Fri 27 Jan 2012

A coffee laden ramble about… hotel coffee. What does your coffee program, or lack of it, say about your hotel brand?

Posted by Michael Hraba under Coffee Break, Food & Beverage, Hospitality Marketing, Hotel Build / Design, hotel management, hotel news, Hotel Sales, Management Philosophy
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The Story of Hotel Coffee.

This is something I have done in the past, talking about the history of hotel systems and amenities, and where we are today.  It’s likely horribly self indulgent, as well as being terribly boring…. but it’s such an afterthought in so many situations, it deserves, at least, it’s own post.  We can start with my background in coffee:  I drink it. I drink quite a lot of it. I quite enjoy it.  I have a burr grinder. The burr grinder changed my coffee life.  As counter-intuitive as it is, I now understand why artisan roasters refuse to sell ground beans.  ”But the market is there for it”, my simplistic free market capitalist economy mindset cajoles my caffeine addled nerves… but self respecting roasters know their bean isn’t honored by letting it die a slow and lonely death as a tired ground in a depressing bag.  So… this is where we engage my hospitality mind, and wrestle with my pragmatic operations side, vs. my guest experience and brand equity side.

My last installment about the history of hotel minutia rambled on about hotel telephony: from PBX to modern software in place of hardware, and how it went from revenue stream to bungled system, to how it exists, today…. a glorified in-house intercom (that marketers try to dress up with LCD screens, ad nauseum).  The story of coffee, however, might not be as interesting… especially to those tech & social fans who follow me (other than the giddy, amped ones who just placed another order for more caffeine related products from think geek).  To those fans, hopefully the rollicking, coffee fueled post will be the little bouncing ball over the karaoke lyrics.  Have fun.

A friend recently asked me about an in-room answer to coffee, which then resulted in an animated sigh from my end.  Since May of 2008, I have opened 2 hotels, renovated a third, and am about to open a 3rd in a month.  Even in that short time, coffee has gone through a renaissance as well as a confusing net of options and concepts for servicing a guest just how they like to be serviced each morning.  Sleepy eyes, bumping into things…. flavored water is better than nothing.
So… here’s the story, history, and hopefully…. we will eventually get to the bottom of this stained mug that runneth over.  You are going to ask for an answer, and it’s going to be an honest one…. and probably not the one you want.  Unless you enjoy cold sweats and operational nightmares. I am a big coffee drinker, and our culture of coffee here bin San Francisco beats Portlandia into the dust.  This recent Forum on NPR talks coffee culture in San Francisco with Four Barrel, Blue Bottle, and Ritual Roasters.  Frankly… some of how they do business, and position this “luxury coffee” trend, is a bit too self-aware, a bit vain, a little silly, with various levels of congenial pretentious…. and the troubling and humbling part is that they are, absolutely right.  But… they are right when it comes to the business of coffee, but are they right about silently judging how hotels produce a coffee program as a secondary operational priority?
Here’s what people in hotels think…. possibly people who don’t care about coffee:
a) Coffee grounds suck.  Whether a french press or drip machine, having those used grounds are a dirty, gritty nightmare – for both guests, and more importantly, room attendants.  Machines overflow when unattended, and even when helpfully disposed of by a guest, there’s a treasure trail of grounds from the minibar to trash can.  You have to figure out how to grind on property without it snowing electro-static sprinkles all over your kitchen – then figure out how to control grounds in room; which invariably includes an imperfect receptacle to store the grounds, and an imperfect method of gauging the age of those grounds.  Housekeepers are not always keen on watching coffee grounds.  It’s not unlike watching cement dry, day to day.  I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but coffee hasn’t been an industry conversation to any great extent…. and those hotels that offer grounds in room?  You might want to ask for a new container, because I am sure, as I am hesitant to tell you, those are not fresh.  Uppity luxury ownership made their property level ops suffer grounds, mainly because owners had never dealt with actual work like changing a bed or cleaning a shower….  or actually having to deal with a mess.  Prop level in room open-ground coffee usually got (secretly) changed at property level, or some GM is so broken, he doesn’t even deal with it… and just let’s housekeeping or middle management cope/deal with it.  ”It’s an operations problem”.
b) so the industry got wise a few decades ago – and we went to hermetically sealed filter mesh-pods.  People don’t even like the word “hermetically”. It sounds weird.  It’s like when we had the strips on the toilet that said “Sanitized for your protection“.  These hermetically sealed filter mesh-pods are supplied by some company that buys cheap beans that were stored in a large warehouse for far too long, pre-ground months ahead of time, shipped in huge boxes across the country, only to sit in a warm and dank basement storage room.  By the time the water hits even the best of beans, they are dead, awful, and really bad – they taste like cardboard and intone the warehouse air the beans sat in for months.  They were the penultimate, glorious operational solution.  They also pushed coffee further into the realm of red headed step child in hotels…. a necessary evil that was available as an amenity to guests, while being something that NO ONE wanted to talk about…. that is, neither hotel operations nor guests ever wanted to talk about these things.  These never worked, and no one ever liked it.  It tasted like sock water… but as I said earlier, murky hot water is better than nothing when you just need to wake up.  The problem is that those coffee packets were so bad, people were waking up because of burnt tongues rather than a jolt of caffeine.
c) Of course, that is if the machine can actually heat up the water.  That is something else we didn’t want to talk about, operationally – those 4 cup brewers.  Notoriously unreliable in that oh-so-perfect way that they work just enough for you to *not* get calls about them working.  It’s not so much a machine to brew coffee as much as a machine to slightly frustrate you and eventually produce a flavorless warmish liquid.  What’s more…. don’t look in the water reservoir.  If you do, just pray those are mineral deposits.  This fact actually spurred some hoteliers to banish coffee from the rooms, and provide locally roasted, fresh ground coffee in a public area throughout the hotel… a thoughtful, respectable amenity that pisses guests off to no end.  In fact, many enjoy the accessibility of the good lobby coffee, and even respect the enviornmentally forward method of distributing it…. but still favor lukewarm coffee flavored water with powder grey “creamium” to start their day, even if they silently grumble to themselves just how bad it is.  So – hoteliers that took out in-room machines started looking for new options in-room, and those dealing with bad machines quickly cornered the capital needed to join in on a new trend – transformer-like bricks of plastic that confuse prior to spitting out coffee like water.
d) These behemoth bricks of plastic are known better by their name brand, Keurig.  There are other machines, like Nespresso, who produce espresso like water that, really, is not *too* far from the real thing – but their pricing generally value engineers them as a viable option from your OSE budget.  Keurigs are a funny thing.  I *LOVE* hearing, in regards to these monster dispensers, “It taste so much like coffee”, or “It’s not too bad”.  If it’s good coffee, you generally don’ t need to say it “tastes like coffee” if it actually tastes like coffee, because it tastes like coffee.  You only need to say it tastes like coffee, if, in reality, it tastes nothing or nearly identifiable to coffee.  It is just like you say “it’s not too bad” when it’s *honestly* bad, but you are trying not to hurt anyone’s feelings.  In reality, the stuff is just a different form of sock water, aka coffee lite.  It’s not good, and it’s weird… because it looks and smells like coffee but it only resembles it and is, actually, quite unlike coffee, at all.  That pretentious claptrap aside, I have other, more valid, points…. again from the operator side of my mind.  We got hooked into this craze…. we replaced an entire hotel with these machines.  Just because I know and enjoy good coffee does *not* mean that it is every guest’s main priority, such that ancient grounds in a teensy foil cup, placed in a vending machine style dispenser, might be completely acceptable (even as we coffee snobs guffaw at the philistines).  So my operator and experienced advice about Keurig’s and why you should *really* think twice about using them?  I know they seem ubiquitous at this point, but guests do not understand Keurigs.  At all.  They break them – constantly. I know it seems simple, but they destroy them time and time again.  It’s sadly hilarious, you know?  Our guests are probably above average in intelligence, too….  A guest can be a wonderful, bright, intuitive person, while guests can be panicky mobs of idiots that smish smash things when they get confused…. especially if they haven’t had any AM java.
So… here we are.  Sitting amongst a pile of options ill equipped to make everyone happy.  Let’s revisit our choices, then…
1) You can use those hermetically sealed filter-pods that will never, ever EVER be good… not ever….  it means you don’t give a damn about coffee, nor your guest’s needs, and you really just want to be able to say you have the amenity, while delivering an in-room sadness.  I mean this from the bottom of my heart, but Starbucks “VIA” packets are an exceptional invention, and are a far cry better than those traditional in room packets.  No.. really.  Like Keurigs, this shouldn’t really be an option anymore.
2)  Starbucks VIA packets?  They’re not cheap, and if you overstock, they would walk more than in-room coffee packets because they actually exceed traditional hotel coffee in flavor.  That’s an expensive operating cost, but it might wash when you consider labor, drip machines, etc.  It’s odd to be saying it, as it’s one of those things you say “It tastes like coffee”, but if you haven’t tried them, it might be the acceptable, simple answer for both guest and operational needs.  I am somewhat surprised I haven’t seen these more often in hotel settings…. and wonder aloud if Starbucks has considered partnering with hotels.  They’re in enough lobbies that they could saunter over to the desk and start a profitable revenue stream a-growin’!
3) Onward towards future innovation?  Innovation as an option, frankly, I can’t comprehend – as it’s not my “field”.  I can’t imagine a pocket sized burr grinder that could grind beans into a drip or press system that would deliver the coffee and fully dispose of the grounds in a simple manner – completely self contained and easy to dispose of.  Actually, I just said it, so I can imagine it.  If I can imagine it, why hasn’t someone else?  Get to it coffee people!
So…
What do we do?  Have another cup, and plan another meeting about it?  In the end… (Oh my gosh is it really the end????)
Is the answer, really, to suck it up, operationally, and supply a coffee program to the guest that provides fresh grounds in your guest rooms?  That’s even a challenge for the coffee royalty, because they, likely, would prefer to see a guest grind beans themselves, so the coffee is as fresh as possible, and as least “dead” as it can be.  The fact is, we can’t grind in room… I could easily imagine a hallway of beans going off at 6.30am, like a symphony of metal teeth eschewing their users sleepiness.  But maybe we can settle on this being the right operational decision…. in house grinding, and a housekeeping based coffee delivery and clean up program.  That is, if coffee really is part of your program.
But…. (waiiiiit for it)……
In my mind, everything is part of the program, story, brand, and message.  Whatever crappy marketing terms you want to drool out there…. everything says something about your hotel and your brand.  Whether it’s a poorly fitting uniform, or a lousy shampoo amenity…. every single point in a hotel is an opportunity to *really* reach the guest, and make a difference in their stay, their day, and maybe their lives (you know the moments a guest finds a new brand they love, having experienced it at your property – we have guests buy beds, soaps, etc).
I was speaking to a kindly gent from Four Barrel, and he said something astute:  He had looked at other hotels, but could tell coffee wasn’t part of the focus.  It was an afterthought.
But those afterthoughts are some of the most impacting moments in the guest experience.  How a glass or piece of silverware feels in the hand, or how a light shines in through the window into sleeping eyes, or ** just how bad that morning coffee was **.  I admit, as a coffee drinker, I have stayed in some of the finest places i can think of, and if that coffee packet is bad in the morning, it’s a big topic of conversation in our party, throughout the day.  Those “touchpoints” that some hoteliers, and ground to the nub operators, might think of as minutia, can actually be overriding aspects that dominate a stay.  For those who have designed and built hotels, this is *SO MUCH EASIER SAID THAN DONE* – but everything needs to be thought out, and everything should come down to the guest experience, which will hopefully override operational necessity.  If you sacrifice guest experience for operational efficiency, that’s not being anything but lazy.  That is not what hospitality is about.
I *was* the guy that would have had to deal with the pain of being a property that allows open coffee grounds in rooms….. but I am quickly coming to terms with the fact that it’s the right thing to do, and the right way to do it.  In this, you might be able to partner with a local roaster that can be part of your hotel’s story, and anchor you firmly in the community, helping it along the way.  Then, hell… stamp your logo on their coffee, and sell it to your guests, as well.  Maybe that revenue can make up the additional operating costs involved with the mess.
You’re lucky I only had 3 cups today.  Here’s to the finest of roasts, and hoping to see them in the finest of hotels.

