Hraba Hospitality Consulting

This is a really big question. I would love to see the industry really delve into this.  The transition from real world to online has been very fast, and a lot of the “infrastructure” is so much e-duct tape, putty, and last minute jury rigs – all of which should have meant to be temporary so that we can rebuild our online world of distribution based off tried and true methods, as they evolve.  I know our industry is never that pro-active, but maybe we have an opportunity to start learning from where we are losing the most money, and patch those leaks.

This Argophilia post by Phillip Butler starts the conversation: Who is the big bad wolf of hotel marketing?  Simply put, there isn’t just one –  OTA’s, Franchise Fees, Internet Marketing Fees, Booking Engine Fees.  This is one leaky ship.

Here is my response, but I am more interested in what all of you have to say?
—

Great read. Thank you much. =)

I always thought of the OTA’s as something that filled the gap during the off line to online distribution evolution. They were a stopgap solution. They are now becoming unnecessary, and getting in the way of commerce because they are becoming obsolete, where they used to promote some level of commerce for our industry. Distribution has changed… and their role will phase out. It won’t be in the next 5, maybe 10…. but this will all change. I adore how people revile when you suggest the guy on top won’t be there forever.  The fact is, nothing is forever, and new paradigms unfold.

Another big bad wolf, on top of franchise fees? Ridiculous internet consulting firm charges by hourly consulting model.  Buuteeq is doing some good with simple pricing plans… it makes a lot more sense, and you aren’t nickel and dimed for the internet marketing group’s mistakes or on the job training.

Lastly…. commissions to booking engines. Including the franchise fees, as well… Engines like Synexis get promoted by franchise and flag brands, which then take a cut. It’s incredible how much money is lost to an engine that simply helps facilitate online booking. Eventually, the hotels will realize the money lost can be recouped quickly by building and designing a proprietary engine of your own, off a template, for the hotel to own, outright. That can save 20K – 100K+ a year.  I imagine a management group could justify the development fees to an owner group, based solely off the last 3 years of annual or commissionable fees that the property made to the booking engine company.

Would anyone have any idea how much it would cost for development of a competent template, and simple engine with solid UI – that includes a mobile component? Is that $100k or more?  I know… you can always spend more. =)

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 terribly boring…. but coffe is 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, all the way to how it exists today – a glorified in-house intercom (which 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 my rollicking, coffee fueled post will be the little bouncing ball over the karaoke lyrics.  Have fun.

I imagine this is one of the first mash ups of a live-twittered conference?  If not the first, one of the only ones because this was massively, overly, insanely, time-consuming.  I do think what came of it was worthwhile, and I hope this sort of serves as a testament to all we spoke about and considered during Eye for Travel SM SF 2010.  First thing: I am not going to list contributor names here – I assume this is mostly for those who (more…)

Once again, Hotels Mag & Mr. Hartesvelt have come up with an interesting piece… this time in regards to “Random Acts of Marketing” and hotels PR people being a bit beleaguered in these times, and acting out accordingly.  I, once again, had too long a blog response and note that the comments section isn’t always the best place for banter… or at least I have trouble posting there at times.  In preparation of that, I linked the article above…. and put my own thoughts here just in case.

The best marketers are skeptics or operators that turned into marketers… because marketing has been a land of long lunches, little data, & arcane, questionable demonstrable results…. ALWAYS.  When times are good, the greased cogs and gears tick forward inevitably… often (more…)

Just thinking and riffing and pondering and what not….

As for Ryan Air… they not only wouldn’t care… I doubt they would find this anything but funny. This isn’t about a PR machine… Ryan Air’s PR is a train wreck whether this account existed or not. It’s there style, and it is to be expected. The majority of research I unearthed from the past 48 hours suggested this was a brilliant PR stunt by Ryan Air. That, even to me, is hard to swallow.

It is comforting to know, for some, that if it wasn’t this specific spoof account, it would have been something else. The new marketing model allows much more consumer control than expected, to the point of (more…)

I had been finding it difficult to explain *exactly* what I am doing for hotels.  Lots of the baby boomers are confused about it, but they know the kids are getting them on facebook.  Even the tech savvy ones that understand social media’s impact still can’t wrap their heads around it.  So I wanted to write a concise definition that I could pass around to clients, friends, family, etc.  I think this is good.  Any feedback is appreciated.  Cheers!

