Social Media Strategies for Hotels

The world is on the web today. Our generation is the privileged one!

Number of people with internet access continues to rise, so does the time spent online. As per statistics, India is now spending more than 25% of its online time on Social Media.

Social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr and many others provide an opportunity to connect with your friends, family, relatives and customers. Also, it provides an excellent opportunity to meet new people and make new friends.

Even from Business point of view, Social Media boasts of many advantages. For one, you can respond instantly to your customers’ queries and provide solutions. Also, spreading out the word in social media with relevant and compelling content is easier and cheaper than traditional advertising. There are many more such advantages Social media offers to Business houses.

In such a scenario, being an hotelier we should not undermine the power of Social Media. Let’s have a deeper look at how social media can impact business & what strategies can be useful for the hoteliers to adopt for its success:

Information Dissemination

Hotels should own a Social media page to explain the luxury and comfort they are providing to their guests. Hoteliers can easily share new offers, new products or services, season specials, client testimonials and significantly more about their hotels with customers. Hotels can also have their own dynamic blog to speak with clients and overhaul them with the fresh business updates.

Social Media Store

Hotel Online booking system can be promoted through Social Media Store. It will help in keeping hotels full and lively with guests coming-in all the time!

Also, many hotels these days have malls or shopping plazas inside their premises. Such sales can be done on social media as well, primarily as a branding exercise than a revenue generation activity.

Just-In Time Marketing

Hoteliers can offer customized deals and offers to customers in real-time based on customer’s search data.

One example can be, Hotels can collect personal data like Anniversary/Birthday of loyal customers and wish them through their Social media portal.

Social Media Marketing

It varies depending on Social media channel chosen, for example, marketing on Twitter is completely different from marketing on LinkedIn. So, before starting social media marketing for your hotel, you should list the relevant social media websites and get content accordingly. To give an overview:

• In Facebook, you can promote your hotel using videos, images, text – quotes, articles etc. Through Facebook you can reach out to more and more potential customers and boast of your Hotel. Also, you can keep track of your customers, solve their queries and turn them into loyal patrons.
• To promote in Twitter, ask your marketing team to create a hashtag related to the hotel and request your guests to promote the hashtag. Try and take the hashtag to the Trend section of Twitter for more visibility.
• Instagram can help you in promoting exquisite pictures of your hotel rooms, lobby, restaurants etc. You can also promote an event through Instagram by showcasing images of the decoration, guests, food etc. 
• LinkedIn can help you reach potential competent employees for your Hotels. Starting from senior management levels to all the way junior levels, almost every professional keeps his/her LinkedIn profile up-to-date.  Thus you can know all about a person, professionally, through LinkedIn. Also, as we all know, most of the business for a 5 star comes through business conferences or business meets. LinkedIn can prove to be a powerful tool if you wish to reach out to such high profile individuals or organizations.
• YouTube is a social media website, through which you can promote videos related to promotional campaigns, customers testimonials etc.
• Hotels can also use Tumblr to publish online, hyperlink blogs and interlink with other social media websites.
  

On-Going Customer Engagement

It’s advisable to interact with your guests through Social Media, to give them a personal touch. By interaction I mean, try and reply to their queries/complaints as soon as possible, create online events, quiz & contests and request them to participate etc.

Service Recovery

Hotels can also use Social media websites for improvisation. For this, hotels can ask their customers to participate in feedback sessions, surveys, polls, testimonials, reviews & ratings etc. Do ensure that unfavorable opinions expressed on social media website are addressed in a transparent and timely manner.

By creative planning and relevant content, Hotels can easily impress their existing guests and attract new guests. Hotels must have the ability to market their luxuries over the social media to seize user attention.

Friend this is from our side. Feel free to contact us in case of any queries.

Wishing  you all Good Luck in using Social Media!

Yummy Mangoes!

When I was a kid, I used to wait for summers only for two reasons – Long Summer Vacation and Yummy Juicy Mangoes.

Mango, King of Fruits and National fruit of India, is known for its luscious taste.

Apart from their delicious taste, mangoes are also known for their cultural values and importance. Mango leaves are used to decorate doors in Indian houses during festivals. Dried Mango skins are used to produce Ayurvedic medicines.

Mango is also known for its usage in countless number of cuisines. Sour and unripe mangoes are used in Pickles. Mango pulp is used for making jellies and jams. Dried and powdered unripe mango is used for moramba, amchur. Liquid form of mango, example - Aam panna, Aamras, Mango Lassi etc., is also equally famous for its taste and nutritional values.

India is home to more than 500 varieties of Mangoes. Let’s learn about a few famous sub-categories, where to get and how to use them.

Alphonso Mango

• One of the most expensive, yet beloved, variety of Mango in India and abroad.
• This variety grows in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka.
• Used mainly for pulping and canning.
• Its firm yet fibreless pulp ensures a smooth creamy taste while still maintaining its integrity when cut.

Chaunsa Mango

• Its name was given by Sher Shah Suri, as this was his favourite, it’s hailed as “The King of Mangoes.”
• This variety grows in North India, starting from early June through the end of August.

