Hotel & Motel Management - November 3, 2008 - (Page 58)

58 Special Report AN INDUSTRY CONNECTED H&MM November 3, 2008 | HotelMotel.com www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition Networks Continued from page 30 cessful for contests … but not for broad audiences,” Green said. “If you are Southwest Airlines and you’re attracting college-aged cohorts for promotion programs, then it’s great. But if you’re the Waldorf=Astoria, you’re wasting your time.” Although data shows older adults use these social networking sites more and more, they use them for a speciﬁc reason rather than to surf the site, Green said. Nonetheless, many brands have developed Facebook and MySpace accounts, and some have seen great success, such as Sheraton Hotels & Resorts’ fan page of Facebook, which boasts more than 13,000 fans. Hyatt has career and employment pages that Bernahl said have been popular and effective in recruiting, and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide’s brands all have fan pages with embedded video content and podcasts to drive guests to the page, said David Godsman, VP of global Web for Starwood. Into the blogosphere Personal or professional blogs are a popular way to connect online, and, if done right, they can be successful. Bill Marriott, the 76-yearold chairman and CEO of Marriott International, launched a blog, Marriott on the Move, in January 2007. His ﬁrst posting, “Uncharted Territory,” has received 151 comments, and “This Senseless Tragedy,” a response to the bombing of the Islamabad (Pakistan) Marriott Hotel had received 238 comments at press time. “I think when Bill Marriott started that blog, he did it because his communications person said, ‘We have to have a blog.’ He just did it and trusted that it’s a good idea, but I’m pretty sure he didn’t totally get it,” Green said. “[In September,] when the bomb went off in Islamabad, he used the blog to send out a message that conveyed both a message of sympathy and condolence, but it also conveyed what they were doing about it. … There could not have been a better [platform] for him to convey a message to lots of people in a way that was not a scripted press release. It made him so much more human and real.” That humanity is what the company sees as strengths of both Bill Marriott’s blog and the Courtyard by Marriott brand’s blog, Go Courtyard. “That’s a perfect example of what we’re trying to do: People identify with the blog, they identify with him. He embodies the company’s values, the company’s culture, and it makes us more transparent and brings us closer together,” said John Wolf, senior director of PR at Marriott International. Plus, the blogs have boosted reservations: Go Courtyard has generated $1.6 million in gross rooms revenue, and Bill Marriott’s blog has produced more than $5 million in rooms revenue. GETTING A FIRST LIFE IN SECOND LIFE When promoting a new hotel, most companies trust the traditional forms of marketing—word of mouth, press releases and advertisements. When Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide set out to launch its aloft brand, it undertook a completely new medium: Second Life. For more on aloft’s virtual life and other social networking facts, visit www.hotelmotel.com. Community building A new venture for hotels and hotel companies is online travel communities. Starwood, for example, launched theLobby.com in 2006, a daily travel blog for Starwood’s Preferred Guest program. In March, Hyatt launched yatt’it, where individuals can search by country and city for tips on where to stay, eat, play and more. Plus, users can post their own tips. “I think of it as the electronic version of the conversations guests naturally have in the lobby or at a lounge at one of our properties,” Bernahl said. “These conversations are a great way to ﬁnd the best steakhouse in Chicago, the best way to get into Tokyo from Narita, the best nightclubs in Dubai or advice on getting taxis and tipping in Moscow.” Social networking may be Catch the wave of excitement _ outfit your guest rooms with sleek new LCD televisions without draining cash flow! If you want to outfit your property with new LCD televisions, look to a direct lending source with flexible financing solutions and extensive experience in the hospitality industry. We’ve been helping customers nationwide create the right financing programs for more than 50 years. Contact us today and see what we can do for you. Homewood Suites Denver, CO LCD Televisions $209,000 Sheraton Lakewood, CO LCD Televisions $152,000 Competitive Rates Terms Up To 72 Months FF&E Financing Hilton Hotel Newark, DE LCD Televisions $422,000 Candlewood Suites Bismarck, ND FF&E $545,000 Hampton Inn Clinton, NJ LCD Televisions $179,000 Quality Inn & Suites Tampa, FL FF&E $970,000 relatively new, but it already has changed the industry. “It’s the ability to deliver a message, communicate with people 24/7 that’s really great. Twenty-ﬁve years ago, you were waiting for the evening newscast or you were waiting for the newspaper the next morning,” Wolf said. “That kind of message doesn’t work anymore. You’ve got to be a part of that connected world.” ehanna@questex.com Vendor Capital Group Contact Larry Holleman at 800-765-8644 or visit www.vendorcap.com Vendor Capital Group is a division of Telerent Leasing Corporation CIRCLE NO. 161 CIRCLE NO. 144 http://www.HotelMotel.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition http://www.theLobby.com http://www.hotelmotel.com http://www.sterifab.com http://www.vendorcap.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hotel & Motel Management - November 3, 2008

Hotel & Motel Management - November 3, 2008 Contents The Rate Debate Accor Defines Motel 6 Prototype Rollout Holiday Inn Eyes Upscale, Timeshare Perspective Economy Sets Tone at The Lodging Conference Mellow Vibe Meets Bold Design at HD Boutique Expo IH/M&RS to Focus on Going Green Legally Speaking Sales Clinic On Finance Travel Trends Cornell Insights Franchise Law HotelWorld Update Trends & Stats Energy Star Update Energy Star Update An Industry Connected People on The Move Annual GM Survey Point-of-Sale Systems IH/M&RS Product Preview Outdoor Lighting Refrigeration Marketplace Ad/Editorial Index Classifieds Checking Out

Hotel & Motel Management - November 3, 2008

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