How Hospitality Companies are Using Social Media for Real Results

At the Roger Smith Hotel in New York, social media has become immersed within the hotel’s unique culture. At its core, the Roger Smith Hotel is about storytelling — with a focus on art and people — and social media has become the way in which the hotel can share these stories and create new ones.
In fact, Brian Simpson, the hotel’s director of hospitality, says that while the hotel certainly attempts to connect the dots between social media and sales, ROI is not the focus of the team’s social endeavors. “We’re less concerned about how many rooms are booked because of social media, and more focused on telling stories and connecting people … you can’t pay a marketing firm to make those connections.”
It’s this type of open thinking that keeps The Roger Smith at the forefront of the social media curve.
Simpson primarily relies on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and the hotel blog to distribute and collect stories, but also recognizes the value of location-centric social networks like Foursquare and Pegshot. He approaches each social site with a different strategy, saying, “We take all of these stories and figure out which social media networks support them best.”
Simpson points to an event from 2009 as a catalyst for some of its creativity. The artsy hotel then hosted a Social Media Breakfast, which led to interest from other social media and web groups, and ultimately inspired Simpson to actively immerse himself in the social media culture.
Because The Roger Smith is independent, Simpson found ways to bend the rules for groups and startups, making the hotel inviting to all types of social media event organizers. For Simpson, exposure is key and hosting these events helps get the hotel’s name out there. Today, the hotel is essentially the social media-friendly hotel of New York; events are booked for each night of the week and its become the official hotel of many a New York web conference.
“We’ve made social media a part of the hotel,” says Simpson. “If we stopped doing social media, the culture wouldn’t change, but the stories that get told about us would change, and that would change the perception of the hotel.”
With storytelling at the center of everything the Roger Smith does online and off, Simpson is also looking for the next great way to engage current and potential guests. He says, “now that everyone’s on Twitter, and everyone has a Facebook Page, our objective is to find out what’s next and stay ahead of the curve.”
The hotel is also being extremely avant garde with its approach to installation art. They’ve commandeered an art studio on Lexington Avenue outside the hotel and turned it into an experimental space where art meets social media. The space is dubbed the RS Pop-Up Shop, or RS POP, and it’s open to up-and-coming designers and artists who want to showcase their work with social media flair. Each selected RS POP participant is heavily supported with social media exposure, so artists and designers are featured both in the art studio and online via the hotel’s social media channels.
Disclosure: The Roger Smith Hotel has hosted Mashable events.
Posted: Steve Denes
Source: mashable.com

Ways Hotels Can Increase Their Social Media Presence

Ways Hotels Can Increase Their Social Media Presence

Posted: 01 Sep 2011 03:00 PM PDT

Hotels have made great strides in social media over the past few years; from Twitter to Facebook, and Foursquare and YouTube, there is no limit to how hotels can boost their online presence and increase their customer base.
As a hotels reporter, I’m constantly engaging, communicating and assessing the social media efforts of hotels around the world. I’m consistently intrigued by they way hotels communicate with their guests and share their knowledge of their destinations (see: InterContinental Group, Ritz-Carlton and Mandarin Oriental).
More boutique hotels have jumped on the social media bandwagon to introduce ‘brand name consumers’ with a new type of hotel, and the results are impressive. Now, with the year off to a booming start in the hotel industry, here are five tips worth considering for taking your hotel’s social media presence to the next level.
1. Use Your Staff.
Your employees are the eyes, ears and experts of your hotel. Use them to engage your social media presence. Whether you designate a day to a particular theme or allow specific staff members to reply to questions asked from guests via social media, the personalization will make all the difference when communicating online.
“At InterContinental, our Concierge teams share their local knowledge with guests from around the world on a daily basis,” said Charles Yap, Director, Global Brand Communications, InterContinental Hotels Group. “We take this personal interaction one step further by sharing useful destination tips and recommendations (via @WorldConcierge), and launching a free iPad app anyone can download (not just our guests).”
2. Create Social Media Specials.
Some of the best responses I’ve seen in average daily room rates from hotels so far this year have come by way of “social media specials.”
Offering Twitter-only specials or Facebook contests that result in free dinners at the hotel or discounted room rates resonate with travelers who, despite their discretionary income for travel, are always on the hunt for a deal.
3. It’s Not All About You.
While the hotel is obviously the focus of your social media campaign, remember that there is more to the traveler’s eye than what’s inside your four walls.
Spend some time tweeting about local destination events, share some interesting historical aspects and ask your concierge for some ‘tips of the day’ to share. “we believe that when it comes to social media, discussion topics should not be restricted to immediate hotel features. We go one step further by offering destination advice, travel tips, food for thought, retweets from travel and subject matter experts,” said Yap.
Guests will likely know the top tourist attractions, but the hotel can offer insider ideas and off-the-beaten-path things to see and do, including the best local restaurants, fun festivals or family-friendly activities. Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, did a great job of sharing the historical and interesting facts relating to Chinese New Year.
While the hotel hosted plenty of Chinese New Year activities, which they tweeted about, they also shared quirky and unknown facts about Chinese New Year that kept guests intrigued and involved in the festivities.
4. Keep It Real.
We all know it’s sunny on the beach in Bali and the Bund is beautiful at night, but what about the ‘real’ aspects of the destination?
Posting a quick weather update first thing in the morning is a worthy way to start the day on Twitter or Facebook, but keep it real by posting about things to do – especially on bad weather days – or offering tips on managing jetlag or mentioning a employee contribution or celebrated day.
For example, if your chef was just given his first Michelin star, share the news! If your hotel recently underwent a renovation, share the photos — before and after — and keep your potential guests in the loop. Show your followers and fans that the hotel is more than just deals and good food, and that they are part of the foundation that makes up the success of the hotel.
5. Communicate.
Cliche as it may seem, keeping up the lines of communication with your fans and followers via Twitter and Facebook is an essential piece to managing a successful social media campaign.
Social media has become the new ‘customer service’ line, and hotels should take seriously the comments and questions they receive online. Granted, not all tweets and Facebook comments will be valid, but treating social media as if it were a hotline to your consumers  is the best way to solve last-minute problems, answer immediate questions and offer advice to guests and travelers.
The above tips are not the end all and be all to a successful social media campaign, but they can help present your hotel in a worthy light to guests who, whether they are new or repeat, will always be looking for something special from the hotel.
Source: 4hotelier
Anna Pham

