HotelChatter

Hotel Spas / Foursquare Hotels / → All Tags

Love Hotel Spas? So Does Foursquare, and They've Got a Badge for It

Are you totally into hotel spas, like to the end that maybe you'll come away from a hotel stay spending more on your treatments than on the room itself? It's okay; we completely understand. Up until today, what you've gotten for your spa loyalty is usually a nice seaweed wrap or sugar body scrub or pedicure, but now there's something else to be had: a free Foursquare badge just for spa addicts.

The badge, called "Treat Yo' Self," just went live. We recommend aiming to earn it at a hotel spa this weekend, when you're in need of relaxation and "me time" following days of dealing with extended family and cooking crises.

How to unlock the badge, according to Matters of Grey:

1. Checkin 5 times to the same "Spa or Massage" venue or to 3 unique "Spa or Massage" venues.
2. To level up checkin to 5 more unique "Spa or Massage" venues (levels 2-10)
3. If checking into the same venue only 1 checkin a day will count for this badge (only for level 1 of the badge)
4. Previous checkins count

[Image: Foursquare]

Hotel Construction / London Hotels / CitizenM Hotels / Foursquare Hotels / → All Tags

A Little Sneaky Peek at the CitizenM London Thanks to Foursquare

Okay, here are two painfully obvious statements: We love hotels. We love Foursquare. Thus it's only natural that when modern-but-budget hotel chain CitizenM Hotels posts a photo to Foursquare, we perk up and pay attention. How fortunate too! This week, they added a very rough construction shot of their next property in development: CitizenM London Bankside.

So what can we see here? Well, apparently the underground support is all set and they're ready to begin building up some actual floors. By our last estimate, this CitizenM is scheduled for a 2012 opening, as is their first New York City United States location north of Times Square.

So while all those CitizenM execs spend the next year hopping the pond between NY and London, we hope they continue to keep their Foursquare fans updated further. Stalk Find them on Foursquare right here.

[Photo: CitizenM on Foursquare]

Foursquare / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / Foursquare Hotels / Concierges / Hotel News / → All Tags

The Ritz-Carlton's Concierges Want to Be Your Friend on Foursquare

Is Foursquare making a comeback? First Starwood Preferred Guests started giving extra SPG points for Foursquare check-ins and now Ritz-Carlton Hotels is offering up their concierges via Foursquare Tips.

Concierges from the 75 Ritz-Carlton hotels worldwide will now be comment-bombing the tips section on various Foursquare places with loads of their expert advice on what to do when you're in town. Not traveling but still want to see what RC concierges recommend? Then follow their tips live on Foursquare right here.

We're slowly starting to come back around to Foursquare these days and since the whole "Foursquare specials" thing hasn't really worked out for us (10 percent off a second appetizer? No thanks), the tips section is probably what will have us "checking in" more often. That and humblebragging to our friends on Twitter about where we are, of course.

Foursquare Hotels / Foursquare / Loyalty Program News / Hotel News / Starwood Hotels / Starwood Preferred Guest / Hotel Social Media / → All Tags

Here's a Reason to Start Using Foursquare Again, SPG Points

We admit, we were fully under the Foursquare influence back in 2010 but as the rewards for checking into places dwindled and the process of checking in became annoying (not to mention the cheats and scams of mayors and the spam "friends"), we pretty much abandoned Foursquare altogether.

But Starwood's SPG program is making us reconsider again with a pretty cool loyalty program incentive. Right now, you can earn 250 Starpoints when you check in for a confirmed reservation through July at over a 1,000 participating Starwood hotels worldwide.

And every day this month, one very lucky Foursquare user will also unlock a Free Resort Night Award which will be hidden at one of the 1,000 hotels. Plus, anyone who does check in to a Starwood Foursquare hotel will automatically enter themselves into a contest to win a resort getaway including five Free Resort Nights AND airfare.

more ›

Foursquare Hotels / Foursquare / Hotel Deals / Hotel Technology / Hotel Bars / → All Tags

These Hotels Have Foursquare Deals We Can Certainly Be (Guzzling) Down With

Earlier this year, we were so hot for Foursquare especially when we saw some hotels offering incentives to guests and visitors just for checking in via the location-based social network. But after the novelty wore off and after the Foursquare deals became a little more complicated and a lot less fun, we found ourselves asking, "And then what?"

But thankfully, the Roger Williams Hotel in NYC and Oceana Santa Monica have restored our faith in Foursquare Hotel deals. When a guest checks in for the first time to the hotel on Foursquare, they are offered a free drink on the hotel. At the Oceana, it's a buy one, get one in the lounge just off the pool area and at the Roger Williams it's a straight-up free drink at the lounge. You must show your check-in to the front desk to get a drink voucher.

Both hotels promise to change up the Foursquare specials in the future to "reward guests in different and exciting ways." May we suggest a room discount?

