Autor: Marco Antonio Cosentino | Publicado: 2011-10-26T08:19:00-07:00


Redesigning Your Hotel Website for the Social Media
Revolution


Sep 29, 11 | 12:03 am


A case study from Thailand Faasai Resort and Spa
Despite their critical business importance, most hotel
websites fail to take advantage of the social media revolution or meet the
needs of modern wired travelers. Today more than 80 percent of travelers rely
on the internet for their travel research and want a fast, multimedia,
interactive experience including advice from other travelers. 
The owner-manager of Faasai Resort and Spa, a small
eco-resort in Southeast Thailand, Bronwen Evans recognized this need but
struggled to find local designers and developers who could develop her site in
the way she wanted. She therefore turned for assistance to a New Zealand
website business Core Development, that produced beautiful, innovative and
clean designs and between them they redesigned the new website www.faasai.com.
Bronwen's vision was to redesign the website along the
lines of a news magazine so that travelers could have a rich experience of
discovery before they even arrived. In line with best practices, they decided
the hotel website should have these features: 
• Fully integrated with social media - reviews from
TripAdvisor, interactive Google Map, Facebook comments, YouTube videos, plus a
host of other social media sharing buttons.
• Optimised for search engines - simple navigation,
dynamic and rich content, internal and external links, image-rich, with
embedded captions, a Google site map, meta tag page descriptions
• Call to action - a link to the booking engine
prominently displayed on the home page and room pages


• Mobile-friendly - displaying well on any kind of mobile
device or any kind of browser with simple navigation
• Rich multi-media experience - prominently displayed
videos, 360 virtual tour plus extensive gallery of high quality photos
• Calendar of events and local highlights - up-to-date
information about the local area and upcoming events
• Blog and photo gallery - shared stories about the
activities at the resort and guests continually updated through the content
management system
• Brand values - care for nature, responsible tourism and
friendliness and warmth
The independent resort is owned and managed by a Thai New
Zealand couple, Surin Laopha and Bronwen Evans. Surin had a traditional country
childhood in a village in the Northeast of Thailand and studied and practiced
traditional Thai massage and healing at Wat Po, the elite school of Thai
massage in Bangkok. Bronwen is a former Radio New Zealand broadcaster who also
works as an advisor to a major Thai corporation.&nbsp; The resort reflects New Zealand tourism
standards such as a high level of environmental protection, participation and
learning activities for guests and interactive experience of nature. On the
Thai side there is a chance to experience the real Thailand in an unspoiled
fishing village community, fun, a genuine love for guests and Buddhist
tolerance and patience.

"Since we built our old website there have been many
important changes at the resort including buying and preserving a nearby
wetlands nature sanctuary and developing our integrated edible forest
garden," said Bronwen. "The website now reflects these things, our
love of nature and some of the character of our staff and guests."

Bronwen's tips for other hoteliers planning to update
their website is they should not to try to do everything on their own site but
integrate them with specialist sites and social media - for example the Faasai
website outsources the map to Google, the videos to YouTube, the interactive
comments to Facebook and the booking engine to FastBooking.

About Faasai Resort and Spa


Faasai Resort and Spa is a 14 room eco-resort at Kung
Wiman, Chanthaburi, Thailand about 200 kilometres southeast of Bangkok. The
resort is nestled into a forest covered hill amidst three acres of tropical
gardens, overlooking the mangrove-fringed Kung Kraben Bay. Faasai is a ten
minute walk from Kung Wiman beach. www.faasai.com. Tel:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; +66813426234&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; . Email: bronwenannevans@faasai.com


Awards won by Faasai Resort and Spa


•Outstanding service to the environment and nature in the
Eastern region - Thailand Boutique Awards 2010


•Best Small Hotel in Thailand&nbsp; - TAT Green Awards 2009. "The Green
Awards are a symbol of TAT's thanks to outstanding quality and reliable tourism
products offered by hoteliers and tour operators" - Joanna Cooke,
Marketing Manager for TAT UK.


•Responsible Tourism award - Faasai Resort &amp; Spa was
runner-up in the budget category in the 2008 Wild Asia Responsible Tourism
Awards. The judges awarded the resort a score of 96% for its sustainable
practices.


About Core Development


Core Development is a Dunedin based business offering
website design, e- commerce development, web hosting services. To see their
portfolio visit www.coredev.co.nz