International surpassed a million followers for its Marriott Hotels & Resorts brand ’ s Facebook page , but the brand has less than 500 followers on its official Instagram account .
However , some individual hotels and smaller brands are blazing the trail on Instagram , often leveraging their property ’ s visual appeal via both professional photography and simple cell phone photos . The 1,504-room , independently managed Fontainebleau Miami Beach has accrued more than 9,000 followers on Instagram . Outsourcing its social media outreach to BCV , Chicago , the majority of the hotel ’ s posted photographs on Instagram are professionally shot , but staffers also send some of their own photos to BCV to post . The Fontainebleau hashtag has been used more than 23,000 times on Instagram since the account was launched in June 2012 , and 14 % of the uploaded photos are taken by guests . BCV says on-property performances by popular music acts like Maroon 5 , Flo Rida and Gym Class Heroes increased engagement rates on Instagram .
While BCV acknowledges it is difficult to point directly to any revenue as a result of the Fontainebleau ’ s social media outreach , it points to increased traffic to the hotel ’ s website .
Royal Cliff Hotels Group , Pattaya , Thailand , which manages four properties in Pattaya , has increased its Instagram account to more than 1,200 followers by using in-house staff that have taken photography courses as well as outside photographers . The hotel company has invested in a professional-quality camera kit for its staff , although smartphones are also used . To boost its Instagram following , the hotel company has invited Thai celebrities and social media mavens to stay at the hotel , posting photos of them on-property . Royal Cliff has seen the engagement lead to increased traffic and booking inquiries as well as boosted brand awareness of its hotel restaurants .
“ In our Instagram account , guests directly ask us for rates and special promotions — we even have reservation details posted in the comments ,” says Vitanart Vathanakul , executive director of Royal Cliff Hotels
Group . “ Through Google Analytics , we can track that we are receiving an increase in referrals to our website from Instagram . Before departing the restaurants , we have a feedback form that asks guests how they first found out about the restaurant . About 15 % stated it was through the photos they saw on Instagram .”
While 95 % of the photos on its account are taken by the hotel or by a professional photographer hired by the hotel , Vathanakul says 60 % of photos with the # royalcliff or # royalcliffhotel hashtags are taken by guests .
“ We aim to post five photos per week ,” Vathanakul says . “ The whole team screens the photos before they get uploaded . Each photo must reflect our brand image of exclusivity , charisma , fascination and enchantment .”
The Beverly Wilshire , Beverly Hills , California , managed by Four Seasons and Resorts , Toronto , has more than 2,400 followers . The hotel has kept its Instagram campaign in-house and largely fed the account with photos staffers took on their personal smartphones . The hotel typically posts one photo a day .
“ More than 90 % of the images come from the hotel ,” says Carrie Mitchell , director of public relations at the Beverly Wilshire . “ We collect a regular stream of photos from our different departments in-house to share via Instagram ; it is truly a collaborative effort . We largely use smartphones . On occasion , we will repurpose professional photos from our image library or other ones we have taken ourselves . For our property , constantly creating new content to share with followers is important .”
Mitchell says special campaigns , such as a Tiffany & Co . holiday tree installed in the hotel , produce a surge in guest photos of the hotel . Despite the engagement , though , only anecdotal evidence of the campaign producing increased bookings has been noted .
“ We can ’ t claim to have a direct correlation to an overall increase in occupancy , but we have on occasion had people book as a result of an Instagram image they have seen shared on our Twitter or Facebook page ,” Mitchell adds .
100 MILLION INSTAGRAM USERS WORLDWIDE
33 % OF INSTAGRAM . COM VISITORS ARE FROM THE UNITED STATES
28 % OF U . S . INTERNET USERS AGES 18-29 USE INSTAGRAM
14 %
OF U . S . INTERNET USERS AGES 30-49 USE INSTAGRAM
3 % OF U . S . INTERNET USERS AGES 50-64 USE INSTAGRAM
2 % OF U . S . INTERNET USERS AGES 65 AND OLDER USE INSTAGRAM
www . hotelsmag . com June 2013 HOTELS 9