Hotels are one of the many businesses whose websites and online reputation are extremely important to their overall success. Indeed, hotels spend millions each year on online reputations, websites, online advertising, etc. One very important part of the Hotel business is paying attention to online reviews.

It used to be that Trip Advisor was the only major player in hotel reviews, however, consumers now have many other ways to vent frustrations or express positive experiences – and they’re all online on their phones accessing social media platforms.

Two consumer trends are converging in the hotel review process.  The first one is the adoption of Smart Phones as a primary communication tool and the second is the ‘immediacy’ consumer, one that wants to communicate their experiences and touch their communities in the ’now’.   Neither of these trends are going away.   eMarketing predicts that mobile and Smart Phones are going  to double in the next two years.  (12/19/09)

Consumers can update their social network pages via the apps that are available on their phones.  They can push out Tweets on Twitter and post to their Facebook wall the experiences  they have. They can also access review sites like Yelp to immediately post comments.

It is certainly true that reviews are easier than ever to post and more visible than ever before. This is why it is so incredibly important to get out ahead of these problems and be proactive. If you must be reactive, though, the online reputation management industry certainly can help.

http://www.4hoteliers.com/4hots_fshw.php?mwi=5083