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Fri 13 Jan 2012

So you can’t figure out if your hotel should be a pet-friendly property?

Posted by Michael Hraba under Hospitality Marketing, hotel management, hotel news, Management Philosophy, revenue management
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A very informal smattering of data and commentary about the complex debate (for owners) about whether to be a dog friendly property or not.  The below data is objective, and clearly indicates the benefits of adding a pet friendly policy to your hotel.  In fact, this is likely old news, as our whole industry has started “going to the dogs”.  But I compiled this, and thought it might be useful to some people in making their arguments.  There is a long list of subjective points that could be discussed for hours, as the topic of dogs is fiercely emotional and personal, both to pro and anti-dog people.  There are plenty of studies suggesting that dogs increase happiness, reduce stress, reduce depression, and prolong lifespans in human owners, including lower blood pressure and cholesterol - this, however, is not always enough to make a decision in the business world.  Unfortunately, GNP does not mean Gross National Happiness, and business often means bottom line.  Below are some ways to understand the impacts of dogs on the guest experience…..

 

I)  Thoughts from Paul Burditch, owner of an excellent Luxury Hospitality PR & Marketing company, Burditch Marketing Communications, in regards to hotels in San Francisco, and a decision *not* to allow dogs at a property:

Travelers who come from all over the world know San Francisco to be a dog paradise – it should be given certain treatment so that it is welcoming, & visibly warm & fuzzy feeling.  If dogs are not allowed, we will have a responsibility for a fair explanation of *why* we do not allow dogs, especially in light of the entire industry moving that direction.  Most San Francisco hotels allow dogs, and the national parks and Golden Gate National Recreation Area are one of the most popular places for dog walkers & dog fans in the city.  Dog owners who stay nearby will see many dogs on the trails, or at Crissy Field, and throughout the park system.  This might not only have negative PR implications, but it will be a negative impact on those that see dogs throughout the city, parks, and out our back door.  Almost all hotels in San Francisco allow dogs including the top boutique companies Joie de Vivre (ed note: kaput), Kimpton and luxury properties like Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, St. Regis and others.  San Francisco is one of the most dog friendly cities in the country, with the parks being a perfect place for dogs and owners to enjoy. To not allow dogs is going against the bigger trend in dog policies here in San Francisco.  A no pet policy is antithetical to the prevailing opinion of most Americans and pet owners in the country today.  There are 78 million dogs in the U.S. and 39% of U.S. households own at least one dog. With the abundance of dogs throughout SF and the parks, a decision to disallow pets will have obvious negative PR implications.  At this point, it’s almost assumed that they are allowed, and “no” is never part of a good guest experience.

