Thursday 8th April 2010 - Published by Kelly Jackson - Communications Executive
Social Media the solution for struggling hoteliers
Tweets, SEO and word-of-mouth Internet chatter are key to driving repeat business to recession-hit hotels, as one Oxfordshire-based hotelier has found.
After partnering with marketing consultancy, IRUN, the owner of Fallowfields Country House Hotel, Anthony Lloyd, has implemented cost-effective strategies to carry his hotel through the worst of the economic downturn. Social media and communication have been an integral part of the process.
Lloyd said: “If you had asked me 6 months ago what I thought of marketing I would have said it was hit and miss, expensive and often an ineffective waste of money. Having worked with IRUN I now know some of the most effective strategies cost little or nothing. The results speak for themselves.”
Social media is often ignored or overlooked by many hotel chains, but to Lloyd, the development happened naturally.
“The problem for Fallowfields – and I believe, a lot of other hotels, is that no one seemed to know we existed. The solution was relatively straightforward. IRUN put in place tools and systems to collect contact information for guests, and we began to communicate consistently with our audiences to encourage word-of-mouth referrals. These kind of low or no-cost email and social media strategies, as well as SEO, have allowed us to reach our target markets to an extent that we didn’t think was possible.”
To find out more about Fallowfields Country House Hotel, visit: http://www.fallowfields.com
To learn more about IRUN and their strategies for business development, visit: http://www.irunsolutions.co.uk/
Fallowfields Country House Hotel on Page 1 no less than 6 times for Country House Hotel
