The hoteliers debated the issue of collective buying in the Fire Presdidential Suite at Raffles Dubai.
However, she conceded “there are ways of doing it” for certain products.
InterContinental Hotels Group Dubai Festival City director of marketing communications Katerina Dixon agreed and pointed out the need for hoteliers to choose the right collective buying website for a specific outlet or facility — at the right time.
“You obviously have to be very careful at selecting the right partner for your tactical offer,” said Dixon.
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“We are using them quite often, but only when we see a big drop in number of confirmed bookings and we would then use them for a particular week.
“So our BBC brunch at Crowne Plaza, for example, we don’t usually discount at all but if we see that there is a particular season or a particular weekend that is not doing so well in terms of bookings, we would obviously go with somebody. It’s better to have the atmosphere and have the brunch full rather than just having it empty and disappointing maybe other clients,” asserted Dixon.
“We had a couple of great tactical campaigns that were working really well with Dealgobbler.com for our Blades picnic brunch,” she revealed. “We’ve just launched it and we couldn’t rely on PR and needed something instant because it’s an outdoor activity and we don’t have that many weeks before the summer hits — we had to really launch in the market very quickly and spread the word.
“Dealgobbler helped us out by reaching out to their audience that wasn’t part of our database and it spread the word really quickly and we are up to end of May with pre-confirmed bookings already.
“I think it does help, you have to evaluate — yes there are some great deals out there, but can you go with a deal without damaging your brand or reputation? We wouldn’t do it with Reflets par Pierre Gagnaire with a three-star Michelin chef, but we can do it with an outdoor picnic brunch at Al Badia lawn,” Dixon concluded.
For a full report on collective buying and other promotional websites, see the May issue of Hotelier.
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Apr 29, 2011 , United Arab Emirates
Dear all who commented and who are PR leaders: PR Leaders: Perception of brand as you are describing is wrong at first place, These Days if Big name can not offer something, it's nothing for customers. Why you believe that by these offers brand image is insulted/falling down. Don't you feel that...
Apr 28, 2011 , United Arab Emirates
First of all Hotel Marketers need to understand what works for them. They need to look at a brand from a customer's perspective rather than their own. Imagine giving someone an experience that they wouldn't have had otherwise. Imagine the same customer who have experienced something great, spr...