NEW YORK CITY—Boutique and lifestyle hotels, whether independent or branded, all tout unique experiences, and hoteliers in that space are finding unique ways to reach their target guests through social marketing.
At the Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association’s Boutique Hotel Investment Conference in New York this week, speakers shared social marketing tips—some offbeat, some fundamental—that speak to today’s guests who are looking for experiential travel.
“Using social media for marketing is critical; it’s a way we share information and a way consumers get to know and understand our brands,” said Caroline MacDonald, VP of sales and marketing, Americas and Europe, at Rosewood Hotel Group. “Seeing people share our brand and amplify it through social is important. As travelers, you see friends or experts whose opinions you value and they help you feel confident about your decision to purchase.”
Here are five tips from boutique hoteliers who are succeeding at social marketing.
1. Make design a story starter
“Social is critical for our marketing efforts because we know our customers use it,” said David Kuperberg, chief development officer at Dream Hotel Group. “For us it starts with design. When we design a hotel, we incorporate Instagram design moments,” or places that make it easy for guests to snap and share a picture.
He cited an art element at the Dream Downtown as an example—a giant American flag made out of beer cans.
“We see people are constantly taking pictures in front of that flag and posting them,” Kuperberg said.
2. True stories make shareable content
Mark Keiser, SVP and chief development officer of SH Group, said telling compelling stories about brand activities resonates with guests who appreciate authenticity. SH Group is the hotel management arm of Starwood Capital Group, which manages the 1 Hotels and Baccarat Hotels & Resorts brands. 1 Hotels is an eco-forward brand that emphasizes sustainability in its operations and guest experience, and Keiser said telling that story has a big impact.
“We have a transparency dashboard where anyone can see in real time the energy savings we achieve at our two hotels,” he said. “It’s become shareable. People engage with it, they share it, it creates a community and buy-in for what our brand stands for.”
3. Rely on social influencers
Daniel Hostettler, president and managing director of Ocean House and Relais & Chateaux North America, said he was skeptical at first that social content would appeal to his guests, which skew older and a bit more traditional.
Enter social influencers, the term for bloggers and other online personalities brands align with for promotions.
“We had some social influencers stay at the property and before we knew it, one of them shared a picture of his pancake breakfast, and it had 15,000 likes on it. That’s big,” Hostettler said.
4. Use social (and events) to be where your guests are but your properties aren’t
Kuperberg knows his target guests for the Dream Hotels brand live on social, but also at key events. His team creates pop-up events at major music festivals, like the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and South By Southwest, then spreads the word on social media.
“We may not have a hotel there, but we have a party there to show the brand,” he said. “Dream Hollywood is opening this September, so for us to be at Coachella this year was critical to promote the brand.”
5. Consider social as a research tool
At ultra-luxury hotels like those in the Relais & Chateaux portfolio, personalization is a big component of the overall service, Hostettler said. To that end, his team uses social media to research guest profiles in order to tailor service better.
“We have people on property who Google our guests to find their social profiles and see what they might like, their pets, that sort of thing,” he said.