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Tags: Twitter / Hyatt Hotels / Hotel Marketing / → All Tags
Checking In On the Hyatt Twitter Concierge
When the Hyatt Twitter Concierge initially launched, we weren't very quiet about our skepticism. After all, it was introduced to the world at the apex of the Twitter Revolution (a.k.a. the media frenzy in which more time was spent talking about Twittering than doing the Twittering itself) and it seemed like a bit of a goofy gimmick to get the big-box hotel brand onto the radar screens of the hip-and-trendies.
But now, a couple months later, it's lookin' like the concept is actually — yes, you guessed it — going pretty well. That is: people are using it. Not a lot of people, but, you know, people. Go figure.
A quickie look-see at the feed shows a pretty steady stream of answers to guests' questions — and the account has just under 5000 followers (though we recognize that this doesn't really mean anything — people don't really need to follow this account, especially since most of the updates are @'s to other Twitterers).
Do we think this is the future of concierge services? No, absolutely not. But we see a several-times-a-day rate of activity here, and questions about credit card payments, storing luggage at the front desk, pools and nearby attractions seem to be a bit more frequent than, say, the "thanks for your interest in what we're doing here" posts.
Tags: Twitter / Hotel Marketing / → All Tags
Hotel Advertises Twitter Account on Billboard. We Should All Quit Now.
Not to be the Regina George-ish types of the hotel Twitterverse, but this mess has officially gotten out of hand. A hotel has just sent around a press release to announce the fact that they are now advertising their Twitter account on a billboard. Did your head just explode? Don't worry about that — because we're pretty sure the world's about to end, too.
Last week Dover Downs Hotel & Casino, whose Twitter account we refuse to link to, posted a billboard along Route 50 near Washington, D.C. "instructing passers-by to 'follow' the company" on Twitter. Guh.
Per the press release (yes, a press release):
Dover Downs Hotel & Casino began using Twitter in the beginning of June and as of this writing the company has over 370 followers and has "tweeted" (updated their profile) over 800 times.
To further connect with Twitter community, Dover Downs Hotel & Casino will host the September edition of the Delaware Tweetup at a restaurant in the hotel. The Delaware Tweetup is a gathering of Twitter users from Delaware for networking and charity fundraising.
No. Just no. That's it; we should all just quit Twitter now.
Tags: Twitter / Hotel Marketing / → All Tags
Even More Hotels on Twitter: The New Class
Ah, the hotel Twitterverse. Such a vast and varied collection of properties, chains and even CEO's truckin' along with their 140-or-less-character musings and magic. But it's hard to keep track of who's who — and gauge who is worth following (seriously, following a bajillion accounts makes your Twitter homepage absolutely unmanageable).
We took a quick gander at the Twit4 Directory of hotels that Twitter, and we found a few new faces (er, avatars?) that you may want to add to your roster of hotels you follow — and a sample Tweet from each:
Andaz supports the invisible arts: 2nd person to DM us wins tix to Friday's Air Guitar regional competition @theTroubadour
A bunch of manta rays are playing just off the resort beach this morning - great for the kayakers
@decor8 - No prob! Selling $219, but $199 for you plus 15% disc. Email if you'd like to book - [redacted]. Thanks!
· The Benjamin (More accurately, the Benjamin's Sleep Concierge)
Looking forward to your afternoon pick-me-up? Skip the soda and find a good substitute. Caffeine after lunch will interfere with sleep.
Check out the big directory here — and feel free to tell us your fave (or lease fave, for that matter).
Tags: Twitter / Hotel Marketing / Hotel News / → All Tags
Hoteliers on Twitter: Give the Tweeple What They Want
We hate to keep talking about Twitter (after all, we know you're already on top of it and that you're obviously already following us), but after reading the excellent feature over at Hotels Mag about hoteliers, hotel properties and hotel chains on Twitter, we were inspired to throw in our own two cents about what we've seen going on around the hotel Twitterverse.
The article itself explains how Twitter works and points out some of the most creative uses of the social media platform for folks in the hotel industry — and the big takeaway here, more than anything, is that all of this shouldn't necessarily be about posting links to press releases or new packages you're offering, but actually achieving a level of interaction with the people who are your current and future guests, whether you're Tweeting as the CEO of a chain or a GM of a property.
