Social media has become more than a nice accessory for hotel brands and individual properties looking to engage guests and drive business. More than just producing a “like” or follower, such programs are increasingly becoming revenue generators, or will need to do so in the near term.
With a similar focus on ROI, HOTELS revised its 5th annual Social Hotel Awards judging criteria based on evolving trends in social media and the importance of better proving ROI beyond “likes.” Today we present the final award, Best Reputation Management.
By Brand: IHG
Description: IHG aimed to increase its brand reputation by engaging with more customers online as well as increasing the number of social media posts captured by using geolocation. The social media team curated this guest-generated content on hotel websites to showcase the hotel offerings to potential visitors. By displaying content created by guests, staff ensured that the content potential visitors viewed was content that they were interested in seeing. IHG also created alerting systems, which filtered relevant guest posts and notified staff as soon as key guests posted, allowing them to reply immediately. This included alerts based on keywords around celebrations and risks and campaign hashtags. They also have numerous funnels set up to notify it when users with more than 5,000 followers are posting at their hotels, in order to target key influencers.
Results: An average engagement rate of 18.8% across all properties, an increase in the rate of return visitors from 18% to 24% over a six-month period and increased the amount of guest-generated content by a multiple of 11 as a result of adding geolocation to social media monitoring.
Runner Up: Starwood Hotels & Resorts
By Property: Sheraton New Orleans
Description: To monitor negative messages and solidify brand loyalty, Sheraton New Orleans integrated a monitoring system with its existing Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. The goal was to have a response rate of less than an hour and answer all reviews under three stars for Facebook reviews. The social media team focused on Facebook and Twitter as the two main channels because they believed those had the loudest voice and biggest influence. The monitoring system used location to confirm guests are on property and could be identified in the booking system. In conjunction with location tags, key buzzwords were used in the monitoring system to allow the property to quickly welcome or respond to a guest.
Results: The program exceeded the objectives that were set forth. The property was able to identify key influencers staying on property and surprise them with customized amenities, which creates a sense of brand loyalty. The biggest impact was seen with negative message alerts, where the property has been able to identify guest problems quickly and take immediate action with a resolution.
Runner Up: Virgin Hotels Chicago