THE MAGAZINE OF THE WORLDWIDE HOTEL INDUSTRY
EDITORIAL Jeff Weinstein , Editor In Chief 1.312.274.2226 E-mail : jweinstein @ hotelsmag . com
Ann Bagel Storck , Managing Editor 1.312.274.2209 E-mail : astorck @ hotelsmag . com
Nathan Greenhalgh , Associate Editor 1.312.274.2229 E-mail : ngreenhalgh @ hotelsmag . com
Dani Friedland , New Media Editor 1.312.274.2223 E-mail : dfriedland @ mtgmediagroup . com
Queenie Burns , Vice President , Design 1.312.274.2216 E-mail : qburns @ mtgmediagroup . com
Bert Ganzon , Senior Art Director 1.312.274.2227 E-mail : bganzon @ mtgmediagroup . com
Steve Vanden Heuvel , Senior Art Director 1.312.274.2218 E-mail : svandenheuvel @ mtgmediagroup . com
Michelle Villadolid , Freelance Design E-mail : mvilladolid @ mtgmediagroup . com
Bill McDowell , Vice President , Editorial Director 1.312.274.2201 bmcdowell @ mtgmediagroup . com
CONTRIBUTING EDITORs Mary Gostelow , Adam Kirby , Oriana Lerner
PUBLIsHING Dan Hogan , Vice President , Publisher 1.312.274.2221 dhogan @ hotelsmag . com
INTERNATIONAL ADVIsORY BOARD
Nakul Anand Executive Director , ITC Ltd ., Gurgaon , India
Stephen Bartolin Chairman and CEO , The Broadmoor , Colorado Springs , Colorado
Eric Danziger President and CEO , Wyndham Hotel Group , Parsippany , New Jersey
Geoffrey Gelardi Managing Director , The Lanesborough , London
Kirk Kinsell President , the Americas , IHG , Atlanta
Alex Kyriakidis President and Managing Director , Middle East and Africa , Marriott International , Dubai
Christopher Nassetta President and CEO , Hilton Worldwide , McLean , Virginia
Monika Nerger Chief Information Officer , Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group , Atlanta
Paul Sistare President and CEO , Atlantica Hotels International , São Paulo
Susan Terry Vice President Culinary Operations , Hyatt Hotels North American Operations , Chicago
EDiTOriAL AND PrODuCTiON OFFiCES , HOTELS Marketing and Technology Group , 1415 N . Dayton Street Chicago , Illinois 60642 USA 1.312.274.2200 ; fax : 1.312.266.3363 edit @ hotelsmag . com
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Does personality matter ?
There is an interesting juxtaposition taking place in the hotel business . On one hand hotels are increasingly being referred to as commodities with consumers more and more likely to book through OTAs and showing less and less brand loyalty . At the same time , hotels and brands are putting an increasing amount of time and effort into developing their “ personalities .” Even Marriott , while no longer but for years considered the “ box ” brand of the business , has stepped out with everything from experience-sharing apps to crowd-sourcing events and its own content development — some in collaboration with edgy publications such as Wired . While traditionalists are not sure if this approach will work any better than typical marketing programs and believe in the old-fashioned power of travel trade and road shows , concepts like content marketing and crowd-sourcing are perfect examples of Marketing 2.0 , or marketing in a world gone mobile .
Are these efforts the brands ’ answers to the monumental marketing budgets being spent by the likes of Expedia ? Is it enough ? Time will tell , but I do not believe brands or independent hotels must become commodities . They do have souls , and they can capture the affinity of the traveling public .
What these new marketing efforts must become , however , is genuine , authentic , creative and very consistent . Tactics like content marketing with established media brands cannot be the flavor of the month , nor can campaigns on social media . These modern-day marketing approaches need to become part of the brand ’ s fabric .
In keeping with this trend , this month we focus our Special Report ( p24 ) on how smartly curated art installations , artist-in-residence programs and art-related promotions have become such a huge trend . They serve to create more experiential hotel stays , connect with the local community and give properties and even small brands distinct personalities .
Two other briefs in our Global Update also speak to hotels ’ personality . To wit , Hyatt ’ s Andaz Peninsula Papagayo in Costa Rica is promoting its “ cultural insiders ” for art , music and surf to create inspired experiences for guests , and Starwood Hotels & Resorts has started a campaign to encourage guests to geo-tag their Instagram photos and videos so they appear on its branded website , Guest Galleries . The goal of the latter is to increase consumer engagement with Starwood brands as potential bookers can get an even more realistic picture of exact hotel experiences .
The marketing landscape is changing dramatically , and while I still believe in the power of one-to-one marketing and promotions , 2014 will see an avalanche of Marketing 2.0 approaches to build brand personality . What ’ s your plan ?
Editor In Chief
www . hotelsmag . com January / February 2014 HOTELs 7