Corporate blogging strategy

TheLobby.com is a new & interesting hospitality blog featuring travel tips and specials for Starwood’s preferred guests.

The blogging phenomenon really took off the way it did because blogs provide a forum for the layman and the expert to discuss and disseminate their views to the general public. The best known blogs are neutral, invite reader interaction and steer clear of promotion. People already know where to go for news and marketing offers – what a blog offers is a fresh viewpoint, engagingly written and open to feedback. Unfortunately, as of now, TheLobby precludes feedback.

Blogging as a corporate strategy derives from the power of word-of-mouth communication and “expert” opinions. A company that opens its blog to the public should be ready for honest interaction and expectations (of unbiased, reader-focussed content). The lifeblood of a blog is its readership!

Hospitality blog strategies that might work:

– Promote the city and the location – attractions, things-to-do, and traveling tips

– Invite feedback from guests on amenities they would like to have. A blog, however, is not a forum for complaints – content should be moderated to keep it in sync with the blogging mission

– Share the tips only hotels know – (interior decoration, spas, WIFI hotspots, concierge)

Published by

Vijay Dandapani

Co-founder and president of a New York based hotel company for 24 years. Grew the firm to five hotels in Manhattan and also developed a greenfield project at MacArthur airport, New York. Speaker at numerous prestigious forums including Economy Hotels World Asia, Lodging Conference, NYU, Columbia University Real Estate Roundtable, Baruch College's Zicklin School and ALIS. President and ceo of New York City Hotel Association since January 2017.