Tutorial Foursquare for Hotelier

Tutorial Foursquare for Hotelier

Posted by Alain Classe on 2011, August 22 ·

Foursquare is one of the names talked about and yet which few people know what is going on. Foursquare is the first fully mobile application that works on all smartphones using geolocation: to make his “checkin” your customer must be there.
Designed as a game, Foursquare is very entertaining for its members, with notions of steps climbed as and when it is used and evidenced by badges. These badges are earned primarily through “checkins” arriving at the restaurant or hotel, a quick search on Foursquare brings up a list of places to register.
Foursquare, today more than 10 million members worldwide, 3 million of checkins per day, 500,000 businesses using Foursquare professionally.
To be part of those companies using Foursquare professionally, this is what is needed:
1. Claim his place or attraction
• Connect to Foursquare or create a personal profile if necessary
• Search the name of the hotel
• Once on the hotel card, click on “Do you manage this venue ? Claim here “
• Monitor the process and select the preferred method of verification by phone, mail …
2. Dclare its employees “manager” or “employee”
The person who claimed the place is automatically “manager”. To be declared a “manager” or “employee” by the first manager, it is imperative to have a user profile. Rights are different:
• “employees” can only edit
• Te content of the page
• View statistics
• Enable and disable special
• “managers” can also add special offers •
• Add new “employee” or “manager”
3. Create special types of Event
These special offers are visible not only to users who have produced their checkin, but also those nearby but have not made their checkin to push them to do so.
• Provides for friends only
• Offers reserved for a number of simultaneous visitors (15 people on a period of 2 hours)
• Provides flash
• Provides accessible only when a user first checkin
• Provides access on terms that you have pre-defined
• Offer reserved for frequent visitors
• -* offers reserved for “mayor” (self-employed person who made the most checkins in the last 60 days)
• Among the offers put up by hotels for users Foursquare:
• Upgrade available (depending on availability)
• A complimentary breakfast
• Free wifi
• Offered a drink at the bar
• Late checkout offered
• Generate incremental incomes with specials deals for an updgrade ( for 50 CHF you get a Junior Suite )
4. Foursquare check-in here
By putting a sticker or placard “on the door or at the reception, bar, restaurant …, Foursquare users are informed that the hotel is within their reach and they can probably receive a  special offer
Foursquare push users present in the hotel to do their “checkin” increases awareness of its establishment on the Internet, “checkin” being relayed to the user’s choice by email or Foursquare on social networks:
• Foursquare: his friends are informed
• Facebook: information is shared, with or without commentary on the Facebook wall user Foursquare
• Twitter: information is shared  on the user’s Twitter page Foursquare
• Foursquare on the page of the establishment
• On the page of  Foursquare’s user
5. Train your Staff
Explain to your Staff what is Foursquare. If your staff is not aware you risk to get some complains.
Create Special Code and communicaeing this simple code to its staff, so staff know what it can offer to benefit the customer who shows him his smartphone.
You need to be aware regarding the mode of spread :
With one one offer, you reach hundreds or potentially thousands of potential customers.
6. See its statistics
The statistics are accessible in real time and allow to know, especially after the posting of a special offer:
• The number of checkins per day
• Recent visitors
• The gender
• The most frequent visitors
• Hours the most popular
• The amount of checkins relayed on Facebook or Twitter
Chains & brands
Chains with multiple institutions can benefit from their own brand of Foursquare.
By creating a page “brand” is an opportunity to
• Actively communicate with visitors,
• Share information, tips and tricks,
• To have “followers”
• Create custom buttons,
• Benefit from a specific url foursquare.com type / brand
• To increase brand awareness, providing each institution promote its brand and vice versa
Major brands have already taken advantage of this feature.
• The New York Times
• Louis Vuitton
• Algonquin Hotel
• Four Points by Sheraton
Conclusion
Foursquare can reach a customer “connected” and who also has a social life outside his own home.
The fact to manage his page Foursquare professionally is free and takes only a few minutes. As for offers, they only apply to customers consuming.
Althought if you want to use Foursquare like any other Socia Media Networks, your Hotel Management need to be sure you get Human Ressources to manage this account.
Do it professionally or don’t do it,

