When you’re signed in to one of your social media accounts and you receive a notification that someone @mentioned you, it can be equal parts exciting and nerve-wracking as a business.
NB: This is an article from Travel Media Group
For many users online, @mentioning is a conversation starter. However, for businesses – especially those in hospitality – a @mention can be something else entirely.
There are three main reasons why a hotel may be @mentioned by a guest: first, to ask a question; second, to share excitement over a positive experience; third, to express concern over a negative experience they had at your property. Regardless of the reason, understanding the guest’s position and how to react can save you a lot of stress. Additionally, reacting quickly and appropriately will ensure the guest walks away from the situation feeling better about your business, ultimately boosting your reputation.
Answering Guests Who Ask Questions
The first category is the simplest to resolve: guests who have questions. While most guests may call the property or reach out to you via direct messaging, there will still be cases where a guest will @mention you with a question. It can be about anything, from your COVID-19 policies to seeking information about what amenities are currently available.
When it comes to your response, the most important thing to remember is to respond as quickly as you can. These moments become customer service opportunities where a friendly reply translates directly to a boosted reputation. The difference between a @mention and a direct message is that when a guest @mentions you, it’s public-facing. A potential guest’s followers can see their message to you and easily click to view your response.
Sharing Positive Experiences
Another reason guests may @mention you is if they’re delighted or pleased with their experience at your hotel. Similar to questions, this may come in many forms. For example, when a guest arrives in their room, they may snap a photo and share it online with a caption to match their excitement, such as: “Just made it to @[HotelName]! Can’t wait to relax.” Another guest might take a photo of an amenity you have, such as outdoor seating or fitness facility, and tag you in their caption.
These posts are excellent for generating more positive discussion about your property, as you can consider them sharable user-generated content. User-generated content performs the best among consumers within any business, so cross-posting and sharing these posts to your platform can be a serious reputation boost. If you want to use the image beyond a simple Share or Retweet, it would be best to comment on the post requesting permission to share the image in future hotel marketing.
Discussing Negative Experiences
The third reason a guest @mentions your hotel is likely the cause for the greatest concern – when they’ve had a negative experience at your property, and wish to bring it to your attention. Sometimes, guests will @mention businesses while they are experiencing an issue, but depending on the situation, they may not be able to post online until later. These @mentions are commonly seen in the form of long Twitter threads, but guests may post about it on Instagram, Facebook, or through using story posts or reels, as well. As these are also public-facing posts, the intention is often for the guest to showcase to their followers how poor the business is, or to call for greater accountability when addressing an issue.
In this case over either of the other two, prompt reaction is critical. For many, every minute that a post @mentioning the company is left without a response becomes “proof” to the poster that the business isn’t listening. That’s why it’s important to have a social media program for your hotel that sends SMS notifications directly to you.
When responding, it’s important to remember that even if you feel the matter needs to be settled privately, your hotel’s profile should still make a public statement of some kind in response to the user. When crafting a response, remain as calm and understanding as you can, and be sure to thank the guest for bringing the matter to your attention. If you plan to resolve the issue via DM or email, request for the user to reach out to you.
If all goes well and you’ve handled the guest effectively, they may even make another post on their page about how easy it was to resolve the issue, turning what could have been a serious bump to your reputation into a boost!
Remember, it’s not the end of the world when a guest @mentions you on social media. Like any other interaction with a guest, they are customer service opportunities.