Social Media and traditional marketing, In or Out?

This isn’t marketing or press in the traditional sense, and thinking of it like that is where a very large disconnect will start to occur.

Print media marketing is highly manipulated brand management, with an “opt out” style of force feeding clients your information.  Most people think of this as spam now.  Billboards, print ads, radio commercials… all mentally tuned out and becoming ineffective.  That media model will always exist, but now….even Tivo makes it so people don’t even *WATCH* commercials anymore, let alone listen to them.  Print will always be around, but the media has effectively stopped working as it did.

Social media, conversely, is where consumers choose to “opt in” to your brand.  What’s more, they control your brand with one social voice, therefore encouraging you to build and maintain a brand that has an ethic, ethos, and intent that the consumer can identify with.  Damage control and retroactive brand management doesn’t work as effectively.

So, social media is not about forcing people to like your brand, but courting those that already do.  100 people interested in your brand are worth much more than the 10,000 print media people that are not.  There are photo sites, mini blog sites, and more where people are talking about you!  Conversation is happening everywhere, and it is important to engage these people as an interested, interactive community member rather than someone just selling something. Consumers will only trust, identify with, and endorse your brand if you are transparent and earnest.

Interested consumers are talking about you all over the world and you need to engage them!!

There is sudden, endless interest on how to instill the labour for a social media person on the property level of a hotel.  But if you look back in my posts, you will be reminded that hotels are not technological innovators, and are typically behind the curve.  Nothing to be ashamed of, as we aren’t in the technology business.  We are the hotel business.  Sometimes, however, it feels like we have been co-opted (Some of us still remember punch card days).

Until we end up back in the “guest ledger on a lazy Susan” days, much of this “social” or “new” media is being thrust toward the marketing and PR firms of hotels, and they are panicked looking for measurable impressions, calculable effect, and readying themselves to be in control of a massive and daunting visual display of graphs, charts, and quantified data.

But data is not readily available, and measurements are confounding at best (Just because we have become comfortable with a tool of measuring impact of dollars spent, doesn’t mean it’s flawless.  For this reason, I still suspect print measurement).

In the end I think “ROI” conversations will fall by the wayside as properties recognize that you simply need to be part of the conversation.  It will be like a “internet concierge”, and just part of your overall labour budget.

Back to the PR people.

It is damning for marketing groups however, because in a world of too much information these poor people just became responsible for so much more – keywords, tags, blogs, videos, user generated content, etc.  Frankly, keeping up with my google alerts is a job within itself.  So I have a empathic concern for marketing groups that will have to hire some Gen Y kid just to watch the stream of internet consciousness…. It is confusing, and overwhelming.  Learning to not waste your time with some, while being hyper-aware of other data… this is the ultimate experience of separating the wheat and chaff, as well as looking for a needle in a haystack the entire time.

New Media and old Marketing have about as much in common as <insert witty dichotomy>, but these companies are still tagged with the responsibility of following this new stream of information.  It is like when a F&B manager is fired, the floor manager fills in the F&B Manager spot… and then what do you have?  You have a floor manager (someone skilled at a specific job) acting as an F&B manager (a totally different job)… you haven’t increased the floor managers salary (limiting incentive to fill the role), but that person becomes taxed/stressed and is doing a job outside their experience level or role.  Such is the path of social media being slopped on top of traditional marketing firms responsibilities.

Until hoteliers, operators, marketing teams, and ownership step back, recognize what social media is, and implement someone who is meant to grow into the role and focus on the online concierge aspects of web 2.0…. owners will be anxious, marketing groups will be taxed and confused, and hotel management will be nervous.

Social media is not Marketing & PR the same way college degrees or public relations have prepared people for.  Giving the job to someone that doesn’t understand it in the hopes of being successful with a campaign, while performing on the job training, is dangerous and we need to move past it.

