Luxury hotel chains are being urged to use social media to help differentiate themselves and capture loyalty.
Hospitality and leisure consultants Deloitte have issued a new report highlighting the need for brand awareness.
“The websites of many top end hotel chains are currently difficult to distinguish from one another, with relatively similar messaging,” said Robert Bryant, global lead consulting partner, tourism, hospitality and leisure at Deloitte.
“We believe that much greater differentiation will be needed over the next five years to capture the loyalty of the luxury traveller.”
He said embracing social media will be key to success in brand management.
“The transparency of social media will highlight any inconsistencies in the delivery of the brand, and will provide a quick and enriching communication channel between brand and consumer.
“The most successful brands will be those that embrace and learn to harness social media rather than underestimate or fight against its influence.”
He said apart from differentiation, consistency remains a challenge for luxury brands.
“A positive experience can influence consumers to seek out the same brand when travelling to a new location; a negative experience can stop them going back to the same brand. Experience generally outweighs reputation and brand promise.”
By Bev Fearis
