Hoteliers and TripAdvisor: Take Advantage of the Owner Center

The 2009 edition of Buy Tourism Online Tradeshow (16th and 17th November) was held at the historical Florence train station Stazione Leopolda, now turned into a convention center. The B.T.O. is an Italian web 2.0 and online tourism exhibition which main subject is TOURISM 2.0, the phenomenon that is drastically altering the dynamics of supply and demand of the tourist accommodation industry.

Various speakers introduced the different aspects related to Web 2.0 and social networking in the hotel industry. One of the most attention-grabbing speeches was delivered by Roberto Frua of TripAdvisor(c). The central point of Frua's address was how social media, and most of all TripAdvisor(c), can help hoteliers in their marketing plan.

Consumer-based internet content, also known as Web 2.0, is a reality and it is dominant in the tourism industry. TripAdvisor(c), with its over 30 million traveler reviews, is a very important tool that helps monitor what it is being said about your property and take action. Monitoring and reacting to your hotel's reviews are critical in modern hotel business. Especially if the review is a negative one, the hotelier should first of all be aware of it and then come up with a suitable response. In order to smooth the progress of this task, Tripadvisor(c) has launched the Owner Center to help management teams from hotels, restaurants and attractions manage and optimize their properties' presence on the web site.

Through the Owner Center hoteliers log in and are able to provide and update details about their hotels and most of all keep track of their reviews and respond in a timely manner. It really helps to save time on a very time consuming chore. Managers can check their performance on the customer satisfaction index, but also keep an eye on how their direct competitors are doing.

Nowadays TripAdvisor(c) is an essential tool for hoteliers that want to engage with their former and possible guests. The innovation of the Web 2.0 is that customers have their say and what they think about your property is going to be out there, for the whole online community to see. It is a mistake to ignore this reality that may hurt the hotel integrity and image in the World Wide Web. Be it through the handy Owner Center or not, it is really sensible to observe what is being said about your property in TripAdvisor(c) and act in response: The first effort to being part of any online community is to listen to the conversation, and then to join in.