In today’s newsletter, “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week,” I wrote about the “10 Dirtiest Hotels” contest sponsored by TripAdvisor.com.
The annual contest draws attention to TripAdvisor’s “Travelers’ Choice Award Winners” in 10 categories, from the Best Luxury Hotels to the Best Inns and B&Bs.
Each year, consumers nominate the filthiest hotels, then weigh in with their comments, photos and videos. They report on things like mold, broken windows, and crumbling ceilings and walls. They complain about peeling paint and broken locks on the doors.
Some hotel visitors have even found lurching elevators, air conditioning units that don’t work in the middle of summer, heaters that don’t work properly in the winter, and broken windows that haven’t been repaired. And, of course, there are comments about critters like cockroaches and bed bugs.
One visitor took a photo of his room that shows where the headboard had fallen off the bed at the Hotel Carter in New York City. At the website, you can even send the list to a friend.
The contest draws lots of attention by the bloggers and in online forums. Here’s a complaint from one hotel visitor:
“The grossest thing…was the drain clogged with years worth of hair. It literally came out in a solid mass. I gagged.”
Publicity Hounds can learn dozens of lessons from this contest:
—Know what consumers are saying about you online. Create Google Alerts for your own name, your URL and the name of your company.
—Respond to bad reviews and explain what you’re doing to solve the problem. If you hide in the shadows when the news is bad, the conversation will continue without you. (See “How to Pitch the Best Bloggers & Create a Publicity Explosion.”)
—The best way to avoid being nominated for these “10 Worst” lists is to clean up your act and provide outstanding customer service and a great product.
What do you think? What else can Publicity Hounds learn from this contest?
Egad! I learned just by my first horrified scan of the article and page that I may never book a room without first seeing it. Actually, this made me think of an incident in NY state when my son and I rented a room in which to simply shower and prepare for a surprise 25th anniversary party for my brother and his wife. It was the most unbelievably dirty, unsafe, and unwholesome room that I have EVER had the misfortune of being exposed to. We’d driven straight through from the Midwest and my son was still in his ambulance uniform which happened to be navy blue with a large gold shield. He went with me to the office to get our money back despite a large sign that said no refunds. (My first missed clue.) The desk clerk’s eyes bugged out when my 6’tall, displeased offspring walked in behind me. We got a full refund very quickly. I wish we had taken photos but we were so disgusted and appalled that such a filthy unsafe “motel” existed in real life that we just wanted our money and to be gone. n.kateus http://www.EyeballsNTraffic.com
If you do end up on a list like this, THANK the contest holders for calling the problem to your attention. Then take action, decisively, to fix the problem, and let the contest holders know what you’ve done and invite them to re-visit your business to see for themselves. Make lemonade outta them lemons!
Jonathan Bernstein
President
Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc.
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com
P.S. HI JOAN!