John Keells Hotels says social media and online marketing will boost brand presence

June 5, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s John Keells Hotels, a leading hotel operator with a portfolio of 11 hotels and 1,336 rooms in Sri Lanka and Maldives says that company’s social media strategy and online marketing strategy will help boost brand presence in the global tourism market. “Our Company remains positive that the newly initiated brand architecture, coupled with the digital and social media strategy, will strengthen our brand presence and help achieve differentiation of our offering in a market which now has a variety of product and service offerings,” Susantha Ratnayake, Chairman of John Keells Hotels said in the company’s annual report. “We will continue our online marketing strategy in order to drive direct online sales and in the process reduce distribution costs.” The company plans to launch the revamped, responsive multilingual website, in keeping with the new brand identity, by December 2015. “With the standardization of all online marketing components and furtherance of our vibrant social media strategy, we are confident of securing a stronger online brand presence and establishing Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts as the leading lifestyle brand in Sri Lanka,” Ratnayake said. “We have initiated steps to formulate training curricula for all levels of staff geared to deliver on the brand promise and further optimize productivity ratios.” Experts say, Social media is heavily used by the present society, to brand companies in global arena and to attract people to products and services. An in another way online and social media challenges the hotels given a chance to for a free platform to travelers around the world to share their hotel experiences. John Keells Hotels Group revenue grew by 4 percent year on year, stemming from the modest improvement in year round occupancies and yields, the company said. “This growth was led by the Sri Lankan Cinnamon resorts Bey, Citadel, Wild and Lodge and Dhonveli in the Maldives.” The company said. This resulted in the revenue contribution from the Sri Lankan segment increasing marginally to 45 per cent from 44 per cent last year.