Dasheri Mango

• Dashehari mangoes are one of the “Mother” mango varieties in the country.
• Mainly cultivated in Northern India. Lucknavi (Lucknow based) Dashehari is famous across the globe.
• Fruits are medium sized, with pleasant flavour, sweet, firm and fibreless pulp.

Banganapalli Mango

• This mango is Andhra Pradesh’s prime variety. Also available in Tamil Nadu.
• Mainly used for canning.
• Its fruits are large sized, weighing on an average 350-400 g, with fibreless pulp.

Langda Mango

• Langda mangoes are primarily native of Varanasi, UP.
• The fruit is green on the outside, which might give you the impression that it’s not ripe. But you can’t be more wrong.
• It has a short season, lasting from mid to the end of July.
• It has a very distinctive taste and not over sweet.

Himsagar Mango

• This variety grows in West Bengal and Orissa.
• Himsagars come to season from mid-June until the end of the month.
• It’s a thin-skinned cultivar with smooth, silky flesh.

Kesar Mango

• It comes from Gujrat.
• Yellow with a tinge of green on the outside, Kesar mango is famous for its subtle taste.
• Ideal for pulping and juice concentrates.

Neelam Mango

• South India, Hyderabad in particular, is famous for this variety.
• Neelams come to the markets in May and last until the end of June.
• Fruits are medium sized with soft, yellow and fibreless flesh.

Totapuri Mango

• Its small green appearance and beak at the end of the fruit resembles a parrot, hence its name.
• It’s acceptable to eat the skin of this variety.
• This variety is a bit crunchy and tangy, best served with salt and chili powder.

Mallika Mango

• Hybrid of the Neelam and Dasheri mangoes.
• Its orange pulp is of excellent quality thanks to its pleasant honey sweetness.
• Proud winner of the Fairchild Tropical Garden Best of Show award for taste.
• Mallika’s season lasts from June to July.

If I talk numbers, India is the largest producer of Mangoes with almost 36% of the world’s production. But let’s not let numbers spoil the divine taste.

Personally, I am yet to find a person who doesn’t like mangoes. Even though high in calories, mangoes are worth your craving.

Come on friend, Go and Grab one now!!! Happy Eating. 

Kitchen of India - Exotic Spices

One thing which is common among us Indians is: Our Love for Food!

Each and every state has its own set of cuisines and flavors. And as we all know: Best way to understand a place is through its culinary culture.

Be it spicy Biryani from Hyderabad, Daal-Baati Churma from Rajasthan, Macher Jhol from West-Bengal or amazing Kashmiri Pulao, each and every cuisine is unique in its aroma and taste. Each of our states has a unique culinary story to tell.

But if we dig deeper, there is one thing which makes these cuisines delectable – its Ingredients. 

“The Kitchen of India” has ample number of rare ingredients which are cherished by Chefs, all over the world.

Let’s take a step further and get on a journey to explore different varieties of ingredients commonly found in India.

In our quest of better understanding a typical Indian Kitchen, the first and most important set of ingredients which comes to my mind is – Exotic Spices of India.

Let’s learn where to find and how to use them in detail:

Saffron

• Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world.
• Fortunately, only a small amount of it is required to impart its beautiful color and flavor to food.
• It is used in many Spanish and Indian cuisines, mainly Seafood Paella, Biryani etc.
    Black Cardamom or Badi Elaichi
  

• Also known as Queen of Spices.
• Its seed pods have a strong camphor-like flavour.
• It is commonly used in many Indian, Nepalese, Bhutanese and Chinese dishes.

Red Chilli Powder

• Also known as King of Spices.
• It is used to add pungency and flavour to dishes.
• It is used in many different cuisines, including Tex-Mex, Indian, Chinese, and Korean.

Amchoor

• It is a fruity spice-powder made from dried, unripe green mangoes.
• Commonly used as a souring agent in Indian cuisines.

Carom seeds or Ajwain

• Mainly produced in Rajasthan in India, Ajwain has many health benefits as well.
• Primarily, it helps in digestion and cough & asthma.
• Commonly used in cuisines in India and Afghanistan.

Long Pepper

• It is mainly used in European, Indian, Nepalese, Indonesian, Malaysian and North African cuisines.
• It has similar, but stronger taste than black, green or white varieties of pepper.

Nigella seeds or Kalonji

• It has a pungent - bitter taste and smell.
• It is used primarily in confectioneries and liquors. Peshawari naan is topped with kalonji seeds.

Cumin seeds or Jeera

• Cumin can be used ground or as a whole seeds.
• It helps to add an earthy and warming feeling to food.
• Mainly used in South Asian, Brazillian and Latin American cuisines.

Asafoetida or Hing

• It typically works as a flavour enhancer.
• This spice is a digestive aid and is used in food and pickle as a condiment.

Cinnamon or Dalachini

• Mainly is used in preparation of Chocolate and dessert recipes.
• Cinnamon flavored tea, is consumed as a hot beverage in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.

Being an Hotelier in India, it’s our duty to learn about these ingredients, experiment with them and add them to our recipes.

Let’s take our guests to a culinary journey and let them rediscover the meaning of Indian food. Let’s make them fall in love with Indian Kitchen all over again.

Stay tuned for next article in this series – Exotic Fruits and Vegetables in India.

Till then – Bon Appetite!!!