Lessons in Hotel Reputation Management: Connection
Several weeks ago I talked about the connection between reputation management and approachable hotel managers. A recent post on Bill Marriott’s blog brought this back up for me.
Bill Marriott was ahead of his time when he started blogging, I think he says it was six years ago. It was a new move for the CEO of one of the biggest companies in the world to be putting himself out there. Just the act of personally writing his own blog put a softer face on a corporate giant. It reminded people that, despite the international preponderance of buildings with Marriott signs, the company is more than concrete. It is a family business.
Mr. Marriott lost his son in late June, and he wrote a tribute on his blog. What a nice tribute. That’s how his blog reads… not as publicity, just as communication. As I read the post, I considered how cathartic it must be to write about your child’s life, and how painful. We had a human connection in that moment. Isn’t that what it’s all about?
I bring this up to suggest that in case you don’t feel you have time to blog, and I’m sure you don’t, maybe it’s worth carving out the time anyway. With apps allowing us to do everything from checking in to ordering room service (see my last blog), there are fewer and fewer personal connections at hotels. And that’s what hotel reputation management is, ultimately. Connection.
