What the Golden Tulip Champs Elysees can learn from tripadvisor

Well, it’s not what the Golden Tulip Champs Elysees hotel in Paris actually can learn from tripadvisor it self, but from it customers who stayed at their hotel and later posted their angry and disappointed comments. I’m one of them. This is about the need to listen to your customers and prospects, and finding out how you can make use of that information.

I stayed at this hotel on a business trip in June 2010, being a 4-star hotel and having room rates costing like a high-end mobile phone, you would at least expect cleanliness and friendly staff. I guess their location near the busy streets of Champs Elysees is enough to give them business. The room I stayed in, and I stayed here twice, had mold in the ceiling, dirt on the floor and smelled damp. And I wouldn’t say the staff was making their best effort either.

Obviously I submitted my review of the Golden Tulip Champs Elysees hotel in Paris on tripadvisor. The hotel has a 57% recommendation index (that’s poor) and rank as #1,564 out of #1,839 listed hotels in Paris.

As a small business this hotel has to listen to its customers and prospects. Obviously people are unhappy with the hotel, and they are more than happy to share it publicly on tripadvisor.  If  the Golden Tulip Champs Elysees wants to stay in business for the long run it has to start managing its online reputation, starting on tripadvisor. Being in the hotel business their only way forward is offer a better product, a better service (maybe a better price) and it will reflect slowly on the online reputation.

Update: I later saw that a management rep “H. Charlot” replied to my tripadvisor review offering me a free upgrade to my next stay at the Golden Tulip Champs Elysees.

“Dear JoakimN,

Best Regards,
H. Charlot
h.charlot@royalgardenparis.com”