 

II)           FINANCIAL DATA:

At one unnamed property: “We’re at $24,475 in dog fees through October YTD.  It’s a one-time $75.00 fee (most fees are much less, but balanced against the full cost of dog sitter or kennel if guest were to leave them at home), regardless of length of stay.  The audit report only gives posting totals, so no way to track Room Night production.  I’d make an educated guess of 550 – 600 total Room Nights YTD.  The total doesn’t breakdown evenly when divided by $75 because we had a few in there we only charged $50 because their res was already OTB when we changed the fee and a few we charged $100 because they had more than 2 dogs. It is our opinion that these guests would have stayed elsewhere with their pets, and we would have lost the room nights.  This does not account for incremental revenues. [ed note: this is from a peer who doesn't know I am posting this. It's anonymous, but if ANYONE has ANY concern at all re: financial disclosure, I will take this down].

Incrememental revenues = selling branded or logo’d hotel merchandise to dog owners – whether homemade local treats or a rubber ball with your brand stamped on it.

 

III)          Articles, info, data:

 

a)    Tripadvisor Pet Travel report.

 

“In a TripAdvisor survey of more than 1,100 pet owners in the United States, nearly half said they plan to travel with their animal within the next 12 months.”

 

b)   Pet Friendly Travel  – via Bella Dog magazine, also talks about airline fee frustrations, and more:

The majority of pet owners surveyed (61 percent) said they travel more than 50 mi. (80 km.) with their pets at least once a year, with 38 percent of those pet owners stating that they travel as often as once a month with their pets.  Pet friendly travel still is almost exclusively for dogs, with over half of the pet owners (61 percent) saying that they choose to travel with their dogs (33 percent of pet owners travel with their cats).  (Source:  Bella Dog magazine)

 

c)    According to the U.S. Travel Association:  “Pets make great travel companions. Over 49 percent of U.S. adult leisure travelers consider their pet to be part of the family and 18 percent of U.S. adult leisure travelers usually take their pets with them when they travel. (Source: travelhorizonsTM, July 2009”)

 

d)   Forbes: pet friendly hotels were due to market forces demanding it -

 

Why the change of heart? Travelers with pets are a huge market, and one that is untapped at the luxury level. According to the Washington, D.C.-based Travel Industry Association of America, there are 62 million dog owners in the U.S., and 29 million of those hit the road with their dogs in tow. The latest American Express Leisure Travel survey, released in October 2003, found that 13% of its respondents described an ideal vacation as one that is “pet-friendly.”

 

e)    Hotels Dogs Travel (via HotelMarketing.com) -

 

The nation’s pet boarding industry has figured out it doesn’t take much persuasion to get pet owners, often guilty about dropping their dog or cat off at a kennel while they head off on vacation, to pay extra for pampering: In the last five years, spending on pet services including boarding and grooming has more than doubled to $2.5 billion, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association in Greenwich, Conn.

 

f)     Hotels renting pooches to guests without dogs via Time.com

These days, the coziest hotel trend has nothing to do with plush mattresses or comfy slippers. It’s about catering to guests who had to leave their furry, feathered or finned family members at home. This spring the Fairmont in Sonoma, Calif., added a dog to its staff, a chocolate Labrador named Zeus who is tasked with such things as welcoming guests in the lobby and going on hikes with them — or what is referred to, in corporate jargon, as “interactive guest appreciation.” (I have seen this in many JDV hotels as well. This trend started after studies showed that petting a dog or having a pet around reduces stress and increases health)

 

g)    Fairmont’s doggy ambassador delights guests (same as above, but more info)

 

h)   “Top Dog Hotels” via USA Today (same Tripadvisor rankings from above, but a little more about the hotels and amenities)

 

i)     Recent press release for Bernardus in Carmel Valley via SF Gate PRWire (the fact that someone does a press release is typically because the new amenity has relative strength or equity to the brand and bottom line)

 

j)      Kimpton’s Argonaut with their “Howl-O-Ween” dog costume contest (something that drives room nights and community around Kimpton property)

 

k) 15% of people are allergic to dogs (not including the 30% of asthma sufferers who are allergic), while 40% of people own dogs. With stringent cleaning methods (or just normal ones), i have yet to hear of an allergic person with a problem inside a room, let alone ever knowing whether they had been place in a room previously occupied by a dog.  For those truly allergic, they usually mention it, and it’s never an issue to accommodate all those concerned.  What’s more, hotels have been dealing with chemical sensitivity and allergies to things like down, etc, for years.  One more thing won’t be a major impact or operational issue.

 

l) Dogs that travel with people are typically incredibly well behaved, and often better and more quiet than children.  We also know weight limits are not necessary, because a) most large breed owners don’t travel with their pets, and b) a chihuaha can do as much, if not more, damage as a larger breed.  But if that rare bark is a concern to owners, remember  that acoustics won’t be an issue – a crying baby is louder than a dog in most acoustic tests: http://www.controlnoise.com/storage/dBSoundproofingChart.pdf

 

 

IV)         Conclusion

 

We have seen a lot more conversation on an internal industry level and an external marketing level because it has become so much more popular in recent years.   Opening without a pet-friendly policy, only to allow it later, would create PR issues because it is difficult to recapture initial interest after telling people that you are not dog friendly.

 

Observing and mulling all the above data and information, it seems pretty obvious what the right choice is for your guests, and your hotel.  Any complications, of which there are few and it’s very rare, is what needs to be discussed further.  I have a couple dog policies I can share, if you need them…. but overall, we feel strongly that a pet friendly policy should be approved for any hotel looking to drive revenues and capture new markets.

 

Hope this helps guide the decision making process.

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Fri 13 Jan 2012

RoomKey.com, OTA’s, Online Distribution, Google, and the changing landscape of online travel

Posted by Michael Hraba under Hospitality Marketing, hotel management, hotel news, Hotel Sales, Management Philosophy, revenue management, Semantic & changing web, Social Media
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And here comes RoomKey… filling an empty space that the OTA’s have bungled.

Here’s an article on Room Key, the hotel brand search engine.

Upshot (summary via TNOOZ):

Choice Hotels International, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels, InterContinental Hotels, Marriott International and Wyndham Hotel Group have combined to establish the joint venture under the leadership of CEO John Davis, founder of the Pegasus hotel distribution and technology service.”

And here is Barb Delollis from USA Today with a Facebook post that sparked some awesome conversation.

 

This is my commentary from that Facebook post (which, as it happens, is by far the most interesting post I have seen on Facebook in years, and no… not because of my response).

 

I am excited about Room Key for many reasons…. I hope the below is succinct but helpful in understanding why this is an exciting move forward…..

 

It’s not a better solution, but that’s okay. It’s a flawed solution that has monopolistic traction – and this entry from Room Key is simply the start of their traction. It’s like Google Plus vs Facebook….. just because Facebook has more traction doesn’t mean it’s a better option.

