Digital Marketing for hospitality Session 1

Hotel Digital Business development

Business Growth Marketplace

What is "generation C"?

We can say that generation C is us!!!! More precisely, we can say that generation C represents people whose priorities are creation, connection, community and curation. If we want to be more precise again, we can say that people belonging to generation C are between 18 and 35 years old and especially those who use internet and technological devices (not only to browse information but to share and discuss online).

The Youtube generation:

The famous "youtube generation" (because now it's really famous!) refers more or less to the same age group, between 18 and 35 years old, but if we qualify a generation as a "youtube generation" it's especially because it refers to a group of people who daily use internet and youtube in particular. Youtube is a kind of "magic element" for people passionated by internet! It is a kind of alternative TV with other positive elements: people themselves can create their own content and share it. Nowadays, we can notice that some people became famous thanks to their videos and content. Ex: "Norman fait des videos", "La ferme Jérôme"...

The Millennials:

Beginning by demographic data again: "Millennials" refer to people born in the 80s to 2000s. How to find them??? go on a cyber coffee for example!! More seriously, what makes them so different from the other age groups is their impressive and CRAZY use of technology on a daily basis. Millennials can not live a day without Internet.

What are the characteristics of the Millennials?

Some words to describe them (according Morley Safer from an CBS News article, 2008): they are "self-centered", they absolutely need recognition and do not tolerate any kind of criticism. They are creative but really impatient and sensitive!! (more than usual!)

In 2014, CNN said: Millennials are less loyal to their country, to a religion. Because of the economic background, and high rates of unemployment, they trust less. They are however very optimistic about having enough monetary resources for their entire lives.

Knowing that.... What can be their expectations for travel and hotels? 

A little list to describe their expectations:
- some services for granted (free wifi, and different other services in each room)
- a large range of services made available to them, to attract them more and more since we know they don't want to develop their loyalty to some brands anymore.
- Expectations for travel usually are personalized custom-made service, and hotels are supposed to own the latest technology to satisfy them!

How are they different from current customers?

We can summarize the difference by joking: concerning the use of technology and internet, maybe millennials exaggerate a lot!!!! If we want to make a comparison...it's like we offer a glass of champagne to a woman, and after, she wants a dinner!

Current consumers use internet to travel, book their trip whereas millennials will go further and use their pads, phones and any kind of new technological elements to realize for example online check-in, communicate with other hotel guests and share their experience AND create their own content.

For me, the picture which describes the best "generation C" is the picture of a baby using a phone, a computer...at the same time. That means that Internet overcomes us even we are young...maybe not a baby but this picture is quite ironic to show off the fact that Internet is like a "virus" that can contaminates anyone!

Hotels targeting Millennials:

"citizenM is a new breed of hotel now in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Glasgow, London and New York, and coming soon to Paris and a city near you. citizenM welcomes the mobile citizens of the world- the suits, weekenders, explorers, affair-havers and fashion-grabbers looking for boutique hotel accommodations. So if you travel with an open mind, a love of free movies on demand and free WiFi, come in and take a room tour. The inspiration hungry: meet citizenMag, our lifestyle magazine. The gung ho: jump straight to reservations" 

CitizenM is super for Millennials in that it directly insists on FREE WIFI being available, as free movies on demand. The good point concerning this hotel is that they are targeting tech-savvy individuals, open-minded i.e. less likely to be loyal to a brand, more curious to find and try out new hotel brands.

Radisson RED:

"RED is more than an idea. We are re-interpreting the guest experience, starting with the wow: the sense of arrival is a gallery, it's artistic, energetic, proactive and welcoming. And the rooms match - stylish and multi-functional - where the walls are a canvas for movies, for art, for work. There's a great bar and deli, simple food done really well, all truly connected. Space to work, space to work out, space to play, shop, browse, admire, mingle - space to simply be."

As CitizenM, Radisson RED shows off their desire to meet the needs  of a HIGH CONNECTIVITY. But if we organize a "fight": CitizenM vs Radisson RED...Radisson Red is winning! WHY? because Radisson Red goes one step higher given that it also offers a friendly space to be and mingle, which are other charateristics of the Millennials: "they crave the cool factor", are "social animals" and "like to be alone, together" (source: CNN)

The problem is that sometimes, when hotel carries too much on being artsy and creating a "cool factor", they can sometimes being lost and miss the point. It is what happened to Radisson Red, which so far has not been very popular online.

Thank you for reading!! So, now look at the comments!!

Session 4

How Ryan Air should have addressed the social media crisis? 

1. Be informed of that Facebook post
Indeed, Rayan should have been more present on the social media in order to prevent, or at least respond, to such a comment that really create a crisis for the brand. The PR manager should have been more focus on the social media, simply because this is nowadays the fastest and cheapest way people can communicate with each other all around the world.

2. Answer the guest and act quickly
In that case, the comment written by the guests cannot just be ignored because there is an unfair feeling from her, that can easily be spread to many other people in the world. For that reason, Ryan Air should not have ignored it but should have replied it as fast as possible.

3. Apologize
Even if the guest is wrong, he is the one who have the power and can decide if he will choose them. If Ryan Air is right, customers will see in their explanations that they did their best. Even if it is clear on the contract, asking for such an amount of money just to print some papers is completely crazy and understandable for customers. For this reason, apologizing towards the woman is crucial for the brand.

4. Involve the community
It is important to remember that it is not a 1 to 1 conversation. The discussion is on an open wall and Ryan Air should have gave apologizes to Suzie and at the same time all the Ryan Air community.

5. Offer a compensation
Posting a reply is not enough in that case. I think that Ryan Air should offer a compensation to that woman (such as an upgrade for her next flight with the company, or free luggages). Indeed, those items are expensive. That is why, offering one of them to the woman will definitely be appreciate by the customer and the readers.

6. Use appropriate words
It is important to talk differently on social media than a press article for example. They have to be more relax and closer to the customers. The customer needs to be placed as a good friend using their services.

7. Make sure this problem will not happen again 
If it occurs a second time, customers and readers will definitely see that Ryan Air does not take care of their customers and just apply the contract rules. For this reason, the company must ensure that something in the contract with the customers will be reviewed to avoid such a problem in the future.

8. Make a public announcement
It is very important for the company to make it public. If it does not, the customer will do it by herself and it can turn into a real reputation disaster. Maybe, in addition to Facebook reply, they can post something on the website by explaining the problem and how they dealt with it. Indeed, doing such a thing will calm down the customers because they will see that the company "hears them" and does the best to solve this issue.

9. Display comments on the website
I suggest that Ryan Air offer the possibility for customers to write public comments on the website. In that sense, both negative and positive comments will be displayed, creating transparency and trustful relationship between customers and the company.

10. Thank the customer
Indeed, the company must thank the customer for having shared her opinion because it means that she does care about Ryan Air, thus thanking her will encourage her to still choose this airline company in the future. In addition, Ryan Air should apologize again and monitor the Facebook post in order to prevent any additional issues linked to the initial problem.