Foursquare Hotels / Hotel Bars / Hotel Lounges / Milwaukee Hotels / → All Tags

Why It Pays To Be On Foursquare At The Iron Horse Hotel

Where: 500 W Florida St [map], Milwaukee, WI, United States, 53204

Still on the fence about using Foursquare? Maybe a visit to Milwaukee's Iron Horse Hotel will convince you to start caring about badges and those all-important tips.

The hotel, which recently nabbed the "Best Boutique Hotel of the Year" award at the 2010 HD Boutique show in Miami, tipped us off a while back to its Foursquare Special Offer: Show your server at the Branded bar that you have checked in and you'll get 50% off your first drink. Dethrone the Mayor and you get 50% off your first round (up to six drinks).

more ›

Foursquare Hotels / Foursquare / Social Networking / Social Media / Chicago Hotels / James Hotels / Hotel Deals / → All Tags

The James Chicago Shows How a Foursquare Special is Done

Where: 55 East Ontario [map], Chicago, IL, United States, 60610

Last fall, during a visit to Chicago, we were walking through the River North area with our heads down, looking more at our phone than at the sidewalk in front of us. The reason was all the excellent tips and deals showing up on Foursquare, and when we walked near The James Hotel, their lobby bar deal for two cocktails for the price of one was more than enough to pull us in.

Chicago's James was one of the first hotels to embrace Foursquare, and they continue to do an excellent job with it, as evidenced by their most recent promotion. Check in and "check in" at the hotel, and you're in for this deal:

more ›

Foursquare Hotels / Foursquare / Hotel Social Media / Foursquare Day / → All Tags

It's Foursquare Day! Check Out These Special Foursquare Hotel Deals

Today is the First Annual Foursquare Day! Yes, the newest social media darling already has its own "day"! You can learn more about the Foursquare Day (aka "4sqDay") movement by reading its blog but what we're most excited about are the specials that hotels are offering Foursquare users for checking in on 4sqDay.

But don't get your hopes up too high. Most of these specials are simply food and beverage discounts and not any room rate deals. But hey, it is Friday so think of it as a way to get drunk faster.

For example in Chicago, at the Four Points Chicago Downtown Mag Mile if you check-in (in the Foursquare sense) you can receive 50 percent off your second Four Points by Sheraton Best Brew @4Bar.

In Savannah, several Doubletree Hotels, Hilton Garden Inns and even a Springhill Suites are offering F&B discounts to Foursquare users.

more ›

Foursquare Hotels / Foursquare / SXSW Hotels / Hilton Hotels / Hotel Notes / → All Tags

Hilton Austin Not Quite Hip to the Foursquare Trend

Where: 500 E 4th St [map], Austin, TX, United States, 78701

Everyone's gone SXSW crazy as the 10-day event kicks off their film and interactive media portion today and that means hotels are filling up with people checking-in...on Foursquare.

The other day we started our running list of hotels that offer deals on Foursquare to guests. We've updated the list recently so be sure to check out who is offering you what where. And if you see another hotel on Foursquare giving something to guests that check-in, please let us know.

Yet there's one hotel in Austin, that might need to brush up on the whole Foursquare trend--The Hilton Austin.

more ›

Foursquare Hotels / Foursquare / Social Media / Lists / → All Tags

What Hotels Are Offering Deals on Foursquare?

Yesterday we wrote about how more and more hotels were looking at Foursquare as a way to offer incentives to guests for frequent check-ins (in the Foursquare sense) as well as to build online buzz about their property, particularly about the property's restaurant, bars and spas.

While Foursquare still has a ways to go before it can compete with the big boys of Twitter and Facebook (it only has about 275,000 users), we've decided to keep a running tab of hotels that are active on Foursquare. We've started it off but as always, we want you guys to help the list grow. So please put your finds in comments below and we'll update the list regularly.

Just a note: These should be hotels that are actively reaching out to guests and visitors on Fourquare, not just hotels who can be found on Foursquare.

more ›

Foursquare Hotels / Foursquare / Social Networking / Social Media / Hotel News / → All Tags

Hotels are Angling For Their Foursquare Check-In Badge

The lobby bar at JW Marriott at LA Live is not on Foursquare but their Glance lounge is.

Do you Foursquare? No, not the game you used to play on the blacktop at recess. We're talking about Foursquare, the newest darling of the social media realm that allows you to declare your exact locations via your mobile devices. That's what's called a "check-in." (Not to be confused with your hotel check-in.)

The location-based service, which can be linked to your Facebook and Twitter feeds, awards points and "badges" as sort of a game to keep users interested in playing. Indeed, accumulating (or "unlocking") badges, particularly the silly ones, seems to be part of the fun on Foursquare.

But there is valuable information sharing going on here as well. Foursquare users interact with each other by giving tips on places they've checked into (long waits, specific bartenders to ask for, etc.) And because of this tip-sharing, Foursquare is emerging as a new sort of Yelp! or TripAdvisor.

more ›