Reputation management online is a huge issue that requires dedicated staff, according to Low Cost Group chief executive Paul Evans.
He said individual consumers could have a “massive” impact on a brand, adding that his company employs two full-time staff to monitor and respond to social media.
“And this probably isn’t enough resources to do a great job of it,” he added.
Daniel Kennedy, director of SKV Communications, agreed that the task of keeping an eye on online reputation and getting a brand out to the consumer was becoming harder.
He explained: “The environment is getting more complex, so the job is more difficult as a result.”
Low Cost Holidays features 100,000 hotels, either contracted direct or offered via feeds. Evans’ approach to quality control is to simply switch off those that cause problems.
“There are too many [properties] to keep a close eye on, although 80% of the stock is our own. So if there is an issue that we can’t fly someone out to have a look at, we just turn it off and transfer.”
Abta’s Frances Tuke questioned this policy. She said travel firms had a responsibility to work with destinations to improve them and create stable tourist numbers.
- More from the Travel Convention at travelweekly.co.uk/tc2010