Catfishing Lessons for Hoteliers

This is a guest blog post by Evelyne Oreskovich, President and Founder of HER (Hospitality Evolution Resources)

I don’t know about you, but until last year I’d never heard of “Catfishing”.  Yes, I’d heard the word; but I thought it meant fishing for catfish.

Now I understand it has another definition: Pretending to be someone you’re not, using social media outlets to create a false identity, usually for the purpose of making yourself more attractive to someone in order to entice them into a relationship.

Hmmm… sounds like some hotels I know.

For as long as I’ve been in the industry, marketers have routinely “fluffed” descriptions of properties, rooms and amenities on brochures, GDS and other mediums to really make you want to come there. Of course we all want attractive images of our rooms, lobby, facilities and outlets on our sites and distributed to OTAs and others.  Likewise with good reviews from happy guests.  That’s like dying our hair, putting on makeup and wearing spanx when going out on the town.  Not exactly creating a false persona… it’s putting “our best foot forward”.

But what some hotels are doing now is just plain… well … Catfishing.

In the hospitality realm, what is done largely tend to be innocent attempts to just clean up the look – “staging” a room or restaurant instead of showing the plain one you’ll experience, sexy models posing by the pool.  I get it.  But others really take it too far.

We’ve become accustomed to airbrushed photos in many areas.  Magazine publishers routinely airbrush models to make them look taller, thinner, clear up skin blemishes, make longer hair, change eye color, etc.  What some hotels are doing goes beyond creative cropping or angles to make rooms and facilities look much larger.  They are adding a view that isn’t really there, airbrushing or cropping out unsightly obstacles or buildings nearby, some images can infer a location that is not really where the hotel actually is.

How many hotels have you seen post pictures on their site and on social media that you know are completely misleading?  Some even pay people to write amazing reviews of fictitious stays at their hotel or negative reviews for their neighbor which they post on social media and review sites to boost their score and entice guests.  But is the inevitable disappointment on their arrival really worth the bad rap they’ll get afterward?

The proliferation of this practice is so great, there has developed a cottage industry to lay bare “catfishing” within the hospitality community.  Oyster.com brings you “Photo Fake-outs” comparing the property’s site pictures alongside their reviewers’ images; TripAdvisor is full of travelers shots shown next to the professional (retouched) photo.  In fact they now routinely label the image as either “professional photo” or a “traveler’s photo” to help viewers make informed decisions.  Professors and students at Cornell University developed software that can detect fake reviews on sites.  A recent study estimated that between 6-8% of reviews are professionally written – i.e. fake.

So it begs the question - In this digital age, how far can hotels really go without expecting to be outted?

What do you think are hotels risking by catfishing?

About the Author:

Evelyne Oreskovich commenced her Hospitality career in 1982 working as a Central Reservations Manager when automated systems were just starting to be implemented.  That first role set the stage for more than three decades of accomplishments in the global Hospitality Industry advancing to senior executive roles and her commitment to staying at the forefront of technology and innovative thinking.

As a founding member of HEDNA, the Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association, Evelyne has been instrumental in cultivating education and advancement in the electronic distribution landscape.  With significant experience in chain level and property level reservations, sales, marketing, and operations for lodging properties throughout the US, Asia and Europe, Evelyne brings practical and first-hand knowledge to the clients of HER.

Today as founder of HER, Evelyne enjoys an outstanding track record of success in a diverse range of lodging business segments.  HER clients benefit directly from her experience in the selection, implementation and management of reservations and distribution systems; management of sales and marketing; project management; and strategic planning.  Evelyne’s ability to analyze an operation, identify needs and implement solutions designed to yield increased profits and improved productivity has proven to be a great asset for our clients.  Evelyne’s diverse experience as well as her understanding of North American, European and Asian markets and cultures fosters an environment of positivity and collaboration that effectively bridges the gaps between Management, Operations, Technology, and Sales & Marketing for our clients globally.