It’s all new tech, and layered diversification coupled with competition in the early decades of online travel distribution means that the booking process is exhausting and varied…. one site has not, and will not, *EVER* serve *every* single on of your needs.

If you can honestly say you book solely on one site, and one site alone… more power to you, and that’s a rare thing – a branded OTA travel consumer. Travelers that use OTA’s are deal shoppers, so the idea that they would use one site and stick with that due to loyalty is odd, when it’s myopic only to consider one site with the scores of other’s available. A real travel consumer isn’t going to stick to one OTA, and that process of shopping around has become somewhat of a liability…. and an exhausting one. In the last 5 years, the only thing that OTA’s have done is to train the smart revenue managers to yield such that the best available rate is *ALWAYS* directly on the brand website…. in this, you maintain as much rate integrity and control of inventory as possible. That being said, the gestapo like extortion and bullying from OTA’s like Expedia has backfired, and savvy travel consumers are starting to be trained that the best deal is ALWAYS on the hotel website. OTA’s know this, and they are losing consumers due to it.

Room Key is a brand new product that is put together by some of the biggest players in the hotel industry ( Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Wyndham Worldwide, Choice Hotels, Marriott Hotel, InterContinental, Hyatt Hotels as well as Pegasus), and it’s a new product that is *BRILLIANTLY* devised, the UI is quite easily the best online booking product that exists, currently (although KAYAK’s mobile app is stellar). It is filling a sorely needed gap in a crowded space – a simple, concise, uncluttered way to easily find hotel rates and book without the pain of being upsold on value ads and overwhelming options. The OTA’s like Expedia or Travelocity are dinosaurs, and this new option is filling the space that travelers are clamoring for.

I understand your comments about being a consumer, and wanting the simplest option – what you are forgetting is that OTA’s had a chance to offer the simplest options for booking, but have failed in an overarching attempt to increase revenues by destroying any functionality or user experience on their sites. This is all new technology, so the best travel experience hasn’t even been developed yet. Just because one of the OTA’s has a monopoly doesn’t mean it’s the best thing for the consumer. This is the first attempt at our hotel industry to create that experience.

Room Key is coming at the right time – it mimics Google in a light user interface that is concise, simple, and clean.

The other side of this is how Google will lay waste to the uneven and disjointed online travel world -

Google Search + Google Travel + Google Flight + Google Hotel + Google Plus (in searches) = dominance & sheer terror for the existing landscape of online distribution.

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Thu 25 Aug 2011

Hotel Website & Travel site best practices? What is cutting edge hotel website design in mid-2011?

Posted by Michael Hraba under Hospitality Marketing, Hotel Build / Design, hotel management, Management Philosophy, Mobile, Social Media
480 views | [8] Comments

Ed Note: Pardon my current technological shortcomings, for the time being. You might have to click on the pic to open the full size photo of the website.  Currently, I am having trouble having them display full screen in the blog post itself. Pardon that. Cheers!


I know, no matter how people excuse it, you can’t use flash anymore.  It’s not even a conversation, and when I am forced to have it… I get frustrated.  I also know you need to have a mobile page.  Please, neophytes or luddites, *please* understand a mobile-optimized website is *NOT* a hotel specific branded app.  You don’t need the latter unless you are one of the big 5.  If they don’t know your brand, or boutique concept, they won’t know to search for it.  Don’t let giddy marketer buzzwords excite or cloud your understanding of these complex technological trends. I only say complex, because, as the old joke goes, we hotel people are not pioneers specifically because pioneers were shot in the back with arrows.  We have always been behind the curve. Always.  The innovators have always been long term and conservative.  We have some colorful characters in this business, as well (looking at Chip [who's site isn't too bad, either] or Ian, particularly…), but the classics have always been plodding and broad scope visionaries like Stan Bromley.

 

I also know you can’t get burned on poor SEO anymore.  On top of that, you can’t slap so much keyword content into a site that it becomes aggravating and overwhelming for people to navigate around, limiting possible consumption of your hotel. That is when content becomes a liability.  You want content to match your hotel… in my case, you want the initial experience and interaction with the brand to be one that is relaxing, soothing, entertaining, etc.  People used to say that your desk agent was the front line of brand representation. Then snarky marketers said the doormen, or valets, were the first representative experience with the brand.  They are right, but no fair moving 30 feet from the desk to the door and calling it an innovative thought.  Ritz Carlton and Oregon’s Allison Inn & Spa in the Willamette Valley (full disclosure, I work with the latter), have had this “employee face forward” down pat, for years.  But I still didn’t think, in regards to employees intoning brand, that that is where the introduction starts.  Back in the 20th century I was one of the only people really concerned with how the PBX operators, with lazy speech or chewing gum, were representing the brand.  If you immediately hear lip-smacking with a disinterested ”HOLD PLEASE?” when you call a hotel… well what does that say?  It would make me cringe, and service training immediately started under my watch. =)

 

But now, it’s not an employee, and your entire brand and hotel experience is intoned within LITERAL SECONDS of arriving at a website.  Not only does Google consider load times for SEO, but the flash experience of waiting for something to happen isn’t as seemless or natural an experience as a guest needs.  You need to lull them into a serene, content & excited disposition, as well as appease their need for confidence in your brand.
I didn’t want to ramble too much, so I will leave it to you.. the hotels, the brands, and the designers.  The below websites, simply, are not cheap. Finding an affordable design group that will work outside of the norm (box), is rare.  Access to them is even rarer.  It often seems you only have 3 or 4 choices for hotel website design, and that simply needs to stop. There needs to be more competition, and more innovation, so that we can differentiate our brands, instead of homogenizing them.

 

The simple laundry lists of new website design trends for hotels? No flash, simplified User Interface, topical and enchanting music or nature sounds, large, vibrant pictures, less obtrusive offers/deals, and more integrated and highlight social presence in relation to content production with blogs or videos.  In fact, it won’t be too long before video is front and center on the main page.

 

So.. I think these are the best practices for our industry. What do you say? What are your favorite sites?  Brands… Hotels… why do you think your site is a stellar example of a cutting edge hotel & travel site?

 

**WARNING: THE FOLLOWING SITES MAY MAKE YOU SPONTANEOUSLY BOOK TRIPS YOU WERE NOT ALREADY PLANNING**

 

Our group of hospitality professionals and hoteliers believes these sites to be representative of best practices and future trends in website design.  [In no specific order:]

 

 

1) Carre D’étoiles - albeit an animation, as soon as you hear the nighttime nature sounds, and see the shadow of a mischievous bunny hopping along the soothing terrain, you have such a definite sense of place and experience that it immediately lulls someone towards the hotel brand, and leaves them wanting to know more.  I have had this as an open tab for nearly two years, just listening, and making my day more peaceful. This is an eco-lodging concept where they literally drop-off the above modular cubicle for you to stay in, in the middle of nowhere.  Think of it as uppity glamping in France. Oh wow I cannot believe I just said that. At any rate, telescope and star gazing skylight included. One of the many “full screen” website experiences you will see trending in the industry, and on this list.

