By Relaxnews, Updated: 30/07/2012

Social media and eco-friendly practices among top priorities for hotels in 2012

Hotel customers can expect to be using more mobile booking tools and getting even more information about their preferred accommodation via social media, according to the results of the Hotel Industry's Top Trends report published on July 30 by TripAdvisor.

Eco-friendly practices

Around 88 percent of the surveyed hotels affirmed that it is important to adopt eco-friendly practices in their businesses. Hotels in New Zealand, Canada, Brazil, France and Indonesia are among the most eco-friendly according to the survey. Among the most common eco-friendly practices, energy-efficient light bulbs came in first place, followed by linen and towel re-use, energy efficiency plans, eco cleaning and water efficient toilets. When it comes to marketing green practices, one third of the hotels surveyed stated that they do not communicate their eco-friendly practices to their guests, although most hotel clients are used to seeing notes in their bathroom about minimizing towel washing.

Social media marketing

According to the survey, nearly two-thirds of all respondents worldwide use social media tools to communicate with potential guests. Social media is also used as a post-experience tool with more than 83 percent of all properties inviting guests to leave ther feedback and 78 percent inviting travelers to share their experiences by writing reviews on travel review websites such as TripAdvisor.

Reserving rooms by mobile

A total of 56 percent of survey respondents said that it was very important to offer booking via mobile devices, as a way to engage with travelers -- this is most popular in China, Turkey, Mexico and Spain.

The report was based on a survey carried out between June 7 and June 14 of more than 25,000 accommodation owners and managers worldwide by email; analysis of the replies was carried out by Brainbox Research.