Hotels constantly have the challenge of finding ways to engage with guests, creating a unique experience and setting themselves apart from competitors. With the focus on the millennial generation and the tech savvy traveler, marketing efforts have turned to technology and social media to create the experiences that guests expect from our hotels.
I have recently worked with three San Diego boutique hotels to have their guests share their experiences at the properties using Flip.to, a marketing platform that allows hotels to engage with guests from the moment they make a reservation through to creating a unique experience upon arrival. As guests share with their family and friends about their upcoming trip to the hotel, Flip.to creates a custom experience for their social media connections that can lead toward a future booking.
In just a few months, we have seen great success with the program. Since December 2013, the historic Lafayette Hotel has seen over 35,000 guests share their experience on social media sites. In just three short months, the beachfront Pantai Inn has seen 22.8% guests interact and share about their upcoming trip. Finally, in just two months, the El Cordova Hotel has seen 32 rooms booked directly from guest engagement.
These results have given us an innovative way to market hotels using a readily available, enthusiastic audience. Instead of using the traditional forms of marketing that we have become overly comfortable with, we are advertising using a trusted source – our targets’ very own family and friends. Guests are more likely to want similar experiences as their trusted networks. In fact, over 90% of web users look to reviews and information from friends to inform travel decisions. This leads to engagement with the property, which in turn leads to bookings on their next trip.
Some of the larger hotel brands are also becoming innovative in the ways they are marketing to their digitally-inclined guests. These brands understand the power of their loyalty rewards programs and the importance of social media as part of their marketing strategy. By combining their loyalty rewards program and social media efforts, brands have started rewarding travelers for not only their room nights, but also their behaviors.
Marriott has developed a new program called MarriottPlus, which treats travelers for posting about their trip on social media sites, retweeting/sharing a post from the brand, checking in on Facebook or following the brand on Twitter and Instagram. The traveler must attach their social media account to their Marriott Rewards profile and then post, tweet, retweet, share or check-in using the following hashtags: #MRpoints, #LoveMarriottRewards #RenHotels or #AutographHotels.
Kimpton Hotels has followed Marriott’s trend by launching Kimpton Karma Loyalty program, which rewards guests for experiencing all Kimpton Hotels have to offer. Members can earn points for eating at the restaurants, attending a manager’s wine hour or mentioning a hotel in a social media post.
By rewarding guests to help market their hotels, Marriott and Kimpton Hotels are expanding their marketing reach to new lengths and gaining traction on social media sites. Using the already popular rewards programs, they are promoting aspects of their hotels and painting pictures of the experiences future guests can look forward to. In addition to promoting their hotels, they are taking it even one step further by strengthening their loyalty programs and pleasing their top customers, their repeat guests. It’s such a simple concept, yet very effective.
Innovative marketing is going to be the new way to promote hotels and reach tech-savvy Millennials. Whether using new platforms to engage with guests and using the guests to help promote our hotels or by rewarding travelers for mentioning the brands on social media sites, our guests are becoming our largest source for marketing.
About the author
Bob Rauch is the President & Founder of R.A. Rauch & Associates, a full-spectrum hotel and hospitality management and consulting firm based in San Diego, Calif. The company has more than two decades of experience delivering expert services and oversight to hoteliers, developers and hospitality finance professionals. Founded by Bob Rauch, the “Hotel Guru,” the firm partners with upscale boutique, branded and independent hotels including Pantai, The Keating Hotel, El Cordova Hotel and The Lafayette Hotel, Swim Club & Bungalows. For more information, visit RARHospitality.com.