At least, let’s let them focus on their skill set, while allowing already operating members of the social media conversation to fill in as “online concierge”.  Traditional marketing and PR is changing, but it will never go away.  It will be in flux for some time, and might put a new notch in the belt buckle, but it will always be necessary and vital.  It won’t be, however, the long term mitigator of social media.  This is a slapdash approach to new media, and in time it will move to a property level, corporate/property specific job.

What’s more is that this is an exciting moment in hospitality.  This is new job forming!  How often does that happen?  We have been skilled at getting rid of the labour pool for years (just think of the last time you saw an elevator operator or shoe shine booth).  This new position will be a customer relations specialist , and will be filled by erudite, excited, savvy people that have hospitality’s core beliefs at their forefront:  Be aware of the guests needs, and service them based on those needs.  Whether they are in front of you or not is irrelevant.  It isn’t about controlling your brand, damage control, or PR.  It is about earnest concern about a guest’s reactions, needs, or thoughts.  It is about being real in your conversation with a guest, precisely what much of marketing is not.  To be fair, at least we can lighten the load on these confused firms that overreact to one bad review, or panic because they still don’t “get” twitter.

I look at this as a great opportunity for hotels to transcend the limiting mentality that web 2.0 is all marketing and PR.  It is daunting to be sure, but it is also humbling, fulfilling, and vital to the ethos of your brand, and the core of your offerings.

It’s time to get hip, and it’s time to be real.

Just kidding.  But get past it.  It is no longer an issue of money preventing you from getting to social media.  Because social media, whether you like it or not, is getting to you (yes a double entendre – it is effecting your brand, as well as driving many of us nuts).  So stop pining for hard graphs and data all of us skeptics desire, and realize this is a new concierge and you gotta foot the bill or get eaten up!

Enough scary “make the first sentences interesting nonsense”.  Let’s talk shop.

I really think you can take steps to make *parts* of it measurable… but you will never fully measure it.  Just like print “impressions”.  I never trusted print media and how you measure impressions to begin with.  Forcing your product in front of a face via TV or print ads doesn’t necessarily mean you are doing a good job reaching consumers.  Social media is even more difficult measure.  Ad revenue modeled network sites are not monetizing even the strongest of networks (think youtube, facebook, yelp, linkedin: not one is profitable).

There are so many of these articles about social media and ROI, such as this, this, and this.  They are all fantastic articles to be sure, but I think even talking about ROI might be lofty at this stage.  As much of the massive print media campaign budget moves into the online realm, some of that money can be dedicated to a Social Media Optimizer (SMO or whatever you want to call it), and you utilize that person with the same mentality as a concierge or doorman.  It is someone that provides a face to the hotel, added value proposition, and brands the image in the mind of the guest.  But the person handling your social media needs to be adept and deft.  Hell, I thought I was getting good at this, and I still get overwhelmed with the complexity in how to most appropriately handle responses.

But, the issue isn’t traditional ROI anymore.  The issue is the return on ignoring social media, possibly the return on influence It is about learning what you can about social media.  There are endless fantastic articles out there.  Like this Frause article “It’s okay to be anti-social“, which provide simple, concise explanations for the old school marketers eager to catch up!

But it is obviously not about social media and ROI anymore.  At least, not to the same degree.  Now, it seems there has been an awakening to the necessity of joining in, engaging the consumer, and starting a conversation.

Some say, ENGAGE OR DIE!

I just say that this is a lovely opportunity to really listen to consumers (filtering out the annoying nonsense we all need to ignore)… to really connect, and help your brand identify with the consumers that you want.  It is a fantastic tool that is still in its infancy…. and we should all stay as informed and learning on the way.

So… you can’t ignore it.  And it will cost you more in the long run to not participate in this “happening” where carefully manipulated brand images will become vastly more intricate and complex in their control, while real power has begun to transfer to the consumer for the first time in the history of marketing and advertising.  Actually… it might be the first time the consumer or public has had such a tool to really take back power from an elite class manipulating their own image.

This might be a bit much, but I can say this…. learn, join in, and enjoy!  Let employees on all levels of the property join in as well.  Tell them to post appropriate youtubes videos involving work.  Let them join in and twitter.  Of course front line employees will need to do this back of house, but the more your brand is included in the social media conversation… casually, naturally… without forcing it or being manipulative… the better presence and awareness people will have of your brand.

