By Liz Craig

When hoteliers and internet marketing folks start to discuss the value of a hotel blog, you hear lots of tech talk about visibility in search engines, the importance of social networks and so on.

All of which is true. But it misses the point which is at the heart of hospitality.

Blogs are an opportunity to have a conversation with a customer, to express the property’s personality and convey a passion for interests associated with the hotel’s locale.

In short, a successful hotel blog is like a successful dinner party – guests converse, make delightful discoveries, are amused, feel included and look forward to the next get together.

Let’s face it, hotel websites, by necessity, are a collections of facts, maps, menus and photos – more akin to a product catalogue than a conversation with a customer. Blogs can compensate with frequency of ‘new news’, imaginative inclusion of ‘beyond-the-guidebook’ events and attractions and leave a visitor with the feeling ‘I want to go there’.

Hotel blogs that only promote their own product or agenda are like guests at a dinner party than can only speak about themselves – boring.

While the technology exists to measure the impact of a blog:

• How many visitors
• How many comments
• How many links in others’ blogs to the hotel blog

The real measure is more elusive and that is – the power of affinity. People frequent restaurants where they feel comfortable, recognised. Similarly, a blog can convey the hotel’s ambiance and attitude prior to a guest ever setting foot in your lobby. The feeling of ‘I belong there’ is persuasive when choosing a hotel or restaurant.

This ability to project personality and passion empowers a hotel to stand apart from the competition and, further, be distinguished from the bland, overused verbiage characteristic of descriptions on the big portal sites.

So, yes, an active blog, crosslinked with your main site, will reach more searchers using a greater variety of search terms.

Yes, an active blog will get quoted in others’ blogs, reaching their audiences as well.

Yes, an active blog can attract partners, contributors and comments in a way that websites cannot.

But is a hotel blog worth the time, energy and investment?*

In this digital age of self check in, concierge kiosks and the like, the essence of hospitality can be lost, the personal touch, welcoming communication, the delight of satisfying a customer.

A blog is a creative canvas, an opportunity to experiment … if curated with care and attitude, a hotel blog connects with guests in a uniquely personal way … in a way that is not measured by bookings alone.

Ready to inject hospitality spirit into digital? Ready to give it a try? There is a plethora of excellent ‘how-to’ advice online.

Some blogs that embrace a hospitality attitude:

Opus Hotel Blog
Hotels Paris Rive Gauche
Happy Hotelier

* I often hear ‘we don’t have the budget’. Reframe the issue ‘how do I finance this effort?’…but that is a story for another time.

Many thanks to Carl-Peter Echtermeijer for seeking my opinion on blogging.

About Liz Craig

Liz Craig, President and founder of OneglobeNetwork, an interactive agency that provides online and mobile marketing services, strategic business consulting, cutting-edge website production, fully enabled by proprietary processes and web based technologies.