Brave New World: A Digital Hotel

18/10/2011 Industry insider

Source: www.empowerpeople.com

The goal: to communicate with guests on a variety of levels.

There is an increasing role of travelers in their 30s and younger. Social networks such as Facebook, and Twitter are now able to communicate with hotels pre-arrival to request special amenities, ask for itinerary ideas or speak with the concierge, all before the guests arrive at location.

Representing 14% of business travelers, 23% of leisure travelers, or about 2.8 million and 23.5 million, they are the Generation Y, and they are avid consumers of social media and smart phones. In one finding, British consultancy BDRC Continental found that the growing social media engagement — particularly among Gen Y members — presents an opportunity for brand websites playing catch-up to online travel agencies. Most young respondents told BDRC that if their favored brand charged for Wi-Fi Internet connections, they might well jump to another brand offering that service for free.

Hotels also welcomes a new generation of travelers to the luxury brand by making luxury travel a social scene. In some hotels, almost half of the advertising budget are being spent on digital elements, as seen on the websites and social media channels. Furthermore, new and innovation media are being explored by hotels in order to appeal to the younger travellers, like an online film and a more interactive website using flash and twitter.

J.Tang

Source: http://doha-attractions.com