Every hotel has an identity, its own story to tell and doing that is marketing’s job. What are the most important channels you use to tell that story?
Stephanie D’Silva, director of sales and marketing, JW Marriott Hotel Mumbai The most important channels of marketing are public relations, social media, word of mouth, and most importantly, the relationships we’ve built over the last decade that we have been in business. We tell our story to our patrons using FAM stays, using experiential elements and our exemplary
and personalised services.
Gayatri Bist, director of sales, Holiday Inn New Delhi International Airport Social media and digital marketing are definitely our primary focus at this point. The social web has shifted the online experience from searching and consuming to creating, connecting and exchanging. We are active on online digital advertising on travel websites, social media and other relevant business websites. We are also a part of IHG rewards club, the world’s largest loyalty programme that communicates with its 78 million members worldwide globally.
Pramod Dahiya, director of sales, Hilton Jaipur and DoubleTree by Hilton Agra We’ve adopted a comprehensive strategy that encompasses the offline and online spaces. The key advantage we have is the reach to our loyal HHonors members across the globe through our Hilton Worldwide network.
Shoumo Mukherjee, chief sales and marketing officer, Keys Hotels Guest experiences are shared on social media and travel sites. Digital and e-mail marketing play an important role.
Is there any role left for traditional marketing methods in this day and age, especially when you need to constantly reach out to a global audience?
D’Silva We are constantly evolving. We strongly believe the combination of the old and the new is what has led us to our success. We are in a people’s business where relationships play a pivotal role. Even though technology has taken over a lot of the traditional methods we used earlier, traditional sales and marketing methods in India will continue to have its own appeal. Establishing relationships via personal touch points is something that is beneficial. Any guest would prefer a hand written card over an electronic communication.
Bist Technology has always been an enabler, but from a hotel sales perspective, it has not changed the primary nature or function of buying and selling. It has merely enhanced or enabled the way sales are executed. As with most trends, it’s not a question of one versus the other, but how to leverage the best of both. In India especially, our guests prefer to physically see and know their product before deciding to use it.
Dahiya There is no denying the fact with the advent of new technical verticals, booking and revenue channels have become efficient. In a nutshell, technology is the key enabler to the hospitality’s future. At the same time, personnel involvement complements and enhances the overall experience.
Mukherjee Technology has definitely evolved with new trends of communication but all the traditional methods remain as critical as they were. Continuous brand messaging and conversation with customers has always been and will continue to be the most effective way of sales. Simultaneously, publicity and advertising tools are critically important. To sum it up, the industry is growing with methods that are innovative and still evolving.
In what is intrinsically a people-oriented business where personalised services provided with a personal touch is most essential, how are you able to marry this with the use of technology?
D’Silva Our key goal is to leave every guest satisfied with our personalised and exemplary service following on from our motto “spirit to serve”. Marrying this with technology only makes it easier for us. We are now able to connect with guests’ real time to understand their needs, receive feedback and use the same constructively. We have an inbuilt feedback structure that enables us to respond and get in touch with the guest especially in cases where the feedback is not positive.
Bist Technology has definitely put lives on the fast track and has made everything reachable and quick. So speed counts in getting our guests where they’d like to be in terms of the specifics of their stay. However, when it comes to memorable service, people tell their friends about it and so it’s more important that the service feels “thorough” and friendly rather than quick. Our service is our hallmark. Various online portals make sure the message is sent across to those that are looking for a pleasant stay. Assisted by technology, we are a part of IHG Rewards Club which is the world’s largest loyalty programme. Solution providers have launched software systems that enable us to collect, store and use for subsequent stays a wealth of data that permit a level of personalisation to our guests previously impossible to achieve.
Dahiya Our prime objective is to ensure that technological advances add on to the overall stay experience of a guest. Also, guests are becoming more tech savvy and they specifically check for advanced features while booking their room or for events.
Mukherjee We don’t see a conflict between technology and being people-oriented.Technology brings people closer. It enables and facilitates being people-oriented. You can have a skype call with the chef to discuss the menu for an important function, have a look at the dish along with its presentation and most importantly, you go can ahead with all of these after viewing the hygiene of the kitchen. All this can be done without moving out of home or office.
How do you think the online medium is going to evolve? What are the future possibilities that we haven’t envisaged yet?