As for the cost in having someone manage this?  It may be more than a line employee.  It needs to be someone savvy, with the interest of the brand primary in their mind.  From excitement about a guest having a good time, to intelligent damage control, it is likely they won’t be an hourly employee.

There are, of course, talented and incredibly capable hotel social media consultants that can help with this.  Like me!

If you cannot afford anyone in these times (an obvious possibility), you might have to do some late night self training, and start logging into these places and developing yourself as the brand image and take care of it.  If not, it might be possible to distribute the responsibility across management.  Have rooms handle tripadvisor, and the restaurant handle yelp.  Split tasks and quiz the employee population and see who is excited about social media.  The sales assistant or HR rep already logging into facebook during work hours might be that person!

If someone on your staff seems excited, you could possibly get them involved, helping to bolster their identity with the company… resulting in staff retention… which is ROI right there!

Ha I proved it!

Whatever the case… get past the ROI conversation, get involved, be yourself, and have fun!

There is something fairly revelatory about my mother’s new purchase… a Lexus “this is not an SUV” SUV hatchback.  I have zero green commentary, I have zero bourgeois commentary… I have nothing negative to say guys… calm down.  It is a practical car for her needs, the “endless errand running”-”take too much on” go-getter.  That is fine.

What is interesting is that she has owned multiple mercedes’ since her 1990 economy purchase of a Honda Accord.

I don’t think this says anything about Lexus per se… possibly that their online brand was strong.  But what really shook me was that my mom, a NON web 2.0/user generated content/ social media woman actually turned to the net to resolve her ongoing problem with Mercedes.

SO… here is the story of a non web 2.0 user and how she actually used web 2.0:

She first researched her Mercedes dealer and noted the results were incredibly poor.  She then researched her new Lexus dealer, and found striking and positive comments.

(When I say “research”, I mean typing specific, exact keywords in google; then perusing the different sites that popped up, namely Yelp).

She would look through the comments…. recognizing that some people were just extreme, ignorant, bad mouthing, or unhappy.  She actually knew to mentally cull the wheat from the chaff as a matter of unconscious habit.  This is sometimes suggested as a dent in the social review model, in that casual users don’t “get” to filter reviews, so I found it of interest she casually mentioned she was ignoring bad reviews.

She then found a number of places through that same manner, grouped them all together…. and had them directly bid for her business on the exact model she wanted.

I know this sounds deliberate and literal, but these habits are constantly questioned… so I thought I would throw it out there.  It is utterly simplistic, and not a real case study, to be sure….. derrrrrrrrr.

But it is amazing how social media and user generated review sites are becoming relevant even to the completely passive internet users.

Also, not only that it creates an outlet for unhappy clients… but, what’s more, it offers a place for clients to get massive amounts of research and real “case studies” before buying.  Very simplifying for the consumer, and very empowering.

For the strong, pervasive, talented brands as well…. it is an amazing opportunity to have that one to one direct marketing ability… and I mean DIRECT, at your disposal.

As for the weaker brands, don’t pay attention.  Trust me.  It’s scary.  Sorry Mercedes.

[WARNING:  DISGUSTING CYNICISM AHEAD.  I JUST TALK ABOUT IT TO MAKE IT AS TRANSPARENT AS POSSIBLE]

It might be the most important marketing tool in the history of business.  This is what I would like to talk about.  I bailed on facebook a couple months ago as demonstrated here:

http://www.yelp.com/topic/san-francisco-i-just-deleted-my-facebook-account#uGX2fLe0NIteKu_XQVWZhg

http://www.yelp.com/topic/san-francisco-is-facebook-beacon-evil#-NineORULvGb3hM778Ltdg

Well now I need to do it for a couple reasons… one is that it may be killing email.  For real.

http://memebox.com/futureblogger/show/674

http://mashable.com/2007/08/20/facebook-email/

So that is one reason.

But another is because I need to *understand* this thing from a business end.  It is quite rapidly changing so much of business and marketing.

