Fortune Favours The Bold

Photo by Punkmedia.nl (License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic)

It’s no secret that ‘social media’ is one of the hottest items out there right now. Just take one look at the fourth year ITMC board at the NHTV to find all the theses subjects relating to social media. Not so surprising thus that social media also had a masterclass dedicated to it at the Dutch Tourism Expo. This ‘Innovatielab masterclass’ was organised about how the hospitality industry can use new media to reach the international tourist (Innovatielab is an initiative by NBTC, HSMAI and the NHTV).

Madelaine van der Vorst (fellow ITMC student) and I had not registered for the masterclass and it was completely booked but we decided to try and get in anyway. Fortune favours the bold and we talked our way past the reception desk quite easily by sayingwe wanted to write about the Masterclass. The receptionist wrote our names down and said we could go in if others wouldn’t show. However, when the doors to the auditorium opened, there was no one from management in sight, Madelaine and I slipped in, took a seat and, after what seemed forever, the doors closed and the masterclass started. We’d made it!

The most important conclusion from the presentation by José Nieuwhof (manager Research at the NBTC) was that travellers are ready for the newest developments when it comes to social media but that the hospitality industry is actually behind and could participate (interact) much more. Social media is NOT new; it is just word of mouth on a much bigger scale. I took special interest in the conclusions about mobile use by travellers. Thirty-five percent of smarthpone users have the intention to book a trip via their mobile next year. And during domestic holidays thirty-five percentof all travellers logs in to a social network via their laptop (51%), smartphone (23%) or internet-enabled mobile phone (23%). Reviews can make or break you and with this many people accessing the internet when on holiday this has a huge influence on the industry.

The presentation by Marco Derksen (MarketingFacts.nl) started out with a nice little insight. He asked the room how many people had recently responded to direct mail, who looked something up in the yellow pages or who bought something after having heard about it via radio/television. Almost nobody raised their hand. Then he asked who’d bought something after a search on Google or through recommendations via Social Media and almost everyone raised their hand. The difference was obvious and therefore his next question all too right: why then does the industry still spend 80% on the traditional advertising channels and only 20% on the internet? Something to think about.

He gave numerous examples of the online possibilities of social media. Ranging from the well-known like Hyves to the unknown like Topguest. Another example we are all likely to remember is the NS disaster in Utrecht in November last year. Through Twitter people were better informed then through the NS website. Pictures were online and tweets being sent, and the NS was lost somewhere in the middle.

Derksen argued “Social ranking will rule” and not only because websites such as Zoover and Tripadvisor have become so important but also because Google has started using social media in order to help rank websites. He gave helpful tips for those in the industry; if you’d like to read more, please see his presentation.

Madelaine and I spent the rest of the afternoon talking to various companies about online and mobile marketing. We had great talks with RCN, TUI, Kras, Djoser and Kuoni. Almost everyone was very happy to talk to us, only Van Der Valk hotels dismissed us pretty much immediately. It was good to do a bit of networking and learn about these companies’ strategies. Many have an online strategy but only one had a mobile version of their website online. It confirmed what had been said by José Nieuwhof in the morning; the public is ready but companies are behind. With KLM being one of the few Dutch travel companies in social media that actually ‘get it’ and have great social media promotions like KLM surprise.

All in all the day was a success. We met lots of new people, gained great contacts and even talked about possible jobs here and there. For an ITMC student the Dutch Tourism Expo is a great experience and not just for all the new things learned and people met; they also have the best Whiskey tastings. Definitely something not to be missed!

Paula Heesbeen
ITMC – 4^th year
@paulalatifa on Twitter
www.paulalatifa.nl