HotelsMag April 2014 | 页面 14

Global Update

Paying it forward

Hospitality professionals can experience Jicaro Island Ecolodge in Granada , Nicaragua , for US $ 120 per night thanks to a special
“ sustainability training ” package offered by Cayuga
Sustainable Hospitality this fall .
Cayuga Sustainable Hospitality has won multiple awards for its sustainable practices , and now the San Jose , Costa Rica-based company is looking to share its knowledge with others in the industry .
From August 20 through November 15 , Cayuga is offering rates at its seven Central American properties starting at US $ 120 per night to individuals working in hospitality in the hope they might be able to pair a getaway with a chance to learn more about Cayuga ’ s CSR projects . President and Co-Owner Hans Pfister says although there is not a formal program for participants , he expects them to take the back-of-house sustainability tour available to all Cayuga guests as well as get a firsthand look at the company ’ s community and environmental projects , which can range from local education initiatives to reintroduction of species into the wild .
Pfister says the offering can appeal to a range of job titles as well as individuals working at larger properties or major brands . “ The systems might not be applied one-for-one , but it can provide inspiration for adapting it to your environment ,” he notes .

Pfister adds Cayuga does not expect to make money on this initiative , but instead sees it as part of a broader mission . “ When people ’ s hearts get touched , when people see and experience — this is when the magic starts to happen ,” he says . “ That ’ s the motivation of this — trying to get people to see some really cool , different things and think , ‘ What could I do in my place to make it better ?’” new face of facebook Posting

Changes in December 2013 to Facebook ’ s News Feed algorithm have resulted in an approximately 40 % decrease for fan pages ’ status updates ’ organic reach , according to data from EdgeRankChecker .
A post ’ s prevalence on fans ’ Facebook News Feeds is now being influenced by users ’ predicted response to it based on the post ’ s content and the engagement of past posts .
“ If someone always hides certain ads , we will reduce the
number of those types of ads that we show them ,” says Lee McCabe , head of travel , global vertical marketing , Facebook . “ Our goal is to make sure we deliver the most relevant ads . This is ultimately better for marketers .
“ Image-based posts deliver better results for advertisers , as well as using stories along with content trending in real time ,” McCabe continues . “ It ’ s about reaching consumers with relevant messaging they ’ ll want to engage with .”
organic reach for status uPdates from fan Pages on facebook ’ s news
feed has declined 40 %,
according to
edgerankchecker .
In addition to changing hotels ’ posting strategies , experts say the change will push more of the hotel industry ’ s Facebook outreach to the social network ’ s paid marketing options , which may not be as effective .
“ Paid content doesn ’ t have the impact that fans have when they endorse brands and share brand posts with friends ,” says Daniel Craig , founder of hotel online marketing consultancy Reknown , Vancouver , Canada .
12 HOTELS April 2014 www . hotelsmag . com