Hraba Hospitality Consulting

I think we need to start with a couple presuppositions about social media:

1) It’s the wild west of social media.

2) This isn’t rocket science – it’s about old school customer service.

3) Knee jerk reactionary business owners will always blow things out of proportion, dodge accountability, and blind themselves to what’s really happening to their brand through the eyes of clients. You don’t need social media for that…. it’s been that way for centuries. Of course reviewers shouldn’t be marked as “problem guests” for writing a critical review – that’s poor real-world management of information, and not about the nature of the information itself.  This is a major component of the flawed (more…)

Another Class Action Lawsuit for Yelp!

Enjoy the TechCrunch article… and always, always, always enjoy the commentary.  I find it interesting if not hilarious.  If it isn’t hilarious enough for you, check out the comment section of this blog post, where it basically proves Facebook users are clueless (or 4chan had a blast acting like a mischievous army, once again).

Yelp seems to be taking this situation seriously though; umm….enough to post a Craigslist ad for legal counsel.  I would imagine there are better ways to hire lawyers than CL, but hey, just says a lot about the management that got them into this mess.

But these cries of extortion… once again… are more about (more…)

An impressive LEED Platinum for a hotel, Napa’s Bardessono.  I would like to take the time to point out that the incredibly complex reuse project from the NPS and ECB/Fort Baker Retreat Group, Cavallo Point, was just awarded LEED Gold.  Being NPS land, historic buildings, and completely “green” presented an  interesting array of problems (aka opportunities), and I am happy to say 2 years after opening it’s doors, it has finally received it’s status.  It is a shining light for the Bay Area, a stunning addition to the National Parks and GGNRA, and a model for future development being ethical and about sustainability.  I applaud (more…)

A USA Today reporter had asked the question… what do you do when you have a complaint on property about a barking dog.

Oh boy do I remember this… and it is a delicate matter because people typically complain about this when they are trying to relax. So your approach to the situation matters greatly… it is always professionally wise to be a bit obsequious when you have issues that are out of your hands. But how to handle it? Well my thoughts are below. (more…)

Okay so I am really frustrated.  Well… that’s dramatic.  I am more confused, and too busy to gesticulate in the air and ask this question to the windows and fluttering leaves outside my office…. what in the hell is the point of Facebook for a hotel brand anyway??  I think a lot of people are using the Pareto Principle to organize their time in “doing” social media, as suggested earlier last week *here*.  I was going to try and find all the examples I have run into in the last year, but instead offer into evidence exhibit “B” – that time management is a very impacting conversation mentioned over and over because we are so dang busy and REALLY want to figure out what is important, and what isn’t.  So what’s important about Facebook?  Frankly, I am starting to lose my enthusiasm, especially since (more…)

Here are some of the links I previously spoke about in regards to social media sites not being profitable.  I note, when people find that these sites are not profitable, I am often met with surprise in lieu of all the buzz and media about them.  Buzz does not profit make.

YOU READER!  You yourself may not have thought of it – but facebook, youtube, yelp, tripadvisor, linkedin, twitter…. none of these powerful sites have proven the social media ad-model, nor been able to turn a profit.  I am not sure if I published these links already, but they are good for thought.  It is sort of ripped out of a previous yelp conversation, found (yes unfortunately on yelp) HERE.  It is a good thread about yelp.  I am not going to elucidate, but we might all agree that Fishbits X is one of the most thougthful, prolific yelpers out there (tongue firmly in cheek).  The below tracks some of the conversation about monetization and creating web 2.0 to actually be profitable, which it is not.

Cheers!

Kelleher from Wired.. his thoughts earlier last year:
http://www.wired.com/t…

A CNN / Fortune article about Facebook’s Number 2 being “the one” who can make it profitable:
http://money.cnn.com/2…

while facebook has money problems:
http://www.techcrunch….
“facebook headed for financial ruin?
http://www.marketingpi…

a good dollars and sense vs pageviews cut up of the issue:
http://okdork.com/2008…

And I think the AOL Yahoo thing brought out some interesting comments… especially from Randy Falco
http://gigaom.com/2008…

“But despite drawing large, engaged audiences, other social networks have not been able to make the experiences relevant to users and marketers alike.”

Yelpers don’t want complexity.  They just want lovely free parties where they can be happy.  Nothing wrong with that, frankly.  Sounds good.  Actually.. really, really good.

But happiness does not sustain itself all the time… those parties may be no more if something doesn’t happen… and fairly fast.  I did just notice a new feature called “Things I Love” on the yelp profile main page.  This is worked in so as to create highly targeted advertising for the members.  If they like dogs, they can market dog food.  If they like their fiance, they can market wedding vendors.  It is a brilliant idea, but I already chatted about how Facebook’s model doesn’t work.  Even running a couple tests produced some negligible and even odd results.

So, when JP Morgan suggests that 2009 will be the year that the ad model fails…. my ears perk up and I wonder a couple things.  Namely, will there be unexpected opportunities if they are not able to get ROI or make these things profitable?

This is fascinating, and social media is so big right now… ballooning, saturating, and a media darling which has gotten an almost cult of personality like focus in the news.

I cannot imagine that they will make it profitable, nor can I imagine it going away.

What do you think is going to happen?  I think that a lot of these sites don’t have strong business leadership, and there is a lot of panicking going on right now.  As long as they focus on the business more than the parties….

I think we will live to review another day.

This is more of an attempt to get conversation started about tripadvisor.

I think it is obvious to respond and interact with guests on yelp. In fact, I think it is a valuable tool. Beyond dealing with unhappy clients, managing that as well as learning from them… you are allowed to connect with endorsers of your brand… thrilled clients that will help you spread the news about your message.

It is fantastic.

But I am still confused about tripadvisor, and how one might proceed most efficaciously. If I am completely mistaken, I will find out by being helped/schooled/*learned* in this public setting….

If I am not mistaken, instead of a direct correspondence with your previous guest you are actually just posting a public response. It seems dangerous, and could be useful, but feels more like a double edged sword.

I am sure I am missing something, but I would love other people’s thoughts on how to handle your hotel brand within tripadvisor as opposed to something like Yelp.

post here, or simply email me at michael@hrabaconsulting.com