 

 

2) Villa Amor, in Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico. Here we have a rotating slideshow of unbelievable imagery – each combines nature, and colors, and experience with a skillful & somewhat subtle marketing – each page has obvious quotes from trusted, established travel magazines and journals, such as Travel & Leisure or Sunset Magazine.  This sleepy & family friendly fishing village north of Puerto Vallarta is a relaxing beach and surf community of U.S. Ex-Pats, and tourist friendly Mexicans.  Villa Amor does a phenomenal job of immediately drawing the guest into their experience, and with the slideshow keeps them there and learning through sight and trusted soundbites versus endless copy. The quotes could be a little more prominent, but all in all… this is a slam dunk regarding conversion of eyes to reservations.

 

 

3)  Pacific Grove and Monterey Bay host a phenomenal National Park lodge experience with Asilomar Conference Center & Grounds. Although slightly busy of a site, the large picture firmly anchors your awareness in experience.  What’s more, they have the weather available to plunge the website viewer into the real world experience – what is Asilomar like at *this moment*, and what would I be feeling walking along that beach?  Knowing about the foggy days there (I was born in Carmel), it’s fairly brave… but it’s a nod towards transparent cultivation of community.  They also have the reservation widget front and center – so that there is as little barrier to booking conversion as possible.  Another nice aspect is the bar of photos as menu headings – the visual excitement one has for a specific photo (map vs bicycling) will lead people to relevant parts of the site, and much quicker.  An embedded widget of photo and video content is also immediately available, so a website guest gets a sense of place, as well as remains on the site garnering the experience of what Asilomar is.

 

 

4) Shell Hospitality’s dedicated “Black Friday” Travel Sale page. This was one of the most exciting discoveries we have seen.  Although not a brand or hotel specific page, it is a brazen page full of irreverence, delight, and fun.  It immediately intones the brand’s image while still offering endless playful moments for people to learn more.  The Face”book” page on the bookshelf, The youtube TV, The flickr Frame, the Tweety Bird, and more.  The fireplace is with sound and is crackling, so you are immediately given a sense of warmth, with levity.  It was one of the most novel website experiences I have ever had, and I wish brands would learn to be more daring and excited about their passions and business.  This is a great example of a company I would like to book with, or even work for. It’s imaginative, and creates a sense of unexpected joy.

 

 

5) Little Palm Island. Wow. A Huge picture without borders that makes the user fall into the island itself.  It’s hard to ignore the allure of an all enveloping experience as soon as you reach the website… it begs how amazing an experience the island will actually be, once you arrive.  We do *NOT*, in any way, endorse splash screens at the beginning of a guest’s user experience on a website (like this has); it is far and away *NOT* a best practice.  But, the way their specials & info boxes are quickly relevant, and then slink quietly to the background to become less obtrusive is a phenomenal tactic… your eye is literally led to where those boxes will exist – ignore them if you like, but if they are relevant to a specific user, you still have immediate awareness as to where those boxes live.  When they slide away, they become inherently unobtrusive, and you immediately get back to the experience of what it would be like to be in that much blue.  This picture seems to expand beyond the borders of my screen.

 

 

6) Peter Island Resort & Spa. *THIS* is Peter Island, indeed.  If you are immediately taken to a land of sexy sport and endless beaches-to-oceans-to-horizon, then you are not looking at the same picture that I am.  Peter Island’s site also has an “X” out splash screen when it first loads, but after that you are shown a slideshow, with music, of the island, then accomodations, and then we have this sizzling nod [see pic] towards the types of activities you may enjoy, or encounter, upon this island.  Albeit highly suggestive in this specific picture, we do know what sells, and if this is your niche, and you are looking to bring a specific market to your hotel… you have to go after it.  In this case, Peter Island has immediately scored with a High Res, and stunning, slideshow – capturing a potential guest from picture to picture and making it harder to escape.  It’s an impressive experience with full screen, high quality pics, soothing music, and simple interface.  The navigation at the top of the screen is worth a visit to the site, itself.  The days of infinite old & stale copy, cluttering up the field of vision, seems to be marching out the door.

 

 

7) Winvian Cottages of Connecticut. This is a subpage for the website, but if you note – the simple interface that has been created for an exceedingly complex site map, streamlining the headache of listing a vast array of lodging options.  This is always a challenge for hotels, especially historic properties, who have complex and varied options for rooms.  The scroll type of map creates a real tone and texture that intones the brand itself, while this simple, beautiful watercolor not only aids to the sense of place, but it fully resolves a complexity with an incredibly simple user interface.

 

Those are my favorite sites in recent memory…. and I am sure there will be more. I hope this can aid people about to sign a contract with a form and template style of internet marketing group. Frankly.. you need to tell them what *you* want.  It should never be the other way around, and you can feel confident in excusing those awkward exchanges. These groups work for *you*, and not the other way around.  If it looks like a boring template, tell them so.  I note a lot of the big boys internet marketing groups are getting lazy, and all of our industry hotel websites look identical.  It’s a problem, and it’s time to evolve out of that line of thinking or operations.
If you don’t have the big bucks to make a fancy site, at least you can make a HTML5 site, without the expense of paying too much for too little from the other mid-high range developers.  In this sense…. if you want a nice site, while not having the money to build it, you might try Buuteeq. They are new, and instead of the agency plan of charging for websites (billed hours ad naseuom and confusion), they have tiered plans.  Right now, they are doing some interesting things, and it’s one of the only groups who can give you what you pay for… a competent, optimized site with mobile ready pages to boot, without hassle or hidden costs.

 

Until we win the lottery and make our dream hotel websites, let the little nuances and aspects of these above sites inform your decisions.  If you know of any other sites, I am very interested in learning about them. Please share in the comments section!

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Tue 14 Jun 2011

The End of Facebook (and not even because of Twitter or Google + Plus)

Posted by Michael Hraba under Facebook, Social Media
943 views | [13] Comments

Download a PDF of the article for your Kindle or Ipad (right click and “save as”)

Facebook lost 5-6 Million members in the US in May 2011, mention of $100 Billion IPO comes same day.

Facebook Today

Are Facebook Users Making Their Own “Dislike” Button

Facebook – what was a fun little site, the entire business world has turned into the Holy Grail. This is troubling, because it’s not the site that is amazing, but the new social comm technology that connects people.  I crunch some numbers here, and it’s obvious people aren’t interacting with brands on Facebook. Why are we losing sight of this? It’s just a platform, and membership does not attest to equity.  Equity is where the internet is happening, and the internet is not happening on Facebook.

Facebook might have a $100 Billion IPO, for Q1 2012.  Why would they let this ridiculous evaluation slip the same day it is announced that they also lost 6 Million people in May, via WebProNews.  Gizmodo says 5 Million. A Facebook insider says “nearly 6 million”.

It seems interesting, especially because one would hope that a whopping $100 billion would drown out the measly figure of 5-6 million members.  It’s notoriously difficult to cancel an account, so what’s going on?  Was the drop a culling of the notorious spam that poisons social media?  Is it businesses finally deleting their profile they built before the advent of pages? I know of a couple that have done so in the recent weeks. It’s a bigger, more frightening, trend than this.

 

The Social Media World watches as Groupon readies an insane IPO

 

I know LinkedIn. LinkedIn was a friend of mine. You are no LinkedIn.

I know LinkedIn. LinkedIn was a friend of mine. You are no LinkedIn.

