The Facebook Tourism Platform & Hotel Bookings Widget

Facebook is clearly intent on becoming a force in travel marketing. Some of its biggest Fan bases now come from hotels, destinations and tourism operators.

Amongst Destination Authorities Australia leads with over 1 million Facebook Fans. New Zealand has 280,000 Fans, Spain has over 250,000. (Research by wayn.com).

Many Online Travel Agents (OTA's) like Expedia and Travelocity have Facebook e-commerce pages as do several Hotel Chains including Trump Towers and Hilton Hotels. Small Hotels also have Facebook Pages and some are now adding the new 3rd party Facebook booking applications and widgets. Car Rental Comapies, like Budget, are big advocates of Facebook as are the Airlines and just about every form of tourism.

At the same time Tourism Operators are finding it takes a lot of work to build and maintain their Facebook Pages, Groups and Events. Small hotels, particularly, are questioning the value. It takes full time dedication to load content, manage changes and engage in the conversation, to answer questions, issues and engage with Fans.

Several marketing consultants are telling brands to get their clients of Facebook as soon as possible because it lacks a solid call to action and is no place to persuade and close the deal.

Alan Kersley – Managing Director of TravelAffinity recently said "I personally don’t think that Social Media today presents much opportunity for direct Sales. It also requires careful thought about what to post/tweet and lots of time and effort to make good use of the media. It should be seen as part of the overall marketing mix."

Josiah Mackenzie says "perhaps the most powerful argument I hear against using Facebook is that is doesn’t reach people in the decision making stage of the travel planning process. This is something you must consider carefully if you are starting a brand-new Internet marketing campaign with limited resources. You may get a higher return on investment by focusing on online reputation building and search marketing".

Contrast that with Dan Sherman, Director of Marketing Communications at Ski.com. Dan credits Facebook with $70,000 US direct booking for his ski tours. Facebook he says is great for PR. Its "engaging in my opinion – it lets you have more of a dialog with more people in one place". And "Advice from strangers on TripAdvisor is great, but people really trust their own circle of friends".

There are other success stories. Budget Car Rental measured an increased spend of $500,000 US and 1 million unique visitors to its landing pages with its Facebook marketing campaign. Chris Noble of World Nomads says that Facebook channel, generates 20 to 25 percent of World Nomads total revenue. AirAsia says 12% of their traffic to their site is via Facebook and this is growing. AirAsia did advertise their Facebook pages on other channels, so this is not all natural search results.

The Fact is that Facebook is the most visited site in the world and the trends are that this will continue. More people are searching for Facebook related terms than for Google or YouTube.

If it is hard to measure the Return On Investment (ROI) of Faceboook as a Travel and Tourism Platform, it is because the tools to measure this are not widely available, known or used.

If Facebook is not resulting in Direct Sales it may be because hotels and tourism companies are not using the right technology. To generate direct sales, Facebook Tourism Pages must be a integral part of an interactive social travel shopping platform.

If Facebook is not working for you it may be because you are not engaging with your Facebook Fans in the right way!

Building a Facebook Page to engage fans has much merit. Chris Nobel says 'it is necessary to build an active community around your brand, to tap in to what what makes them tick as a group'. To connect you need to be clear about Why and How you do What you do and communicate this in terms that designate with like minded people.

First ask Why: Simon Sinek in his inspiring talk, the golden circle (video above), points out that our goal is to do business with people who believe what we believe. Social media is first about why, because people group together along lines of belief and disposition.

Travel Shoppers demand more!. Once you get past why, you need to show what you do in a way that is fully transparent, immediate and real. Facebook travelers want to see what packages and specials are available, what other activities are in the area, what events are taking place for there expected holiday dates and what it will cost. They want to be able to cost out a travel holiday for a family and compare it with other options and other hotels.And they want to see what their friends and friends of friends have to say about their own experinces in the destination, at the hotel and with tourism operators there.

Closely related to the what is How you do it. How you do things on Facebook and the process you use is an essential indicator of who you are and how you conduct business. Fans do look to see how you reply to comments and how you present your information, options, rates and your brand.

Social Media has turned the old paradigms of marketing upside down. The P's of marketing have moved from Place, Price, Product, Package and Promotion to People, Passion, Partners, Platform and Process.

The Tourism Platform and Process for Facebook is an open, integrated solution that makes e-commerce a socially engaging and personal. It is a traveler centered process that combines dynamic packaging, instant quotes, shopping lists and cost comparisons across multiple properties. It will have seamless options to query, review, save, share and integrate the latest knowledge and to book, cancel or change a booking or an itinerary at anytime.

A number of hotel and tourism Booking Engines now have Facebook extensions including booking widgets that can be installed on Facebook pages. While this is not a Social Tourism Platform, it is a start. Facebook Fans want useful social information delivered directly to them within their own Facebook environment, where they can share and involve others. They expect to be engaged and want to be persuaded, not sold. Spin, hype, promotions and links to external sites are not effective. Sales messages don't work says Dan Sherman, 'I use Twitter to generate leads' he notes, 'Facebook is where you engage with your guests'.

Facebook is a Brand friendly channel bypassing the middleman (OTAs and Tour Operators). Facebook Pages talk direct to your target audience. You are in full control of your message, services and how you choose to do business. You are in control of your Brand and your product..

There are many excellent applications that can plug your hotel and tourism operation into the Facebook Experience, adding e-commerce that is engaging, interactive, fun and rewarding for Facebook Fans.

Do
1. Do Post your products and special Fan prices on Facebook
2. Do Create value added applications - like quote, shopping, bookings, sharing
3. Do Post relevant information, like events and special occasions
4. Do Link your website to Facebook pages- add the like button to your website
5. Do encouraging guests to produce online content with comments and group discussions.
6. Do link to photographers, bloggers and Fans who have covered your property

Don't
1. Don't Post Sales messages with a lot of hype
2. Don't overdo posts. People will turn you off in their news-feeds
3. Don't treat Facebook as an Extension of your website. It is a separate channel with special capacity and needs.
4. Don't ignore Fans comments, Pages and Groups
5. Don't display a 'what' oriented brand message, focus on the why to connect with like minded people
6. Don't ignore the Process. How you do what you do is integral to who you are.

What you should expect from a Tourism Marketing Platform

1. Allow Fans to get instant quotes on holidays for families and add your products to their wish list. Allow Direct Bookings of rooms and activities without agent involvement, no commission, no transaction fees.
2. Content Management System that easily loads and manages all units, rates, seasons, images, description and hotel/tourism brand message tailored to Facebook.
3. Offer Special rates and packages for Facebook Fans and loyal guests.
4. Publish and manage multiple rates and offers in multiple markets on any media.
   
5. Integrate with your own website so that you manage rates and messages consistently, letting your website be an extension of your Facebook marketing.
6. Integrate with your mobile marketing. Your booking engine should have a smart phone version. Several Booking Engines now publish and market directly to mobile travellers.