Global Update
Accor ’ s “ Savour , Snap , Share ” social media campaign aimed to bring together social media , food and selfies .
Rise of the ‘ food-fies ’
Accor launched its “ Savour , Snap , Share ” social media campaign across Asia to encourage guests to share food selfies ( known as “ food-fies ”) on Facebook , Instagram and Weibo from any Accor property . A panel of Accor chefs chose weekly winners to receive prizes that included dining vouchers as well as a grand prize of a two-night stay at a participating Accor hotel .
According to Emilie Couton , vice president of guest experience at Accor Hotels Asia Pacific , the campaign was based on 2014 ’ s Accor Hotels Asia Pacific Social Media Monitor that revealed 77 % of travelers took photos during their last trip .
Survey respondents from Southeast Asia were also most likely to have taken photos and were most likely to take photos of food . Women were also more likely to share photographs on social media , publish social media updates throughout their trips and upload photos when they returned home .
“ Although we expect trends outside of Asia to be similar , the region will continue to lead the pack when it comes to the use of social media ,” Couton predicts . “ We also notice behavioral differences between respondents based in Asia versus those in the Pacific region . Respondents from Australia , New Zealand and Japan were less likely to take travel photos compared to the respondents in Asia .”
saving with solaR
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide ’ s The Phoenician in Scottsdale , Arizona , recently unveiled its solar-panel installation — estimated to offset a portion of the resort ’ s energy demand equivalent to about 90 homes . Designed and installed in partnership with NRG Energy , the project includes approximately 2,000 photovoltaic solar panels , which also serve to provide shaded outdoor event space .
“ Part of the reason we did this was to demonstrate to hotel owners that there are cost-effective ways to do a major capital improvement like solar ,” says Ken Siegel , chief administrative officer and general counsel for Starwood . “ We also were able to demonstrate that we could enhance the property ’ s luxury experience and not detract from the design and aesthetics .”
The Phoenician ’ s installation is reportedly the first of many between Starwood and NRG . Future projects include solar installations at The Westin St . John Resort in the U . S . Virgin Islands and The Westin Maui Resort & Spa , Ka ’ anapali , Hawaii . Altogether , the three installations are expected to provide more than 2 megawatts of solar power . “ We ’ ve set aggressive goals to reduce our energy consumption and carbon emissions by 30 % and our water consumption by 20 % by 2020 , and this is one step in achieving those goals without sacrificing luxury ,” Siegel says .
In addition to solar , Siegel says Starwood is considering wind and co-generation solutions . “ If we are going deliver on our energy- and emissions-reduction goals , we are going to have to have to consider different options available to each of our unique properties ,” he says .
A “ design-driven ” approach was core to the solar panel installation at The Phoenician to create airflow and accent colors that blended into the property ’ s surroundings .
14 HOTELS May 2015 www . hotelsmag . com