I want to have a quick aside, and remind you that we all know Groupon is insolvent.  In fact, it’s safe to suggest that Facebook is aware that the social media darling is in crisis, having the market panic about feasibility as they approach an IPO.  An important IPO – one that tests the waters in a much deeper way than LinkedIn, a relatively conservative and successful no brainer in this 2.0 world.  It is also fair to acknowledge that whatever consumers do not know about Groupon, as Wall Street eyes Groupon’s likely failure as a business, other businesses are beginning to have a deep awareness of its flaws, which I documented here (with endless citation and evidence), but Techcrunch excellently explains it here.  Businesses wariness to sign up, coupled with Groupon’s balance sheet, makes that look like another disaster, and this is only valued at $20 Billion, one-fifth of the murmured Facebook IPO.  Do you think Facebook is watching Groupon’s “road-to-IPO” closely?

Facebook is failing, but it depends on how you want to define that.  At User Interface? At listening to consumers? At facilitating connection, communication, discussion? Helping create a consumer environment for our businesses?  This is something that is going to be defined by every individual angle – social media, individual people, business… but it’s safe to say they are failing everyone.

 

The Filter Bubble Problem

Mark's savvy with the Press knows no bounds.

Mark's savvy with the Press knows no bounds.

Facebook has made made it so you can hide everything you dislike about the site.  You can hide people or pages, you can hide causes, games, specific api’s that post, specific phones, and more. These are the filters that Eli Pariser speaks about – the filter bubbles driving us apart, creating a homogenic environment, and limiting true connection and democratic discourse – and the resulting ethical issues involved.  These filters are meant to be a response to Facebook users’ dissatisfaction of the interface and lack of proper privacy controls. Users tire of mindless advertising and spam; being inundated with extraneous applications or attempts at monetizing the user base are finally wearing thin.  These filters are simply a way for you to shut down the site little by little, bit by bit. By developing these tools, Facebook has expressively admitted that the whole network is spam. I spoke about these hidden streams, overposting, and attention curation as equity, and you know that I do not consider Facebook a network in the traditional sense of the word.  If I don’t know who has hidden my business, then I don’t know who my network is, and therefore it is essentially defunct.

Could you imagine the statistics on overall users or pages hidden?  Have you ever hidden anything on Facebook?  I think it is completely unstable as a network, and assume Facebook will at some point have to unhide everything to fix some of the problems of “community”. I had hoped I wouldn’t have to post about Facebook again, but it isn’t just about narcissism and the challenge of pages.

 

Monetization

 

Facebook doesn't seem to work with dollar signs

Facebook doesn't seem to work with dollar signs

Facebook is constantly altering their UI & architecture, so as to generate constant cash flow. These attempts at creation of revenue wholly disregard the individual users’ privacy & bungles the process constantly.  Beyond Zuckerberg’s slip ups, and horrid PR, Facebook adds confusing, unstable layers to a flawed structure/network that is based off of variably meaningful geo-connections. Social connections should *obviously* include *immediate* social circles, but the strongest online connections are based off interest, and do not necessarily involve family or educational institution, the latter which connects similar classmates across broad social, economic, and political backgrounds. Until Facebook figures this out, their dominance is tenuous. You cannot create a solid network based off of loose interests. Topics/Subject matter drive content creation, and content creation drives social networks.

Facebook’s slapdash and immature attempts at monetizing a site with enormous architectural flaws have made it a broken network, and now they are bleeding users…. there are so many meaningful, topical driven sites, that people simply don’t need it anymore. With the rise of topical boards, Facebook is moot.  You can still check in on your grandkids, or your college ex-boyfriend’s family on Facebook, but most people seem to feel more comfortable generating content in like minded communities, which also includes Tumblr and Twitter.  Tumblr has stolen an entire generation of younger kids, Twitter has mid 30′s parents and professionals who don’t have the time for the vacuousness of Facebook, or the time to figure it out.  This is where Facebook’s content is being generated – elsewhere.  Everyone still has a Facebook account, but you may be interested to know where the internet is really happening.

 

Where The Internet Happens

No, not those kind of boards.

No, not those kind of boards.

The internet happens in the open.  It happens in an unregulated environment that business has little interaction with.  Foodies have Chowhound or Eater to talk recipes, cuisine, and what’s hot.  Sports fans have their dream team forums or ESPN boards & an entire industry of social sites.  Movie fans engage in sites like IMDB, Netflix, and Rotten Tomatoes, all rabid posters writing shining reviews or debating camera angles.  Entertainment blogs have members on sites like TMZ or Gawker, where posters gab ad naseuom about the plastic world of their interest.  These people *might* share on Facebook, but often the people that you know in the real world aren’t interested in the same hobbies or activities.  Techies on Techcrunch or Engadget have devoted commenters espousing their applicable fanboydom.  Relevant social sites like Mashable or open forums like Yelp Talk cover a bevvy of topics and retain interest from users.  Traditional national and local newspapers cover the entire gamut of local events and allow a wide spectrum of commentators with insane devotion (sometimes literally).  This doesn’t cover the existence of any millions of hobby or enthusiast boards for everything from offroading (based off the specific make and model of your truck) to knitting clubs or book clubs on small blogs or local sites to large sites like Amazon or Ebay.  Even boards like 4chan create content and relevance that makes other sites pale in comparison.  All this is an indication that social media has blossomed in a way that makes Facebook completely irrelevant.  The walled garden, with too many privacy holes in the fence, leaves a lot to be desired, and users are finally leaving Facebook for greener, rolling pastures.  It’s an apt analogy.

For example, my business is travel and hospitality. My entire industry is suffering devastating groupthink – and every conference or social media mention is about Facebook, driving revenue, ROI. I wanted to mention them, but don’t want to damage the conference economy built around Facebook.  I will just say that I know there are those of you out there nodding your head (ed note: thank you for the emails).  Do you want to know how I can be so brazen about this, and why your company’s efforts on Facebook are misguided?  It’s painful to admit, but the real internet and real consumer isn’t on Facebook, and never planned to be.  As soon as they are on Facebook, they are a sister or a grandmother or a college chum.  But when those same people leave the site – they are consumers on flyertalk, tripadvisor, yelp, and any other consumer site referencing the interest they have at that moment.  Someone can be on Facebook loading vacation pics one moment, and that can have zero relevance to the fact they are a consumer searching reviews for a hotel on Tripadvisor, a moment later.  The two are not related.  ”Consumers” do not exist on Facebook, because when people are on Facebook, they shed the role of consumer (or at least they think they do, which is all it takes).  A friend told me to be patient, but he was speaking to me about being patient in the business realm, that the facebook user will eventually be “born” a consumer.  Well, I am not so sure the users have that sort of patience, and looking at their fickle migration patterns of the past, coupled with their distrust of Facebook management, I don’t think my patience will have anything to do with it.

 

Our Groupthink and What Your Business Needs to Ask

It's not pretty when it happens, and sometimes we can't see it.

It's not pretty when it happens, and sometimes we can't see it.

The groupthink throughout industry is to talk about how to leverage Facebook, and not whether it’s truly worth the effort or has intrinsic value. Everyone is so self interested that they won’t admit that it’s not the wonder it appears to be. The general rule is that you have to be where people commune, but it doesn’t mean it has to be anything more than a landing page.  I went so far as to ask fans of some of our hotels what they thought of brands on Facebook. Informal test of 4 hotels was unanimous – everyone overposts, and it is tantamount to spam. The more you post, the more people hide you. Great… you got 5 comments!!! Then it’s likely, as 90% of people are lurkers, that even more hid you. You are losing attention every day with your Facebook pages.