D’Silva The online medium of PR and communication is surely going to outdo the traditional medium with people increasingly becoming dependent on technology. Online medium is also prone to evolve as it reaches a mass of people at once unlike traditional measures. With the advent of electronic check-in and check-out and things like online personalised packages, the world is surely going to see a new face of the hospitality industry.
Bist Future possibilities might involve a complete personalised stay where the guests can check-in via mobile phone through a call/application, decide his food in advance as per his choice with time of delivery, access the rooms with mobile phones and also technology which would make baggage delivery to rooms more convenient.
Dahiya Similar to the airlines, c-check-in for the hotels will be a great add-on to the guest experience where guests can identify their preferred room.
Mukherjee Online is turning to be the most creative, fast and innovative platform. Wearable’s like Google glass , the Apple watch etc. will be the future leading points of sale for travel.
What are the most effective marketing methods to target the mid-market and budget categories?
D’Silva The most effective measure to reach the primary and domestic clientele will invariably be social media. It reaches the masses, loading them with information and enabling them to make a choice. The best part is the content is in our control. We get to promote ourselves better in front of our guests. Social media collaborations also help a lot in this field where both brands cross-promote each other giving each other the levee of reaching out to prospective clients. Another effective marketing method is to meet the need of every guest and provide them personalised and memorable experiences. Positive publicity because of exemplary services also increases the chances of the customer coming back to us. Service level in the hospitality industry, as we all know, is of paramount importance. We also have a pool of hotels in all market segments and while JW Marriott caters to the niche clientele, we have many of our corporate clients who are using a mix of all our brands of hotels. That’s how we can meet the wedding, catering and corporate bookings coming to us.
Bist Social media marketing and performance marketing on websites has definitely played an important role for Holiday Inn New Delhi International Airport for attracting its travelers. Being an airport hotel, the location has played a significant role for travelers who seek sound sleep and comfort before or in between their flights. Awareness among travel agents and special packages offered for IHG rewards club members have been attracting a substantial amount of guests to the hotel.
Dahiya To cater to the specific market segment, we follow dynamic pricing and offerings.
Mukherjee I feel that the most effective marketing methods that can be used for the business segment would be corporate contracting along with ensuring guest delight.
There are a vast number of central reservation systems out there by different providers. How do you pick what’s best for you?
D’Silva All Marriott hotels have a centralised reservations system. We are constantly evolving with technology; hence you will see there is always a sizeable amount of investment done in our systems and technology, the most recent being the service of “Mobile check in and check out” that helps us enhance the guest experience. We understand the nature/segment of business and deploy different resources for different clients such as designated teams to look after wedding and catering requirements.
Bist IHG has its own global central reservation system which connects all its hotels with GDS, its brand websites and online travel agencies. IHG keeps up with the trends and latest technology that drives customer satisfaction for various hotel needs globally and Holiday Inn New Delhi is a part of the hotels recommended by the system when a particular guest is looking for the services and product we have to offer.
Dahiya At Hilton Jaipur, we prefer the GDS (Global Distribution System) which has greater understanding with the travel consortia internationally and helps us with the global accounts.
Mukherjee For me, the best picks would be the ones with zero errors, user friendly with the shortest process and most importantly needs to give me the reports and results that I expect.
How do you track ROIs on all your marketing efforts so that you are also able to make informed decisions for all your marketing strategies?
D’Silva While ROIs on PR are tracked by the PR value and the number of coverage/ visibility we have in media, there is no quantitative way to analyse the same. Social media can be tracked in terms of jargons like engagement ratio, reach and interactions. While there is no standard way of measuring their direct distribution to the revenues achieved, but there is a visible correlation between the two.
Bist We run campaigns on various websites that have now inbuilt software where you can track people visiting your website based on unique r repeat visits. With technology where you can track calls and make reservations online, it has become a little simpler to track ROI on the campaigns. Guest feedback about which marketing media helped them know about our products and the popularity of a certain medium is a key decision maker for future strategies.
Dahiya The Hilton brand has very strong tracking methods to ensure the ROI for every campaign is monitored and also the performance of specific channels analysed. We calculate the awareness and reach generated and what incremental room nights we achieve.
Mukherjee We track ROI’s by attaching a code/rate for booking with all communication. This helps in tracking redemptions on deals and discounts offered to brands, partners. With ROI analysis we are better able to strategise our way forward.