SO…. here I dive deep back into the fray.  I have a couple accounts… one that is for experimenting, one that is me, and one that is a business account.  Here are some things I have noted within the first couple days:

People will friend you because you are a friend of a friend.  This is interesting.  The larger the networks, the better the advertising possibility.  If you could successfully get the contact list of a successful facebooker, the leverage there would be astonishing.  I assume, at some point, you will hear of facebookers selling their contact list to a corporation.  Very unethical, very under the table, and it might have already happened.  Think about the Obama page.

Speaking of Obama, Facebook groups as well as the newer facebook pages are INCREDIBLE.  The marketing potential behind those are epic, and get into a philisophical conversation (more on that soon). I note that many hotels or groups have pages and groups on facebook.  Both are incredible, because it offers an opportunity to directly connect to consumers who *WANT* to be branded.

It is astonishing the level of transparency in regards to consumers… the fact is that advertising is almost expected and welcomed as long as it is witty, impacting, and earnest with its effectiveness while being self aware.  But this leads to a remarkable issue.

Marketing took this default position in the past as creating a rift… or as marketers like to say “need”.  The idea was to create this imperative need in someone, so much so that they might feel less human or capable of competing in their social circle without said product.  Whether it is targeted at the insecurity of growing old, or filling our technolust driven by the marketing machine….  marketing was dehumanizing and robbed people of self worth.  I strongly believe this to this day, but now things are changing.  I am not saying that it grants reprieve to the cynicism embedded in any job that starts with “here… convince people they want this”, but I am saying that it has flip flopped.

The individual is only defined by the brands it wears on its social page.  People define themselves with branding and marketing.  People squirm in their own skin and rejoice at the opportunity to wear Dior, or Persol, or Chanel.  People are voracious to prove they are cool with buttons, patches, labels, logos, and advertising.  Even if it is some modern pop culture subgroup like hipsters or burners, they wear their anti-brand as a brand.  It gets co-opted to a significant degree.  There is a moment you cannot tell if you are talking to someone who started a trend in response to the dehumanizing consumerism, or if they are the response to the marketing trends of consumerism co-opting an explicitly regurgitating this trend.  It has happened with jazz vipers, hippies, punks, and so on.

The startling issue is that the majority of consumers are no longer passively accepting marketing like a car whizzing past a route 66 staggered billboard  ad campaign

The aspect of modern marketing being that consumers are endorsers for your product or brand… WILLINGLY wearing this as if it were an emblem on their clothing.  The Generation Z kids are not only “me me me”, but they are quite willing to leverage their “individuality” for the opportunity to be memetic “endorsers” of products and brands.  Think about that….

The facebook user becomes nothing more than an empty vessel to fill with your marketing efforts.  There is a certain point that the user is solely defined by their brand loyalty that they constantly advertise.  Whether they review a restaurant on yelp, buy something on Amazon, listen to something on Pandora, etc….

It is fascinating, and incredibly important.  In university, my degree in communication went into the idea that information is somewhat autonomous, and the information is the meme, while the human body simply a vessel to transmit these memes.

Think of that…. that information is what is truly alive.  In this sense, brands are what are memetic.  In fact everything is a brand… your name, your facebook or yelp account.  It all ends up representing you and reflecting on you… and people carry this brand image of who *you* are with them.  But what astonished me is that this ethereal, subjective theory could be viable.  I just thought it was something chatted up in dimly lit rooms at 3am over a smoky haze of forced intellectualism.

If facebook (as well as the users themselves through passive acceptance) turns users into “endorsers” or walking billboards (http://www.linkedin.com/answers/marketing-sales/advertising-promotion/advertising/MAR_ADP_ADV/126511-10096762?goback=.ahp), it will be an interesting commentary on what creates our individualism. Are we willfully decieving ourselves into thinking, antithetical to Fugazi’s “You are not what you own” line, what brands we consume is what defines our individuality?

Or is it too late?

We will be happy and focused on the 10 people we know and are happy vacation photos, while all this meta-marketing and meta-advertising is loosely orchestrated in a way that we aren’t even paying attention to.  We will live and die, our facebook profiles will go dormant…

But in 10,000 years, someone might purchase something at Nordstrom’s due to your review.  Or possibly buy Chanel sunglasses because on your spring break you looked… oh…….so…. chic.

Shit Bill Hicks was right.