cations , which carries over to travel .”
You call us About two years ago , Starwood Hotels & Resorts piloted Let ’ s Chat , a two-way 24 / 7 mes-
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spheres , why couldn ’ t we provide that same style in our hotel ?” says Daniel Kerzner , Starwood ' s vice president of digital , loyalty and partner marketing , adding that What ’ s App |
has allowed us to cross demographics .”
Another important feature of Let ’ s Chat is that guests initiate all conversations . The platform aims to replace the conversation
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gertips ,” he says . “ We do not push any unsolicited marketing or promotional material over a channel . Instead , we are on the receiving end of the station of dialogue that has been |
Millennials who use Facebook Messenger use it three times more often than they do email . |
saging tool between guests and associates , at W Doha Hotel & Residences . Available on WhatsApp , Blackberry Messenger and iMessage , Let ’ s Chat is now available at more than 150 Starwood properties worldwide .
“ We recognized that if guests are using text messages in their social
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accounts for 85 % of dialogue . “ Texting has grown so rapidly and covers across very large age and large geographic brackets . The device that people use might be different depending on where in the world they are from and the chat apps might be different , but by allowing guests to use their own device |
that a guest would have over the phone or at the front desk . Kerzner reports an average 60-second response rate and says the majority of requests received over Let ’ s Chat include spa bookings , restaurant reservations and car transfers . “ It ’ s really an extension of a concierge at their fin- |
initiated specifically by the guest .”
Corinthia Hotel St . George ' s Bay in Malta recently introduced a pre-allocated WhatsApp number that guests can use to contact the hotel directly for services during their stay . The hotel also offers " Twitter by the Pool ,"
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which allows guests to tweet their food and drink orders while at the pool .
“ Inevitably , messaging is going to be highly disruptive – it has to be ,” says Robert Cole , founder of RockCheetah , Menomonee Falls , Wisconsin . “ This represents a huge shift in the industry .”
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June 2016 hotelsmag . com 13 |