GLOBAL UPDATE
UPDATES
FATTAL MOVES BEYOND ISRAEL 10
MARRIOTT ’ S EUROPEAN JOBS APP 12
SHORE HOTEL ’ S GREEN TRAILBLAZING 12
ROI NOT INSTANTLY CLEAR
The Fontainebleau Miami Beach has accrued more than 9,000 followers on Instagram .
BROOKLYN BUZZ 14
HOTEL ZETTA 16
ON THE WEB 18
While Instagram ’ s potential for hotels to engage with younger consumers is clear , the return on investment potential remains murky for the photo-sharing tool and social network , which recently surpassed 100 million users worldwide .
“ It ’ s a way for hotels to increase reach and build a community they might not otherwise reach ,” says Daniel Edward Craig , founder of hotel online marketing consultancy Reknown , Vancouver , Canada . “ Instagram isn ’ t going to perform miracles in terms of driving business , but it ’ s one more channel that can lead to the point of purchase . However , it ’ s so difficult to measure return on investment .”
In addition to questionable ROI , Instagram is not without risks of other social media websites , such as critical
user-generated postings . “ For example , a hotel that emphasizes its award-winning spa in official marketing photos may not love an Instagram photo of tourists singing ‘ Gangnam Style ’ in its luxury treatment rooms ,” says Marie Chauvin , business manager , Europe , Circos Brand Karma , Singapore . “ This is the reality of the social media world .”
To mitigate this , hotels can reserve matching usernames to prevent non-accredited users ’ content being mistaken for official brand content .
Slow progress Instagram is a relative newcomer to the social media big leagues , and the major brands are not leveraging it as much as other social media . For example , Marriott
8 HOTELS June 2013 www . hotelsmag . com