the hotel. So, I don’t see if we should be trying to quantify it. However, in many of food festivals and different kinds of events we do, we ask them in the form of a survey and we get to know that they heard about the promotion from our social media platforms like Instagram, etc.
Can any of you relate examples of how this has directly generated revenue for you?
Dhingra: Sure. In fact, we launched a promotion on a Friday night towards the end of a month. Actually, we had a deficit in that month as compared to what the targets were. So we launched this promotion around 10.30 pm on Friday night and it was a little gimmicky with our message saying ‘drink at 1’. By 2.30 am Saturday morning, we had generated a fair bit of buzz among our regulars and of the approximately 300 of our niche guests, we got 100 of them turning up the following evening. We had revenues of Rs 1.75 lakhs and although it may be small, it’s pretty decent for a small city like Nagpur.
Khan: And it’s the same in Bengaluru, or probably more so, being a city dominated by techies. A classic example is Valentine’s Day which we promoted all over Facebook. We wanted to sell a venue priced at Rs 45,000 for a couple. It spread through Facebook and via word-of-mouth very rapidly. In fact, we found a young businessman who had heard about it from a friend who saw our promo on Facebook. Also, now we’re doing a Korean food festival, and to engage with our guests, we have left certain questions for them to answer online in exchange for a meal for them and their friends. We have seen a traction of at least 20-25 guests who are only Korean and coming in everyday. That’s unlikely in Bengaluru because who would have imagined Bengaluru has so many Koreans in certain pockets in the city. They’re interacting on the shop-floor with the Korean chefs who have come in for the festival and it’s worked brilliantly for us.
Sawant: Well, while one usually assumes Goa is a leisure destination and people come here to relax and put their phones and other devices away and don’t check their accounts, we’ve actually found there are different segments. Sure, there may be a section of crowd on a leisurely holiday but at the night clubs where the disc jockeys come to play, social media is a big tool for us. All these DJs have their own big fan following and once they update their upcoming gigs on their own social media pages and forums, all their fans also land up in droves. Besides that, we use social media very effectively for parties and beach-side events.
What are some of the challenges you have faced in using social media platforms? Don’t you feel sometimes it’s overrated, or is it all hunky-dory?
Choudhary: All of us will agree there are times when criticism affects guests and they come to us and talk about it. This puts us on the back-foot where we have to explain ourselves and what the issue was. But the large picture is actually very nice. Social media helps achieve better connect and we are able to talk more effectively through pictures, which is very good especially for F&B. Social media is not at all overrated.
Mylavarapu: I, too, see a big advantage in it because it lets you connect to a wider audience. Sitting in my office, I can actually see what’s going on in restaurants or what promotions are on in the spa, for instance, I can plan my days and the week ahead. It gives everyone something to look forward to. I see a lot of pros. The only con I see is someone has to be engaging the guest all the time. It’s a 24-hour job and we can’t afford to be complacent. You need to be updating your social media pages with all the activities and provide something very unique all the time to differentiate yourself from the clutter. Overall, I see big advantages.
Dhingra: I agree this is an effective media platform to market our property and serves the interests of both the hotel and its guests. I don’t see any challenges. In fact, earlier, there were times when the guest would write his comments in comment cards for the purpose. But now we can reach one another instantly and it’s also all very user-friendly.
Choudhary: Yes, moreover, in earlier times, if a guest had a not-so-great experience, he would probably keep it in his mind and heart forever and never come back to the hotel. But social media provides a platform to vent his feelings and moreover, be assured someone is going to engage with him from the hotel and actually respond and address it. So it’s always good to have good criticism and bring customers back rather than have them nurse a grudge and never come back!
Khan: I agree with everyone. It is definitely a large platform that provides a lot of positive aspects. While there are a few negatives, we hoteliers have also become smart. We know how to convert a negative situation into a positive one. We have also learned how to handle overly negative guests and even turn them into loyal customers. And this ability is also what separates a strong brand from a weak brand. Social media is here to stay and people are going to express themselves on it, and increasingly so. All of this is happening on an open platform and the way we act and react on this is going to make or break us as hotel brands.
