the power of the traveller
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The Quiet Room label and the power of the traveller
The Quiet Room label is a certificate for quiet hotel rooms. Great, you may say, but what has
this to do with digital travel marketing? More than you might think. The QR-label is in fact a
logical consequence of the explosion of digital travel experiences and travellers' reviews.
Positive travellers' experiences are becoming increasingly important to the commercial
success of hotels. A few negative reviews on Booking.com or Tripadvisor and the bookings
take a nosedive. There is even talk about doing away with the star qualification and replacing
it with a ranking based on travellers reviews. Hotels which listen carefully to their guests'
remarks can adapt their product and thus get better reviews.
Noise is the No. 1 complaint in world wide surveys of hotel guests' complaints. (source) An
increasing number of people are actively looking for silence when they book a holiday. Quiet
locations are sought after and many web sites advertise the fact that hotels are situated in a
quiet location. (Examples are en.escapio.com/quiet-hotels, www.relaisdusilence.com)
But what if you are visiting a beautiful city and still want a quiet hotel room? There are very
few hotels in larger cities where you will not be bothered by ambient noise in and around the
hotel. Some hotels solve this problem by creating silent zones or offering 'white noise'
machines to their guests, like the Sound+Sleep machines in some Fairmont hotels. Others
have instigated so-called snore brigades which patrol the corridors at night and address guests
who are noisy sleepers. But the really clever hotels make sure they have well-insulated rooms
for guests who require them. They can advertise these on their website and get positive
reviews which other travellers will use when booking a hotel room. See Tripadvisor.
The QR-label addresses this issue by creating an official certificate for hotels. After having
their rooms tested for noise and possible adaptations, they acquire the right to carry the label.
They can use this in their marketing and travellers know that a hotel with the QR-label is
guaranteed to have quiet rooms. As we speak, some forty Dutch hotels want to acquire the
label and a lot of hotels in other countries there have shown their interest among which hotel
chains like Golden Tulip/Accor and Swissotel. The first certifications will take place at the
beginning of 2015.
Conclusions about the online label
In view of the complaints and growing demand for silence among travellers and the interest of
hotels, it seems that the time is ripe for the QR-label. It contains a clear message, has great
visibility and can easily be added to websites and social media.
If you want to share your views on quiet hotels or your experiences with noisy hotel rooms,
leave a message on www.quiethotelroom.org or on our Facebook page