Guest & Engagement Community Specialist

ABOUT ASILIA

Asilia Africa is one of East Africa’s long-standing safari companies. Meaning ‘genuine’ or ‘authentic’ in Swahili, we’ve built a reputation for incredible safari experiences and our unwavering commitment to empowering both people and nature alike in the region. Founded in 2004, Asilia has a leading presence in the main safari destinations in Tanzania and Kenya as well as a driving role in several pioneering projects. Asilia’s goal is to turn crucial and fragile natural habitats into lasting conservation economies, benefitting both the environment and local communities. At present, the company owns and operates 18 lodges and camps as well as a ground handling operation. Asilia is the first sustainable safari/lodge company in Africa to receive a 5-star rating for sustainability from GIIRS, was recognized as one of the “Best Companies for the World” in 2013 and was awarded the 2014 Tourism for Tomorrow Business Award.

WHAT WE BELIEVE IN

We believe that world-class travel can go hand in hand with improving livelihoods and conservation of nature. Our luxury camps and lodges are in some of the most special places on earth. Places we want to safeguard for the future. We strive to transform whole areas, from crucial fragile natural habitats with often impoverished communities into lasting conservation economies; effectively protecting wildlife whilst providing opportunities for local people to prosper. Whichever department you work in, your efforts will be crucial in achieving our conservation goal.

ROLE OVERVIEW

At Asilia, we believe that every guest experience is part of a much bigger story, one that connects people, places, and purpose. The guest engagement aspect of this role is pivotal in shaping how those stories are told, understood, and acted upon.

This role is responsible for managing guest feedback, online reputation, and community growth across key third-party reviews and social platforms. The role ensures brand engagement is strengthened, shapes Asilia’s voice and visibility, and captures and analyses sentiment and insights to enhance the brand’s reputation and overall guest experience.

With a balance of hands-on execution and strategic thinking, guest and community engagement will craft thoughtful, on-brand responses, identify trends, and translate guest insights into actionable recommendations for teams across Marketing, Operations, Sales, and Guest Relations.

The role will also oversee engagement with past guests, fostering repeat and referral business through thoughtful communication and relationship management. This is a key role in  ensuring that Asilia Africa not only listens to guest feedback but actively participates in and shapes conversations across the broader digital landscape.

This role sits within the Marketing Department at Asilia Africa and reports into the Senior Digital Marketing Manager | Social Strategist & Insights Manager

RESPONSIBILITIES: 

GUEST REVIEW MANAGEMENT

• Manage the guest reviews platform strategy with key stakeholders ensuring all key market sources are supported and planned for.

• Monitor and respond to guest reviews across platforms (GuestRevu, TripAdvisor, Google, Trustpilot, etc.) in a tone that reflects Asilia’s authenticity, empathy, and professionalism.

• Ensure timely, thoughtful, and brand-aligned responses to both praise and criticism.

• Manage sensitive or escalated cases in collaboration with Operations, Guest Relations, and Leadership teams.

• Ensure reviews for both camps and brand servicing are collected through all platforms.

• Maintain a structured feedback process, track review performance metrics (volume, ratings, sentiment trends) and report to senior stakeholders.

• Drive a process to identify and respond accordingly to guests staying at multiple camps leaving multiple reviews.

SOCIAL COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT (OWNED PLATFORMS)

• Monitor and respond to comments and direct messages across Asilia’s social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin, YouTube and emerging platforms such as Tik Tok) in a timely and brand-aligned manner.

• Identify frequently asked questions to feed insights back to Marketing and Sales.

• Moderate discussions to maintain a positive and respectful community environment.

• Ensure tone of voice is adapted appropriately to each platform (e.g. conversational on Instagram, professional on LinkedIn)

• Understand how engagement velocity, comment depth, and interaction patterns impact organic reach.

• Propose new engagement formats and platform features to encourage deeper audience interaction.

PROACTIVE BRAND IMMERSION WITHIN INDUSTRY CONVERSATIONS

• Identify relevant trends, cultural moments, and industry conversations aligned with Asilia’s positioning.

• Engage thoughtfully with posts from partners, travel advisors, conservation organisations, media, and creators to strengthen Asilia’s voice and visibility.