Outside the US, along with Twitter, Facebook has been the only available tool with the reach to successfully organize people, and the result has been powerful and moving and undeniable.

But, inside the US, it has been co-opted by brands and marketing agents who attempt to exploit it and utilize it for business. This is all at the behest of Facebook, who is trying to monetize the hell out of the user base and define and reinforce the concept of “user equity”.  Of course, businesses haven’t taken the time to realize there is almost no ROI, and when there is – it’s rare and far between. Why did they lose 6 million people in May? Is that real people, or is Facebook flushing out the coffers of spammers that are littering every corner of that network? Outside of this loss of users, how many existing accounts of the 700 Million members are spammers or multiple accounts? Dead accounts? How do they measure usage?

Define a successful campaign on Facebook? Define a successful business situation in regards to Facebook? Is it about money? brand building? interactivity? I have heard minor successes on Facebook, but no consistent, overwhelming victories as you may have heard from sites like Twitter.  You know what would happen if any single hotel took their page off Facebook? Absolutely nothing.  Facebook is a pass through. They interact with your brand on other sites like user generated review and rating sites, or topical boards where they can get advice from like minded people with expertise enough to answer tough questions.  Uncle Harry or your high school prom date isn’t likely to be able to do that for you.  People “like” and move on in Facebook, it’s a throwaway, passive activity; otherwise people don’t “like” anything because they don’t see the point, or don’t trust the process, even if they actually like something.  It’s obvious there’s a flaw in this system as a trustworthy & equitable model for making business decisions.  Facebook’s compulsion to legitimize the ad model structure of their social business has marginalized the ability for people to meaningfully connect. This erodes trust, and now people are finding other places to commune meaningfully online.  People are still using Facebook in a personal manner, so they wear brands like fashion, for status. They aren’t interacting with the brand so much as showing it off as they might Gucci sunglasses or a Prada purse.  There isn’t the compulsion or awareness by normal Facebook users to create commerce, or interact with businesses as they would on a review site, or topical network.  The closed network based off random, extinct, geographical connections (school, etc) stifles ability to congregate and commune around brands or specific concepts. The groups and pages don’t work properly, because they were an afterthought to the original intent of Facebook.

Is what your organization puts into Facebook worth what is coming out of it?

 

The End of Facebook

 

 

Heaven's to Murgatroyd, Facebook may exit stage left, even.

Heaven's to Murgatroyd, Facebook may exit stage left, even.

 

 

 

So far it’s been difficult to cultivate a social network into a successful long term business.  You can’t build a social network, just ask Google. A small network goes viral, then that network spends years garnering users and destroying the site in the race to monetize it, until users move somewhere else. Facebook went viral overnight, but this doesn’t mean it’s a successful platform for business.  Until they can offer a meaningful way to show real return or effeciveness, we are wasting labor and marketing dollars on a black hole.  The reason they aren’t sharing any of their data regarding site usage is because they know it would hobble their $100 Billion IPO.  The data and trends obvious in their private data, coupled with the social world’s IPO craze, it’s seems obvious they know the time is now, while they are jumping the shark.  Their talk of IPO is nothing more than a cynical money grab.  As Groupon will start the beginning of the 2.0 bubble, Facebook is desperate to cash in before it’s too late.

The sad part is that all these social media conferences and advertising or PR firms, coupled with the rest of big business, have so mindlessly invested endless money and time into developing their presence, they won’t be able to see the forest for the trees….. there is an entire economy that exists around Facebook, and people will have too much self interest to admit it’s time is passing.  They will hold on dearly, for fear of having to make new presentation slides, or build yet another business profile on yet another network.  Consultants will be frightened of being exposed for how much money they charge for administering Facebook.  Operators won’t want to change a thing because they finally got the facebook action committee meeting in place, or the hierarchy of responsibility for posting and replies.

Many people are vested very deeply in Facebook’s success, and I fear that our inherent self interest will allow this IPO to happen without a hitch…. a massively inflated and dangerous number representing an inflated faux economy that could collapse harder than a previous bubble we all should know and remember.  In fact, it’s going to happen.  Groupon is the start of it.  All that conversation about Groupon’s insolvancy and filed IPO papers – Facebook knows this.  The collapse will bring greater scrutiny, deeper questions, and demand for much more reporting and numbers in regards to the site.  As for now, Facebook stats are piece-meal, unsubstantiated guesswork, and Facebook is very secretive with all their usage stats.  Once real data gets out, do you suppose that it will bolster the evaluation, or bring it back down to earth?

I think the answer is all too obvious.  So Facebook is getting ready to cash in because they know they have peaked, and the other side of the mountain is a long way down.  It’s a precarious time for our economy as well as my personal hospitality and travel world.  Will we keep our heads down and keep espousing the genius of Facebook with empty stats and minor successes, or will we be big enough to move on, and realize that another time is passing?  I doubt we will be big enough.  But I hope this helps to create more of a dialogue that gets us there… ultimately one that protects the future of our economy.

Edit 16th June 2011:

A friend sent this article, “Older users likely to connect with businesses“. It is unfortunate that we are defining “connection” or interaction as something as passive as pressing a button. Users are tired of privacy issues, sure… but they are also tired of 90% of businesses doing Facebook wrong – not allowing user comments to appear on the wall, nor interacting and commenting on their posts.  It’s an RSS feed, and that’s spam, and it’s being hidden, and you have lost their attention.  When businesses realize the problems with Facebook, the lack of results, and the fact we burned most of bridges in trying to connect with users, ad sales will plummet, and the bottom will fall out.  We are still in front of the Groupon IPO, and lessons can be learnt from the Pandora debacle from today. Show’s over, says VentureBeat, as Pandora skids hard.  Stay vigil and stay aware, fight against groupthink, and engage your company with open-minded discussion regarding your next move.

 

 

UPDATE 30 Sept 2011:

Ed Note:  Google Plus’ Open social graph will quickly make Facebook’s walled garden irrelevent.  I quote  Terrence Lui:

“Those of you reading this right now should realize something. You have a fantastic lead. Everybody who depends on Google to run their business, and there are a lot of them, and is ignoring Google+ right now is a fool. You are in on the ground floor of something that will fundamentally change what is now the foundation of the internet.

So take advantage of it while you can. Stake out your place on the high ground. At some point very soon, the crowd will wake up to the fact that Google is serious about all of this and the flood will come.”

 

But I think the most compelling and damning evidence is this:  Twitter has seen more growth in the last 9 months than the past 5 years. It is vital to be aware of this fact.  Since May, Facebook user base growth in the U.S. has completely stalled, while these other networks are growing faster than ever.  I am basically done protecting my industry from the mindless groupthink.  Let’s let those who are listening gain the high ground.  Let’s let the vacuous & self interested, fall by the wayside.  Good luck out there guys.

