Photo: edgadyaponte.net

Did you know what online reputation is? I guess most of you have researched it on Wikipedia. But? Do you know how these techniques are applied to the golf and hospitality industry?

Well, let’s start by speaking clearly, as we like. I remember how this term sounded like “Chinese”, and when it was mentioned in public, many laughed at it. We are talking about 10 years ago, when the online world was still something that belonged to the world of “geeks”.

Not only today is the online reputation of brands or even people taken into account, but there are professionals who are specifically dedicated to managing the reputation of companies, brands, professional profiles, in short, everything that is registered in the web universe managed efficiently and controlling the flow of positive or negative projection of the image they manage.

I think it’s easier to understand what online reputation is about when we talk about the hospitality industry. Nowadays we are accustomed to making use of many tools that analyze the reputation of hotel establishments such as Tripadvisor, which measure the comments of hotel clientele on values such as:

Quality.
Service.
Price.
What influence does online reputation have?

According to a recent study by Cornell University, which measured the relationship between online reputation and revenue volume. The difference in the online reputation rating metric of 2 points over another hotel establishment increased revenue by 11%. This same study revealed that 81% of tourists gave importance to online reputation when choosing the hotel where they wanted to book, and that 49% of them would not book in a hotel that did not have a good online reputation.

What search resources do tourists use?
Search engines:            64%
Hotel websites:              56%
Booking channels:        51%
Airline websites:            50%
Map sites:                     49%
Reputation portals: 39%
Destination sites:          36%
Car Rental websites: 36%
Social networks:           26%
Video portals:               24%
Guide books websites: 22%
Discount sites:              20%
Cruise lines websites: 19%

Furthermore, this study reveals that of the total number of respondents, travelers admit to carrying out 9 searches on average, with 22 visits to websites before making a reservation. Without a doubt, very illuminating figures about the importance of online reputation in businesses related to leisure, restaurants and hospitality, measuring the trend and behavior of your clientele before booking.

And is the golf industry exempt from this metric?

It is definitely not exempt from this type of metric. Golf courses and resorts are increasingly exposed to the reputation of their establishments in the online world. Nowadays, clients have the possibility of sharing their opinions in the same media used by the hotel industry, there is not so much massification, but we can find portals such as:

Specialized golf tour operators
Specialized Golf Guides
Sports federation websites
Specialized golf agencies
Golf course reputation portals
Websites of the fields themselves

Yes, as the Cornell University study indicates, there is a variable of 11% production on two points of the valuation of one hotel establishment over another. From my point of view, even though a specific study has not been carried out on the impact of this issue on golf courses, increasing 11 points in the income statement is a very appetizing portion for many properties. And you, do you manage the online reputation of your golf course?

Sources: Antonio Gómez Cava & HQ Plus