• Build brand recognition and supporting organic reach through meaningful participation in industry conversations and comment sections.

CROSS FUNCTIONAL COLLABORATION & CRISES MANAGEMENT

• Act as the key link between Marketing, PR, Operations, Sales, and Guest Relations, ensuring guest feedback informs decision-making at every level.

• Manage booking-related queries by liaising with Reservations and Sales teams.

• Build relationships with camp managers, staff, and sales team to extract key guest information to deepen engagements and touch points.

• Partner with the Content and Digital teams to showcase authentic guest stories, testimonials, and user-generated content.

• Identify potential reputational risks, surfacing real-time insights to relevant stakeholders

• Support in crisis communications, helping to manage guest-facing narratives and maintain brand integrity.

INSIGHTS & REPORTING

• Collect and analyse guest feedback to identify recurring themes, patterns, and opportunities for improvement, through qualitative and quantitative methods.

• Beyond guest reviews, actively monitor digital conversations to capture insights that inform brand positioning, guest experience, and content strategy.

• Tracking key themes and conversations around safari travel, sustainability, conservation, and evolving guest expectations

• Identifying opportunities for growth on platforms where Asilia currently has limited presence.

• Prepare monthly and quarterly insight reports that provide a clear view of guest sentiment, brand reputation, and experience trends.

• Partner with Operations, Sales, Guest Relations, and Marketing teams to turn insights into tangible actions, from product improvements to storytelling opportunities.

• Support the wider business in embedding a culture of listening and learning from guests.

REPEAT & REFERRAL GUEST ENGAGEMENT

• Develop and implement strategies to engage past guests, encouraging repeat bookings and referrals through thoughtful, personalised communication.

• Support initiatives such as loyalty programs, guest appreciation campaigns, and personal outreach.

• Work closely with key stakeholders to track engagement and conversion rates from repeat and referral activities.

SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES FOR GUEST ENGAGMENT ASPECT

• Strategic mindset: Ability to connect guest and community feedback to wider business goals and brand strategy.

• Social Media Platforms: Strong understanding of social media algorithms and engagement mechanics.

• Strong writing skills: Excellent written communication with the ability to adapt tone to different guest scenarios and platform-native formats.

• Strong Communication: Confident representing the brand publicly in real-time conversations.

• Analytical acumen: Comfortable interpreting qualitative and quantitative data to generate actionable insights.

• Customer-centric: An empathetic and intuitive understanding of guest needs and emotions, with the ability to manage sensitive guest communications. A proactive, community-building mindset, not just reactive.

• Collaborative: Able to work cross-functionally with multiple teams and manage senior stakeholder relationships.

• Crisis awareness: Calm and solution-oriented under pressure.

• Organised and proactive: Able to manage multiple feedback channels and follow through on insights.

EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

• 4+ years of experience in hospitality, travel, or tourism, ideally within the luxury or experiential segment.

• Proven experience managing online/social media brand reputation or customer feedback platforms.

• Background in Marketing, Communications, or Customer Experience.

• 2+ years copywriting experience to support brand building response matrix on social channels.

• Experience in analytics, CRM, or data reporting tools an advantage.

• Strong understanding of digital and social platforms (All social channels + platforms like GuestRevu, TripAdvisor, Google Reviews etc.)

REQUIRED WORK PRACTICES

• Across all interactions, promote the image of the sales team as a best-in-class externally with our clients and internally with our key stakeholders.

• As a key point of contact and the face of Asilia, upholding and contributing to the reputation of the company as a leading safari operator. 

• The Asilia values are company values that play a significant role in how we define ourselves and set ourselves apart. We place a high value on living these values in everyday work practices. These values are genuine, inspired to do good, caring family spirit, teamwork, dedicated to service, consistent quality and going the extra mile

• When staff events happen within working hours it will be compulsory to attend 

• Attend all Training & Development programs as required. 

CONDITIONS AND WORKING HOURS

• You will be required to work in the Asilia Cape Town office from Monday – Friday. You are required to work 9 hours per day including an hour lunch break. The working hours are determined according to the team set-up with flexibility.

• Overtime may be required during peak periods for which you will be compensated with time off in lieu.

• You may be required to travel for work from time to time