Hotels are always looking for new, creative ways to encourage social media interaction between guests and their property. When considering where to stay on your vacation, the most highly regarded suggestions will come from personal acquaintances, not advertisements or Google suggestions. Other than word-of-mouth, social media is the best way to get your customers to brag about your property to all of their friends and family. So how do you get them to interact with your property on social media? Kimpton Hotels and Marriott have both recently launched a new rewards program giving guest’s benefits and loyalty points for certain “behaviors” on social media. While a points program is a little more complex, this can easily be used at smaller and non-branded properties to generate “buzz” for your hotel. Here are a few examples of how this can be done at your property:
–Upon checking in, provide an offer, “Check in on Facebook upon arrival for a free drink coupon or $5 voucher to our restaurant/dining.”
–Upon arriving to the room, “Tweet your favorite feature of the hotel for a free drink coupon.”
–“Post a photo of your room/window view with the hashtag #HotelViews (or anything that fits) for a chance to win a free night’s stay.” By using a hashtag, you’re able to track all of the participants.
–“Tweet and tag a photo upon arrival to receive 10% off your stay.”
While these are just a few examples and drink coupons are an easy reward to think of, there are tons of different ways to utilize this tactic. You could offer points that add up to save on your next stay; the more social media interactions, the more points you can earn. This could turn social media junkies, aka millenials, into a walking, talking customer review for your property by constantly flaunting it online. Engaging customers online is a new practice and nobody has a clear cut answer as to what works, so be creative and try some new things! Keeping guests engaged and interacting with your property/brand is an easy way to get free marketing on the most organic platform possible; person-to-person recommendations. Check out the full USA Today article which discusses how some big brand hotels are utilizing similar programs.
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