Florence historical train station Stazione Leopolda , now turned into a convention center, was the locale for the 2009 edition of the Buy Tourism Online Tradeshow (16-17 November). The B.T.O. is an Italian web 2.0 and online tourism tradeshow which central theme is TOURISM 2.0, the phenomenon that is radically changing the dynamics of supply and demand in the entire range of tourist accommodation.
Many speakers introduced a choice of points of Web 2.0 and social networking that ned to be taken in consideration in the hotel industry. One of the most worthy of note was the speech delivered by TripAdvisor(c)’s Roberto Frua. Frua’s main point was how social media, and mainly TripAdvisor(c), can assist hoteliers in their marketing strategies.
Consumer-based internet content, also known as Web 2.0, is a reality and it is dominant in the tourism industry. TripAdvisor(c), with its over 30 million traveler reviews, is a very important tool that helps monitor what it is being said about your property and take action. Monitoring and reacting to your hotel’s reviews are critical in modern hotel business. Especially if the review is a negative one, the hotelier should first of all be aware of it and then come up with a suitable response. In order to smooth the progress of this task, Tripadvisor(c) has launched the Owner Center to help management teams from hotels, restaurants and attractions manage and optimize their properties’ presence on the web site.