I've been writing about hotels, travel and tourism for a while — just after the dinosaurs left the planet, it sometimes seems.
Here's the typical custom: I receive an email about a new hotel about to open, the marketing blurb says something along the lines that the hotel would welcome its first guest at 11:30 a.m. on May 13, 2023, or some such.
That wealth of information soon fell to one side.
Soon, it was only the month that was stated; a little later, only the season.
Now, it is generally only the year that is given.
Expectations now need to be more carefully “curated” — a term that had not been invented when I started writing. It's a nod to the social media world that might cast aspersions on any number of people and firms involved in the dragged-out development of the hotel in question.
Investors might get nervous if the timeline is extended, and one would assume a lengthened timeline results in increased costs before revenue arrives at the check-in register.
There has been a social-media microscope aimed at one hospitality venue in the United Kingdom in the last couple of weeks. It's the forthcoming entertainment venue called Co-op Live, which sits next to soccer club Manchester City Football Club’s Etihad Stadium.
The arena, which has an emphasis on hosting music events, has capacity for 23,500 people and 32 bars, restaurants and lounges.
Its marketing materials said the venue was due to open in April 2024, but it was not fully ready, according to the BBC and any number of other media outlets. The problems have stemmed mostly from infrastructure faults.
On Co-op Live’s own website, no mention is made in its “News” section of any problems, which makes you think it is working in a different dimension.
One of the arena’s principal investors is the Co-operative Group, known mostly for its supermarkets. Its history is very local to Manchester.
As we learn at school, the Co-operative Wholesale Society was formed in 1844 by the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, which sought to bring together local food producers to control prices via wholesale operations and reinvest into its memberships via dividends. In the mid-1800s that might well have been a dangerous tactic.
Everyone refers to the company today as the Co-op, and there are supermarkets bearing its name all over the country.
In its FAQ section on its website, there is a statement on what to do in the event of a cancellation. Seven acts and their 12 events are mentioned, but many people — of course in this social-media world of often justified but also effortless complaint — have been hugely inconvenienced, in terms of time and cost, not to mention the frustration that such changes can bring.
Media folk often would immediately take any bad news to heart, apologize to anyone inconvenienced and engage with them to rectify issues and, hopefully, gain loyalty.
A plan is needed. Most entities have one, but it is a good idea to learn from any mistakes made to rectify messaging and engagement.
Perhaps social media-fueled criticism is so loud no manner of rectification will work?
The worst case of this I can remember was Berlin Airport — or Berlin Brandenburg Airport Willy Brandt, to give it its full name — which had been due to open in 2011 but did not until 2020.
Many of us use this airport to attend the International Hotel Investment Forum, and it is a perfectly acceptable airport.
I am sure the same will be true of Co-op Live, which has a full events calendar. Included in its current, 120-strong roster are four local but world-famous Manchester bands and acts — Elbow, James, Simply Red and Liam Gallagher.
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