Hotel 2.0 - Interview with Opus Hotel CEO Blogger Daniel Craig

I think I will aim to publish at least one English article every week. This week read my interview with Daniel Edward Craig. 

Craig is the general manager of the Canadian luxury boutique hotel Opus Hotel in Vancouver. The Opus hotel was named one of the top 100 hotels in the world by Condé Nast Traveler magazine and is famous for the celebrities that frequent it. Under his leadership, Opus has gained an international reputation for service, unique design and marketing instruments.

Craig shares his insights in the General Manager's blog (GM Blog), where he blogs with Katrina Carroll-Foster, Director of Sales & Marketing. Topics reveal the mystery of hotel design, bizarre requests and many more. The GM Blog is top rated among hotel and travel industry blogs. Being a fan of design hotels - and having had my wedding reception at Vienna's Das Triest - I remember how delighted I was, when I discovered it last fall.

Does blogging help your search engine ranking?
Yes, absolutely. It drives more traffic to our website and in turn helps our rankings.

Have guests shown any reaction to your blog?
I have got lots of great feedback about the blog, some from hotel guests, although I don’t always know who’s sending me comments. In general they like to hear about the inner workings of Opus Hotel. It gives a personality to the hotel and subjects that are often a mystery are addressed like relocating, mini-bar contents and certain design elements.

Have you noticed any direct outcome or benefit from blogging.
Yes, the GM Blog has generated lots of great buzz for Opus. Because it’s a bit irreverent and addresses some ‘taboo’ subjects in hotels it hasn’t gotten the hotel industry in particular talking. This helps keep Opus top of mind. I often interview job candidates who have read the blog as part of their research, as well as clients, suppliers and sales people. The blog makes me more approachable – which is usually a good thing but not always!

Do you actively ask guest to publish reviews on Tripadvisor et al, after their stay?
Yes, in the past we have invited guests to post reviews on TripAdvisor. But it gets increasingly difficult to make travel decisions based on hotel reviews because they’re so extreme. We used to fret about negative reviews but some are so ridiculous and false that we won’t dignify them by paying attention. People are either the type to post online reviews or they’re not. You’re at the mercy of whatever a traveler feels like writing. I think it’s better to focus on providing the best services and amenities possible than on worrying how popular you are online.

Do you plan to feature Tripadvisor reviews on your site?
No.

Do you have any plans for your blog like adding picture galleries, connecting with other web 2.0 tools such as Flickr, Youtube, etc.?
I would love to do all of the above but it’s hard enough to find time to write a post every couple of weeks. But we’ll definitely make changes over time.

How do you handle time management issue?
Good question! It’s really a question of prioritizing. As an independent contemporary boutique hotel Opus needs to be on the cutting edge of services, amenities, marketing etc. We were the first to have a general manager’s blog. It makes us unique and gives the hotel personality, so the posts are a priority for me. Plus I’m a writer, so I like to write – not every general manager can say that!

Do you think any boutique hotel should have a blog?
Only if they have a unique voice and something interesting to say. It’s tough to find the right balance of writing interesting things without jeopardizing the privacy of your guests and staff. It makes material very limited.

Your tips for aspiring hotel bloggers?
Think hard before starting a blog because you’ll run out of topics – and time – fast. It’s a big commitment. But it’s a fun, unique way of communicating with the world if you’re up for it.

More about the Opus Hotel at the website & on the GM Blog. Check out Craig's book writing alter ego at www.danieledwardcraig.com.

If you liked this post you might find my other English articles useful as well:

Travel planning today - Greetings from the Easter Island III

Marketing manifesto for the travel industry - Jeff Jarvis

More to come at English+posts