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Wed 11 May 2011

The Evolving Check-In

Posted by Michael Hraba under Coffee Break, Facebook, foursquare, Hospitality Marketing, Management Philosophy, Mobile, Semantic & changing web, Social Media
336 views | [2] Comments

Check-In to actively Spam

First Step: Shout Out About It (even if others don't care)

People keep pontificating on the “check-in”, and what it means for most people, whether it will be relevent enough to stick around, or if it will fall into shadow like so many past “darlings of the moment”.  Well… I commented first *HERE*, and saw that consumers might think they are *not* a winning proposition here, and even Read Write Web claimed the death of the Check-In in 2011, and it was supposed to be a simple sentence.  In fact, I started by saying, “Here, I will make this simple…”, which is not only a bit grandiose, but sort of pompous as well.  I will try to relate my opinion with logic, instead of emotion… but it is still just an opinion.  I am just sharing a few thoughts on LBS (Location Based Services).  I would love to know what you think?

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Thu 5 May 2011

Filter Ethics, Hidden Streams, & the eroding open internet

Posted by Michael Hraba under Coffee Break, Facebook, Management Philosophy, Semantic & changing web, Social Media
172 views | 1 Comment

Filter ethics.

This is the most important thing regarding Facebook & other online communities that very few people are talking about.  I note here (June 2010) that hidden streams destroy any legitimacy to this network, & eventually Facebook will have to change their practices.

Now, Move On’s Eli Pariser has written a book called “The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding from You” -

“The Internet software that we use is getting smarter, and more tailored to our needs, all the time. The risk, Eli Pariser reveals, is that we increasingly won’t see other perspectives. In The Filter Bubble, he shows us how the trend could reinforce partisan and narrow mindsets, and points the way to a greater online diversity of perspective.”

Could all that we hoped for come toppling down?

We need to reinforce the wobbly foundation before it comes crashing down.

Here is his TED TALK.

Here is his talk from PDF 2010, as well – “Eli Pariser, the president of MoveOn.org, answered the PdF 2010 question “Can the Internet Fix Politics” with a warning about how the hidden personalization features of search and newsfeeds were subtly destroying the notion of a common public space.”

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Tue 26 Apr 2011

Yes, Groupon & Coupon Publisher sites are destroying your business.

Posted by Michael Hraba under hotel management, hotel news, Hotel Sales, Management Philosophy, revenue management, Social Media
1,498 views | [16] Comments

To celebrate Facebook’s Deals going live…. it’s time to comment on the coupon craze. And craze it is…. it’s captured our attention to no end.  Not being fully versed with the Facebook model (I will fence sit until I know more), I will say one thing about these coupon sites in relation to your hotel, restaurant, or brand: *DO NOT DO THEM*.

WHAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaT did you say???

The power of Groupon’s success has surely been due to the happy consumers rambling on about the score they just made.  You can’t go anywhere and not see it.  The crisis of perception is that everyone is beside themselves with how “cool” coupon sites are, but only regard them from the perspective of being a consumer. Stop being selfish, and think about these poor businesses. Everyone seems to be in a mindless consumer mindset when they consider them, and especially when they sign on to participate in them; all the proselytizers are consumer advocates or discounters. I don’t know one thoughtful business person that finds them to be anything but frightening, even if deemed necessary (and in hospitality, they never are necessary). They can surely bring business into an operation with low to no overhead, huge margins, or zero variable operational costs…. but to businesses like hotels, it’s a losing proposition.  Please, check your giddiness at the door – and hope these coupon publishers are a fad, because if they are not we are in big trouble. Whether you scored a good deal on Living Social is moot, so put on your business acumen hat… and let’s explore!  This post is meant to be a simple, accessible cautionary tale to Hoteliers and the like.  I am not covering entirely new ground.  But, I rather have something for us to refer to than having to explain my dour skepticism to each person incredulous as to how I am “missing the biggest thing ever”.

In fact, I wouldn’t mind being known as that one guy that stopped the entire hospitality industry from participating in any form of online coupon site.  At least, realize the impacts.

Search “Is Groupon Killing” in Google, or simply click this link.

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Tue 19 Apr 2011

Having given away our privacy, we now argue about something that doesn’t exist, which we cannot define

Posted by Michael Hraba under Hospitality Marketing, hotel management, hotel news, Management Philosophy, Semantic & changing web, Social Media
277 views | [5] Comments

I read this article today, and to say the least, I reacted. Privacy is a term used far too loosely, and I think people might not really know what they are defining. Whatever privacy is to you, you need to consider how privacy exists in the real world.

A ghostly voice:

Consumer privacy issues are a “red herring.” — “‘You have zero privacy anyway,’ Scott McNealy told a group of reporters and analysts Monday night at an event to launch his company’s new Jini technology. Get over it.’”

That was in 1999.


Subsquently…. resultingly….. These privacy conversations kill me. If one wishes for privacy, one shouldn’t leave the house, nor ever go online.

It is completely within the best interests of a hotel to protect a guest’s privacy… we go to significant lengths to do so. To suggest otherwise is misinformed and ignorant.  It is the hallmark of our success, among other things.

This issue isn’t about a hotel’s sensitivity to privacy. The issue is our current preoccupation with the concept of privacy. No one has any idea what “privacy” means. We have relative freedom, and our lives are relatively unobstructed and we are able to do as we please. But leaving the house – you are subjected to the largest shift in communication history, coupled with modern technological achievements that have, together, completely negated the concept of privacy. It doesn’t exist anymore. In fact… younger generations shed it as a by-product of the lifestyle they seek… a reminder that, shortly, it simply isn’t going to be an issue for people that will be controlling the world soon. How can we really expect any privacy, anyway?

It’s a fun conversation about a word few people really understand…. but whether or not we need to be sensitive (hotels, in fact, are sensitive) is moot. The point is that privacy is ending, and to some extent we are willfully giving it up as a biproduct of being able to access these amazing tools of the internet age.

(more…)

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Mon 4 Apr 2011

Futurology One & Two: The Coming Singularity

Posted by Michael Hraba under Coffee Break, Mobile, Semantic & changing web, Social Media
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Just to take our head out of the daily grind (aka I have spent seemingly countless days posting management responses to my properties.  It’s like painting the Golden Gate Bridge. As soon as I reply to all of them I have to start all over again)…..

Let’s talk about the future.  Let’s talk about where things like social communication technology, genetics, computer and network science are going to go.

So, without further ado, Ray Kurzweil:

 

 

Kurzweil’s new documentary “Transcendent Man”, “probes his breathtaking, possibly balmy, vision of the future.” You can read more about it in this Economist piece at this link *HERE*.  Time runs an amazing piece on him RIGHT HERE (thanks Katie Clapp!).

What’s more, Michio Kaku, our pragmatic, skeptical, modern day science magnate (or hero? or Sagan-esque lightning rod for science to light up the public’s minds?) who proffers forth a more conservative view of our immediately future into the years that lead us to the 22nd Century.  Internet enabled contact lenses that tag everything in site, telekinesis will be commonplace, but it’s not all just sci-fi.  The Economist covers this in their Futurology (2) article here.  His new book is called “Physics of the Future”.

Assuming you got here because of our industry, we travel and hospitality professionals forget we are dabbling in technologies that not only resolve significant problems for the human race, but which can also completely alter what it means to be human, to begin with.  We are in the first moments of a revolution – one who’s major accomplishments may not even be on the horizon of our life’s timeline.

Even at this point, superhuman technologies bolster our frail frames and help us to walk, to breathe, and much more.  Even now it would be difficult to gauge where a human ends, and biogenetic, biotech, or bionic extensions begin.  It’s interesting to think about…

…….to remain human, we may need to become more human than human.

 

Now back to work! =)

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