ITB Hospitality Day: Stars + bloggers - Are guests better hotel testers?
Augsburg/Berlin (January 26, 2007). The most recent review of online hotel evaluation portals even disillusioned Stiftung Warentest (German consumer organisation) last week. Just a single portal convinced the reviewers. Despite this, the fact of the matter is: More and more companies are letting their customers and guests participate in the internet talk animating them to express their opinion. Hotels are increasingly the focus of online evaluations. Will the classic hotel stars fade away? Will laypersons assume the role of professional evaluators? The second "ITB Hospitality Day" on Thursday, March 8, 2007, will bring some transparency to this new dimension. It will bring together performers, critics and those affected onto the stage. hospitalityInside.com will be the media partner of the ITB hotel conference for the second time.
"The stars are fading away; the bloggers are coming. Are guests better hotel evaluators?" is the title of this exciting talk at the end of the second ITB Hospitality Day - after five other discussions (see link at the bottom). A lively discussion can be expected based on those who are participating. There will be two participants from Switzerland with a lot of experience regarding the issue. Dr. Christof Juen, head of the Schweizer Hotelier-Verein (Swiss Hotelier Association), whose members consent to the criticism of their guests on the website of Switzerland Tourism. The second man from Switzerland will be Dr. Axel Jockwer, Head of Marketing at the largest evaluation portal of holidaycheck.de.
Markus Luthe, Managing Director Hospitality of the Hotel Association of Germany (IHA) will bring up a counterpoint: The association is still dissociating itself from this new methodology. The Varta guide, represented by Editor in Chief Gabriele Meichsner, is currently getting used to this issue. A particular hotelier answers the question referring to the influence bloggers have on an individual hotel and other guests: Sepp Stein of Familotel Zum Steinbauer in Bavaria. Susanne Fittkau, Managing Director of Fittkau & Maas, an internet research company, will be the host.
The Americans talk about "consumer generated media", which is a slightly complicated term, and they mean all interactive forums like blogs, discussion forums, websites for reviews or social networks. As regards Germany, the discussion about blogging is mainly focused on the hotel industry and tourism, but with an increasing response: Holidaycheck published more than 160,000 hotel evaluations in 2006. They increasingly stick in the minds of travellers. Before booking, more and more people look for a rating of their dream hotel by lay persons/travellers.
It is precisely here that the discussion and criticism starts. Do the comments represent the reality? Who checks them and above all: To what extent can providers manipulate buying decisions on the grounds of this information? Hotel evaluation platforms animate people to participate out of self-interest: Accordingly, at the turn of the year, a portal rewarded everybody who entered a hotel evaluation with a 25-euro travel voucher. Hotelier Sepp Stein will report at the ITB Hospitality Day about how laypersons have criticised his hotel and how his satisfied guests have reacted to it.
A survey of the market research company Ipsos carried out among 2,200 European Internet came up with the result that roughly 25% believes the comments made with regard to particular products. Such evaluations play a much larger role regarding the buying pattern compared to the blogs of companies, which are trusted just as little as statements by the executive board.
hospitalityInside.com will be the media partner of the ITB hotel conference for the second time. Editor-in-Chief Maria Puetz-Willems will be responsible for the content.
Each ITB visitor can participate in discussions of the ITB Hospitality Day free of charge. The hotel conference will take place on Thursday, March 8, 2007, in hall 7.1a, Saal New York 1. The programme of the entire ITB Hospitality Day can be found by clicking on the link www1.messe-berlin.de where you go to "Convention Program". / map
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