Hoteliers use Internet to woo visitors

By  Philip Mwakio

Players in the hospitality industry at the Coast are now fully embracing use of Internet boost their occupancies, as the global economic recession continues hurt tourist arrivals.

At the Swahili House, a boutique hotel located in Tiwi, South Coast, 85 per cent of all hotel occupancies are as a result of bookings through the Internet.

In an interview, Swahili House manager, Francis Mambea said most of guests in the hotel had been lured to the hotel through online bookings.              

Embraced

“There is a strong correlation between social media and travel. We have not been left behind in this and have fully embraced e-bookings to bolster earnings,” he said.

Separately, TripAdvisor, announced the results of its social media travel survey of more than 1,700 respondents, which revealed that 76 per cent had used the Internet for travel.  Forty-two per cent said they use social channels to plan their travel, while 40 per cent do so for travel inspiration. Sixty-four per cent of the visitors mostly refer to a travel research site, such as TripAdvisor, for travel inspiration.

Photo sharing is the most popular sell for those using social channels, as 91 per cent of respondents like to post photos of their vacations.  Fifty-seven per cent post status updates, and 34 per cent use ‘check-ins’ while traveling.