Our fave quote from the article:
Creating brand awareness and maintaining guest loyalty are the platform’s most important purposes, says John Wolf, senior director of public relations for Marriott International and keeper of the @MarriottIntl account. “It’s not about return on investment—it’s about return on engagement,” he says.
Speaking from the other side — as the people these Twitterers are trying to engage with — we've got a couple of things to add.
Tags: Twitter / Hyatt Hotels / Hotel Marketing / → All Tags
Is Anyone Using the Hyatt Twitter Concierge?
Sometimes we think Twitter should market itself with the slogan, "Twitter: The Place to Talk About How We Are Twittering" — because we see so, so many people and businesses using the social media platform to, well, Tweet about how they're using Twitter and how awesome it is that they're doing so. And, many times, we watch those same people and businesses who arrive on Twitter with a big, glitzy "omg-we-are-now-on-Twitter!" blitz sort of let their accounts go stale just as quickly, and we see them abandon the whole thing quietly (or at least scale back on the frequency of their Tweets and user interaction).
So we hope Hyatt's Twitter Concierge isn't falling victim to the same sort of thing. See, remember when the hotel world was all abuzz with Hyatt's scheme to introduce a Twitter-based concierge? Essentially, the company launched a Twitter account manned by Guest Services agents who answered questions for people in the Twitterverse.
Ideally, it's supposed to function as a new medium for the company to communicate with its guests: someone, for instance, can Tweet, "@HyattConcierge How far away is your Park Hyatt Hotel in Chicago from the stadium where the Chicago Fire soccer team play? Walking dstnce? [sic]" to which someone from the Hyatt Concierge Twitter responds, "Toyota Park is approx. 17 miles from the Park Hyatt. Please allow 45 min. for travel time."
Tags: Hotel Websites / Aloft Hotels / Starwood Hotels / Hotel Marketing / → All Tags
The New 'Aloft Experience' Site is Kind of Awesome
Aloft recently explanded their website, launching a totally new section called The Aloft Experience — and the most important thing we have to say here is this: the music on the site is stellar. There is a little music player rolling through a playlist that includes Duran Duran, Jem and Sarah Bareilles. And you know how much we love us some decent hotel website music.
The new "microsite" is pretty sweet; the official purpose of the new offshoot is:
It showcases a range of interactive features, including a guided insider’s tour of the hotel, maps and city guides for each location which engage visitors through a series of original, branded games that bring the Aloft Hotels experience to life.
Tags: Facebook / Hotel Marketing / Grand Canyon Hotels / Pet-Friendly Hotels / Hotel Deals / → All Tags
Quail Park Lodge Uses Facebook to Appeal to 'DogTown' Fans
Take a classic early 1960’s roadside motel, give it a spiffy makeover and a swift kick into the 21st century and you’ve got the kitschy Quail Park Lodge in Kanab, UT.
Although Kanab is a great overnight escape from Las Vegas, outdoor enthusiasts from all over the world dig this destination as a centrally-located home base for exploring Zion National Park, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Coral Pink Sand Dunes, and Grand Staircase Escalante.
And at Quail Park Lodge, there’s a whole lotta "new" goin' on, including a new swimming pool, LCD TV’s, free Wi-Fi, microwaves, mini-fridges, and comfy beds — and the Internet-savvy property is also wheeling and dealing reduced room rates on its frequently-updated Facebook page.
Tags: Facebook / Hotel Marketing / Denver Hotels / Marriott Hotels / Hotel Deals / → All Tags
JW Marriott Denver at Cherry Creek Weaves Its Social Web
Okay, so maybe the JW Marriott Denver at Cherry Creek could use a jumpstart in the social networking department, but with just shy of 100 Facebook fans (as of press time), its prospects for Web 2.0 glory are looking favorable.
The secret to hotel Facebook success seems to lie in the level of staff involvement. Is the page updated regularly? Are there photos and/or videos? Is there a place in which guests can pony up their opinion? Does the hotel offer special online deals and incentives (because frankly, in this cash strapped economy, everyone is looking for a little gratis action). We know there are dozens of hotels (at least) using Facebook — so it seems like everyone's doing it, but are they working it to their advantage like Mariah Carey works a too-tight outfit? That’s highly debatable.
