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I left a tourism group meeting a while back somewhat depressed as it seemed to me that a sea-change had taken place and that new attitude seemed to be, “we can’t move forwards until those at the very back have caught up with us.” I suspect this is a somewhat familiar feeling for those of you that work in DMOs and was especially disappointing to me as there has always been an emphasis within the group on being dynamic, entrepreneurial and unafraid of technology.
To my mind, this attitude is not one of caution or inclusion. It is rather one of unwitting slow suicide.
The image on the right is a reprint of an advert that appeared in the Wisden Almanack in the 1920s (possibly earlier?). You’ll notice that all three establishments have had this new-fangled device installed called the telephone so that you can make bookings and inquires. You also notice that they sell themselves on the fact that there are ‘electric lights and bells throughout’ and no charge for attendance or lights.
The point I am making in pointing to this is that lights, telephones, internal communications mechanisms are now taken for granted in hotels. They are not optional extras. And in the same way, modern standards of service are not optional extras – they are as fundamental as electric lights and telephones.
As a colleague recently said, “I don’t expect to pay for my towels so why should I be expected to pay for WiFi?”
So, to my mind, it would be ridiculous as a DMO to overly indulge a bed and breakfast owner who was losing bookings because he wasn’t sure about having a phone line. Put brutally, he would deserve to go out of business because his business model was fundamentally flawed (note that I’m not talking here about isolation holidays or that kind of thing).
And in the same way, tourism businesses that are unsure whether they should
- respond to email enquiries;
- have a professional website;
- have online booking; or
- attempt to understand what travel 2.0 involves;
should feel the chill winds of the current climate and either step up to the plate or make way for someone who does understand these modern business fundamentals.
You might think this is an exaggeration – surely it is only a minority now who act like this? Maybe so but I fear its a larger minority that we sometimes suspect (I speak only of the UK here) and there sometimes seems excessive attention paid to their concerns which frankly seem more like indulgence that encouragement. My recent experience suggested that this was at the cost of those who had made moves to improve their businesses through adoption of these fundamentals and who now needed that little extra advice to take it to an even higher and successful level.
Whenever I am in North America, I am often impressed at how hard many travel companies work to earn your dollars. There is often a level of intelligence and aspiration that, whatever the level of the product, signals a more grown-up market with big aspirations. However, while they look to the stars, it seems that we are too often left staring at the floor.
Perhaps I’m being unfair here – let me know how I am wrong!
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on Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 at 8:16 am and is filed under Future trends, National tourism strategy, Opinion, Public policy, Training, Travel 2.0.
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25th September, 2008 at 3:48 am
I think you’re right on the money! On a recent trip to San Antonio, Texas, I was pleased to discover that Wi-Fi was free in the lobby, restaurant, and lounge, and that they provided several wired PCs in their business center that allowed for complimentary Internet access, but when it came to the room I was paying to stay in, I had to pay to use the Internet.
I would rather have the cost of providing the service somehow built into the rate that was obviously affording the free service in the public areas. Maybe to that particular hotel, Internet at the desk in my room was “optional,” but when doing business away from home–and staying in a corporate hotel–I felt as if I was being unnecessarily charged for what should be a standard in-room feature.
Like the towels. 
25th September, 2008 at 8:18 am
Hi Don
That’s exactly the kind of feedback I was getting as well. Especially if you are staying somewhere on business, an internet connection is not a luxury but a necessity!
The other fear I have is that, at the real ’straggler’ end of the market, there will be just enough encouragement to get them to engage with modern technology practices but they will then engage with no real understanding of what they are trying to achieve. Which will then just be ‘lipstick on a pig’ * in terms of that business and a waste of everyone’s efforts.
*Suggestions for a less charged phrase gratefully received!
25th September, 2008 at 10:03 am
Another very valid point, well made. . . . however I would say that there is one case in which charging for wifi & even towels MIGHT just be acceptable – if you are totally 100% focused on delivering the cheapest possible service then do it – there is a market for absolute bare-bones service but ONLY if the price matches the service and consumers are totally clear what they’re not getting for their money – consider Ryanair.
For every other provider I agree, don’t scrimp on the basics.
Believe it or not, you can still pay for towels at a few uk accommodation providers . . . within the campervan rental industry there are still companies with an add-on-extra charge of £12 or so for towels and sheets. Amazing, they’re just hotel rooms on wheels!
25th September, 2008 at 10:30 am
Hi Rob
I would absolutely agree with you that there is a segment of the market where charging for additionals is a valid think to do and I think your example of Ryanair illustrates that perfectly.
And I think the your point that, “ONLY if the price matches the service and consumers are totally clear what they’re not getting for their money” is bang on point.
I think one of the other things that worries me is how a lot of the industry (especially in the small end of the market) appears still afraid of engaging not only with things like wifi but also simple decent web sites and the opportunities available from blogging and so forth. As you’re based in Scotland like me, I’m sure you can imagine a few that fit into that category locally and who as a group seem often to dictate the pace of discussion at an official level about how to really make our industry world class.
25th September, 2008 at 2:18 pm
joergi
Hello,
sorry for not contributing anything, but I would like to no what DMO’s are?
Regards,
Joerg
25th September, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Hi Joerg
Sorry, I was losing myself in jargon there! DMOs are Destination Management Organisations – the kind of bodies that both market and manage the tourism potential of a specific area.
There’s even more acronyms in this paper here but it’s a good quick overview of what they do.
26th September, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Hi Stephen,
Great article, it really resonated with me in regards to the small tour and activity suppliers that I frequently deal with. I find this mindset that they fear technology, and at the same time are complaining about declining sales. I think blogs like yours are helping these businesses connect the dots that, “hey, this online thingy is actually changing the way customers expect to interact with us”.
Keep up the good work!
Phil
28th September, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Thanks Phil
I must admit that I wasn’t sure whether the tone I was taking was too strident but good to see that it has provoked some responses as I let off steam.
I think your recent post on yield management and price transparency was a good example of the kind of fundamental issue that needs to be understood by people at all levels in the industry but which is still largely the kind of issue is still too too distant from the comprehension of many at the smaller end of the industry and the support agencies who try to chivvy them along.
30th November, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Don,
Just found this post today. I wrote a post on my blog about my pet peeve about paying for wireless at hotels a couple of weeks ago. I couldn’t agree more with your sentiments. And thanks much for the fun quote about paying for towels. I will definitely use it (and attribute it) often as I work with my clients to add value to their destination experiences.
3rd December, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Thanks Mark and I agree with your comments about the Marriott. I stayed in once recently near Boston and the free wifi more than made up for the worlds tiniest bathroom!
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