SoLoMo - McDonalds

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1D8XG4Tv98JpzcpMzSgGL1IeHAjaRNQU9r3DRMbDB98s/edit

SoLoMo Nike+

Nike + presentation from ldupontd

Indian hospitality going the green way

The concepts of green hotel and ecohotels are becoming more and more popular in India for the hospitality sector as well as for customers. Indeed, according to a 2011 survey, 66% of Indian travellers prefer environmentally more conscious hotels. What’s more 62% declare that they would agree to pay an additional 10% for hotels with a better environmental commitment than a comparable hotel. Therefore many hotels try to develop new policies to meet these expectations.

A hotel can intervene at three different levels to be considered as green:

•       At the project stage: take care the building has been made according to green principles. It can be certified by the LEED certification.

•        At the policies and procedures level: ensure that daily practices undertaken by the staff of the hotel are eco-friendly. The Ecotel certification can guarantee it.

•  At a broader level: take this message forward to suppliers and guests through the management.

Now it has become more common for hotels to use chlorofluorocarbon-free air conditioners, to harvest rainwater, to tap solar and wind power to become energy-efficient, to recycle waste toiletries by the basin. But a new step can be taken at the third level now, by spreading the importance of the three Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) to the community, and especially to the youngest.

What is the best way to lead the path? One easy and low-cost solution is to encourage guest’s participation, and thus to show him how much he appreciates to be green. For instance, some hotels have eco-button a guest can use to reduce the energy use of the AC or recycling program of bed sheets and towels. It could help hospitality industry to go from late follower to trendsetter in the field of environmental issues.
http://www.indiahospitalityreview.com/features/indian-hospitality-going-green-way

Travelclick

Strategy to increase an independent hotel's direct booking

4 major means to increase direct booking for an independent hotel:

Ø Create your own mobile booking engine : simple and convenient

Ø Increase your visibility by getting more referencement on google and by being present on different platforms like Pinterest, facebook, twitter 

Ø Use OTAS to reach clients you can’t reach by yourself and to make advertisement

Ø Encourage guests to post comments and to visit your website 

95 percent of respondents believe the hotel industry should be taking green initiatives

Having an eco-friendly policy is becoming more and more an important criterion for a business traveller to choose an hotel instead of another. Indeed, according to a 2008 survey, 95% of respondents said that they expected the hospitality industry to take green initiatives and 38% had gathered information to determine if a hotel was green or not. More recently, 42% of business travellers asserted that practices like recycling and energy efficiency were important to them when choosing where to stay. And this figure is getting higher every year.

What impact does it have concretely ?

Well according to Diedrichs of Green Traveler Guides, “ hoteliers are seeing that going green can give them a marketing edge among business travellers ”. And as a result, they set up new practices, like for instance not changing towels or bed sheets every day. But this is not enough though; those practices are indeed too restrictive.

A new step for the hotel industry will be to develop a broader approach of environmental impact of each hotel. We can imagine several paths to go in that direction.

A first interesting strategy would be to give more information to the customer regarding what is done in the hotel and how he can participate to that effort. In that perspective, in some hotels (like the Anantara Bophut Resort in Bophut, Thailand), guests are invited to join programs offered by the hotel to improve the social and environmental awareness of local problems.

Another option is to link sustainability and health consciousness, and thus to include organic food and beverages offerings. It will satisfy the guests’ will to take care of themselves and of the world.

Still a lot needs to be done. There are indeed many customers who complain that they cannot act as green as they would like to. How is this possible? It might be because some hotels are not yet ready to give up practices that are associated with luxury (like having fresh towels every day). But the more demand for green hospitality there will be, and the higher the voice of guests who are in favor of eco-friendly hotels, the sooner the change will happen.

http://sustainability.thomsonreuters.com/2012/11/23/survey-95-percent-of-respondents-believe-the-hotel-industry-should-be-taking-green-initiatives/

Digital IQ

What is meant by Digital IQ ?

Digital IQ ­— or Digital Intellectual Quotient — can be understood as the capacity for a company to use broadly and coherently the whole range of new digital technologies in order to enhance its relationship with its customers. 

In other words, the aim is to integrate new tools in the strategy of a company, giving thus the possibility to interact more with customers and finally to create value out of it.

What are the components of Digital IQ ?

There are four main parts to take into account in the Digital IQ :

·      Mobile à takes into account:

-       the compatibility of the website with mobile phones,

-       the creation of a special application for smartphones to book a room,

-       the use of mobile innovation like SMS, geo-localization…

·      Social Media  à evaluates the presence and implication of a brand on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Youtube in order to share content, give information, gain suscribers and then audience.

·      Website à considers  the effectiveness of a site, so in other words

-       how easy it is to navigate and to book a room on it,

-       how well it is connected to social networks

-       the existence of loyalty program and customer services

·      Digital Marketing à considers efforts that the brands make:

-       to be easily found when using web search engine,

-       to be present on emergent platforms (like Pinterest),

-       to create a newsletter to keep its customers informed,

-       to have banner ads and mentions on diverse blogs.