Millennial Brand Loyalty and how to not use Social Media in Hotels

Last week’s Hotel Show in Dubai was again a well-attended event, although the conference was a little underwhelming, or at least the TecSec Summit, the technology focused branch of the conference program was.  Generally I believe that great expos have average conferences and vice versa for the

simple reason that each format attracts different types of attendees, so inevitably the part with lesser emphasis will suffer. This was the case for the TecSec Summit which had a great program but suffered from bad accoustics and a lack of a dedicated conference manager who would keep time and more effectively moderate the audience-speaker interaction.

Millennials in the Middle East are different – buy why?

Nonetheless, there were a number of interesting presentations worth battling the ambient noise for. Millennials featured in more than just one presentation and while the general consensus is that this new dominant demographic is picky and demanding, a presentation from Google pointed out that unlike their peers elsewhere in the world, Millennials in the Middle East are very brand loyal.

Why? According to Google, the Millennials in the ME are not quite as sophisticated when it comes to brands but will catch up soon. 

Really? In a region that has become synonymous with brand shopping and conspicuous consumption and boasts large membership of social networks it seems a little far-fetched to blame a lack of sophistication. It would be welcome to get a greater perspective here, as the results may also provide a better understanding of brand loyalty in this demographic in general. I hope the good folks at Google take up the mantle and dig a little deeper here (the essence of the Google presentation can be found here).

Big Data or Big Brother?

Another big topic was Big Data and how hoteliers can use it to their advantage. It’s a topic close to my heart, as IPTV systems by nature can reveal a lot of information about guests through their in-room entertainment system usage. However, most hotels today tend to just look at general statistics, rather than ‘customising’ a guest’s experience.

Copyright Pauline Siebers

Social media is at another level of course and it is tempting to look at the data available surrounding travelers on the net as this big, easily mined pot of gold, ready to be exploited. But just how dangerous it is to approach this topic without a sound strategy and thorough research was evident in the TecSec panel discussion on this topic.

It’s all fair and well to engage with guests on Twitter and Facebook but what about using guest data from social networks to customise his/her visit? Where to draw the line between usefulness and invasive creepiness? Sadly, the panelists only had shrugs rather than enlightened answers, which is a shame, as this question had come up in other sessions of the conference (it does help to attend some other sessions than just your own to get a feel for what is top of mind).

While some people may find it a ‘wow’ factor when the hotel spots from my various social media sites that I like Hello Kitty and stacks my guest room with references to them, an equal amount may find it very creepy and will feel they have been stalked and run a mile, never to be seen at that hotel ever again. The problem is that you may not glance from my online profiles to which camp I belong.

The rather limp response from the panelists was to adopt a ‘trial and error’ approach, which I doubt any hotelier would risk, less a bad experience not only repels one guest, but also presumably his/her 10,000 twitter followers.

Those advocating these purportedly ‘tailored’ initiatives really want an algorithm that neatly takes care of seeking out the info and delivering the right call to action to the hotel for fulfilment. But, as much as culture, conditioning and commerce have forced us into certain stereotypes that behave more or less predictably, there is a core individualism inherent in us that spoils the party for those who want us all to ‘like’ the same thing. And thank heavens for that, too.

Don’t get me wrong, I think data mining could play a much bigger role, especially when determining which pages/services/offers are more popular than others, what content is looked at how often, to better the experience etc. But hotels understand very well that there is a creepiness factor and are mindful of not straying too far into their guests’ privacy.

Beware the 'Beacon' Effect

For now, and unless there is a more solid, empirical approach to this, I believe the most productive way to mine the social media data is to look out for broad trends, rather than individual targeting. Yes, it means business cannot use all that fabulous data out there but as even Facebook learned with their disastrous ad platform Beacon, which resulted in a class action law suit and was eventually scrapped, we are not quite ready yet to accept being completely manipulated.

Big Data and Millennials dominate regional Hotel Events

Autumn is convention and exhibition time in Asia which of course also includes a smattering of hospitality related events. I attended two: the China Hospitality Technology Alliance Conference (CHTA) in Beijing and the HotelManagement and Technology conference in Jakarta. The CHTA is the China equivalent of HTNG and has managed, in its sophomore year, to stage a slick event that pulled in a lot of big names to lend it some heft.

Standout topics for me were how to manage your OTA relationship (answer: they're here to stay so you better get your strategy right and if you rely 80% on them you are doing something wrong), whether the days of charging for things in the hotel room are over (a resounding yes) and how does big data impact hotels (in every way!).

Big Topic: Big Data

After the session on the latter, the instant WeChat poll of the audience on what info was most important to glean from big data clearly pointed to hotel guests' behaviour during their stay. And rightly so: from improving service to streamlining operations, data on guest behaviour is key for hotels moving forward. The airline industry, as always, is a few steps ahead when it comes to this topic. In a recent report by the FT, Wifi speeds, flexible screen based technology and in-flight entertainment systems featured were named as the key areas where airlines focus their efforts to innovate. "Expect personalised in-flight entertainment experiences, whereby a seat knows who you are before you sit down and what you watched last time," the article quoted one industry specialist. To a degree, it is possible to implement something similar in hotels today as well - provided guests use the same loyalty number to check in the same hotel brand. From building your own TV channel list and saving it for next time, to preferences for in-room dining, big data can facilitate a much more personalised experience which will help with differentiation and brand loyalty. But, as I said before, both airlines and hotels need to carefully manage their guest/passenger data in order to not appear too Big Brotherish which will be a turnoff for many people.  

How will Millennials impact Hotel Brands?

The Jakarta event in November was equally well organised and attended. What caught my attention during the conference was what appears to be a bit of an identity crisis between the plush established 5-star brands and the new, three star kids on the block, such as Tune Hotels.

While the latter promoted its 'cheekier' image explicitly to attract Millennials, Tune's COO Frank Trampert was quick to point out that his hotel chain was aiming at a much broader audience. Similarly, when asked what they would do to attract the Millennial travelers, the representatives of Mandarin Oriental, Fairmont and the like gave rather disappointing answers, mainly praising how their marketing team have embraced social networking techniques.

This very much looked like to me as if currently the hotels at either end of the spectrum expect Millennials to go through a transition from the Tune-style cheekiness to the traditional 5-star hotel brand - pretty much how things have progressed mostly for the past decades as travelers transition from cheap backpacking as students to sophisticated travel as they become established and affluent. While this may still happen, something tells me that this new generation of connected travelers are more likely to shake up this expectation which may have radical consequences on hotels' positioning and design. Watch this space.