Three-Quarters of Hotels Are Using Social Media (Here Is How You Can Stand Out)

Tenho observado. Hotelaria e Social Media. Inevitável!!!


via ReviewPro

Three-Quarters of Hotels Are Using Social Media (Here Is How You Can Stand Out)

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Josiah Mackenzie

A recent TravelClick survey reported on HotelMarketing.com that one quarter of hotels are not using social media. Considering how low the barrier to entry is for participating on the social web, it is a remarkable finding – and should remind us how the industry still has a lot of room to grow in this area.
But this finding also means that 3 out of every 4 hotels are using social media. This represents huge progress over the past couple years, when many hotels where skeptical or just planning their first experiments with social networking.
This raises an interesting question: As social media becomes a standard channel for communications in the hotel industry, how can you stand out from your competitors? Simply setting up a profile on Twitter, Facebook or a review website is probably not enough.

• Do you have a listening tool in place that acts as a 24/7 mystery shopper and allows you to quickly respond to items that come up on the social web?

• Do you have social media reporting systems in place to give managers for each department insights they can act on?
• Do you have workflow systems in place to involve key people within your organization in responding to guests and potential customers?

• Do you use online reputation indexes to benchmark improvements in quality – both internally and against competitors?
• Are you using semantic analysis to understand guest sentiment and optimize your marketing and advertising?
• Are you using guest feedback in your website to provide social proof and increase direct bookings?
• Do you have saved searches setup to identify opportunities to introduce people to your hotel and provide service?
• Are you leveraging reputation and social media analytics to identify opportunities to maximize distribution and revenue?

As we reach a saturation point in social media for the hotel industry, the way you use social media must evolve to help you retain a competitive advantage

Small Luxury Hotels gain presence in industry with mobile app

via Luxury Daily

By Rachel Lamb

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June 1, 2011

Small Luxury Hotels of the World is steadily building its presence in the mobile market by incorporating a mobile application into its marketing strategy.
Often second fiddle to larger hotel chains, small luxury hotels have been fighting to be noticed amongst wealthy global jetsetters around the world. However, SLH’s iPhone app will most likely help the group to earn some clout and presence in the industry.
“This is a very strategic move by SLH to expand their marketing base without having to add multi-lingual functions to their own Web site,” said Lisa Holt, marketing director of DLS Hotels, Napa, CA.
Ms. Holt is not affiliated with Small Luxury Hotels but has agreed to comment as an industry expert.
Appsolutely perfectThe SLH app is functional, aesthetically pleasing and easy-to-navigate.

App users can use the app to discover hotels in a destination to book in advance, or use the phone’s GPS to help them find a luxury hotel that is closest to them.
Consumers can also search for hotels via types, special offers and destinations.
Tapping on a location will help consumers narrow down their search if they know where to go, or they can find hotels based on properties such as “beach front” “skiing” or “family-friendly” that will best-fit them.
Consumers can use this app if they are already at their hotels to find entertainment around them.

This feature is helpful in lesser-populated destinations or private islands, both of which are available to search on the SLH app.
Consumers can sign up for the Luxury Escapes newsletter and share destinations and the app via social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
Users can also manage and share favorite destinations and deals via social networks and email.

“This move will now introduce the SLH stable of properties to a new, younger demographic than their properties have traditionally appealed to, which will undoubtedly yield a larger market share,” Ms. Holt said.
Smaller is better?A mobile app is a simple way for Small Luxury Hotels to band together to improve their scale while still remaining independent from corporate chains.
The hotels in the app are private, secluded and cater mainly to the world’s wealthiest individuals.
In fact, the only thing that differentiates them from brands such as Four Seasons and Mandarin Oriental is that they are smaller and lesser-known.
In a way, this gives them more value.
Having a mobile presence is important for any luxury brand. And even if a property wants to keep itself a best-kept secret, hotels have to market themselves somehow.
“In terms of separating themselves from the larger competitors, they can always add a weekly push for a particular property, much like the Jet Setter concept, that promotes their properties, and then links to the app itself,” Ms. Holt said.
Final Take
Rachel Lamb, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York

Rachel Lamb is an editorial assistant on Luxury Daily. Her beats are apparel and accessories, arts and entertainment, education, food and beverage, fragrance and personal care, government, healthcare, home furnishings, jewelry, legal/privacy and nonprofits. Reach her at rachel@napean.com.

O Retorno

Queridos, depois de mais de um mês longe daqui, retorno. Tentarei usar o blog como a sede, a raiz, o veículo de disseminação do conteúdo que envolva:

- os hotéis que conheço
- o meu primeiro livro sobre hotéis - Brazil Hotels
- a comunicação digital da hotelaria (Social Media)

Farei algumas adaptações no design do blog e na comunicação via meu twitter @fcandiota e facebook.

Obrigado pela paciência, bjs e abs

Felipe