Researchers say that the internet is the very encapsulation of ‘one-to-one’ marketing and, as such, gives a hotel the ability to establish enduring relationships with individual customers. But others think that internet will encourage disloyalty with the comparability with the competitions’ offering is ‘just a click away’.

Would really be ‘virtual contacts’ build a good business relationship between hotels and customers?

Taking the Electronic Customer Relationship Management (eCRM) in consideration, the first statement above may really be true. This is so, if and only if, eCRM will empower, delight, and let the customers feel that their interaction with a hotel is within their own control. In this internet age, there is a broad shift from database marketing to real eCRM to build customer relationship – a process of serving the customer in the customer’s terms. It is tautological in saying that it is using the methodology by the breakthroughs of technology as a customer-facing infrastructure to make it easier for the customers to make business with a hotel and modifying their behavior overtime by strengthening the bond between the former and the latter.

On the other hand, disloyalty and other customer’s concerns in a hotel may be brought about by the hotel’s image projected through the website. The relationship of the hotel and customer would be solely measured through the success on the hotel’s website. This is within the control of the hotel. Website per se can make a good or bad relationship between the hotel and the customer.

Aside from the fact that hotels need to have a very user-friendly and easy-to-navigate sites to win a good relationship with customers, what else must hotels consider in building a good relationship with customers?

Every hotel website must aim for the customers to experience their cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains of development. This is the real exacting requirement of a customer which is masked by their individual needs from a hotel website.

A customer may visit a hotel website to make a virtual tour, check the special offers, and make reservations, et. al. But the real thing is that, they get information which makes them knowledgeable about the destination by making use of their senses which are synchronized and having the experience of space.

A computer interaction must not only be cognitive involving preferences and perceptions, it must also provide experiences to the affective and psychomotor domains of the customers. All these may prevent the good relationship of the hotel and the customers to suffer.
eCommerce, eCRM, Internet, should provide a supplementary means of assisting an individual in the attainment of his totality.

This is the challenge to every hotel eCommerce, eCRM, and Online Specialist. Are you helping your customers develop their totality through your site?

Luis Zapanta
eCommerce Executive
Sheraton Doha Resort & Convention Hotel
March 2008