Tags: Twitter / Hotel Marketing / Hotel Concierges / Hyatt Hotels / → All Tags
Hyatt Launches Twitter Concierge for Your Less-Than-140-Character Needs
The hotel world is all a-Twitter today about a new concept launched by Hyatt: a Twitter-based "Virtual Concierge." Essentially, this is a 24/7 customer service Twitter account; you can "@" the HyattConcierge account and you'll get a response back (hopefully quickly); kinda like a concierge compressed into less than 140 characters. Huh.
Hotels Mag says:
The account is being staffed 24/7 by specially trained agents within the corporate customer service group who are available to assist with typical concierge fare like spa appointments, golf outings and dinner reservations. @HyattConcierge will also field assorted guest complaints and queries.
This is most definitely one of the most creative uses of Twitter by a hotel or hotel company — by far — but our feelings are mixed on this one. On one hand, we are posting these questions to the concierges pretty publicly — not to go all Your-Internet-Averse-Mom on you, but, like, be careful what you're putting on Twitter as far as your whereabouts. Also, how much help can you really be in 140 characters?
But on the other hand, we'll give Twitter-ers the benefit of the doubt and assume that nobody will be posting "I'm staying at the Park Hyatt Philly on 5/24 alone. Restaurant recs?" And, based on this Tweet, it looks like they're utilizing DM to exchange contact info to answer questions more thoroughly via telephone.
Is this the future of hotels on Twitter? We'll see — it's definitely cool and interactive, but it serves a totally different purpose than most other hotels' Twitter accounts (which exist primarily to promote packages, promos, news and whatnot).
Tags: Hotel Marketing / Lists / W Hotels / Starwood Hotels / → All Tags
The Five Best Awesomely-Cheesy W Hotel Taglines
Somewhere in this world, it is someone's job to come up with creative, catchy and varied taglines to describe and promote different hotels within the same chain. And on hotel websites across the Internet, these sparkling marketing copy gems are on display to accompany pretty pictures and hotel descriptions, lending a bit of pizazz and style — but our favorite taglines, by far, are found on the W Hotels website.
Come along with us on this international tour, guided solely by awesomely-cheesy W Hotels taglines, won't you?
Tags: Hotel Marketing / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
So, About That Carlton Hotel Email Blast...
Alright, so, turns out: The Carlton Hotel wasn't trying to make us sad by promising us gifts and then instead asking for our vote in the CNT Awards. Someone was just having an off week and made a bit of an oopsie boo-boo, and it's been fixed.
A rep for the company who sent out the email blast we called out yesterday reached out to us to let us know yesterday that the email was, in fact, an issue of not matching up a subject line with the copy in the body of the email. The founder of the company who worked with the Carlton for the email blast said:
My company, Digital Alchemy, is 100% responsible for the inaccurate subject line that was sent to some guests after checkout from The Carlton. We changed the content of a post-stay email sent to the guest without changing the subject line to the new copy. This reflected very poorly on us and, unfortunately and more importantly, The Carlton.
We have since sent an email on behalf of The Carlton to all guests who received the erroneous email that includes a significant discount offer. We are embarrassed by our mistake and have taken steps to prevent it from ever happening again. As the largest provider of email marketing services to the hospitality industry, maintaining our reputation in is secondary only to maintaining the reputation or our customers like The Carlton.
Aw. Call us crazy, but this kind of made us happy — it's cool when people take accountability for mistakes and take steps to fix it. Hotels — and other businesses — take note: you can fix your mistakes if you just give it a try.
Tags: Hotel Marketing / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
The Carlton Sends a 'Gift For You' That is Actually a 'Gift For Them'
Today in "misleading and disappointing e-mail subject line" news, we have a sad story that was, for once, not unearthed from the depths of our spam folder (the contents of which have long been promising us magical slimdown solutions and um, other stuff).
Today, a tipster sent over a very special email sent by The Carlton on Madison Avenue, who either made a little mistake with their email blast or took a lesson from our friends in the world of spammers who break promises between the subject lines and bodies of emails.
See, the subject line of this email was, "A Gift For You From The Carlton on Madison Avenue." Natch, everyone who received the email was probably like, "ooh! A gift! A discount? Some free chocolate? A free night?" But no. The body of the email contained none of that.
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