BY BRAND
FOUR SEASONS HOTELS AND RESORTS , TORONTO DESCRIPTION : Four Seasons has refreshed its Facebook page with a more conversational and personal approach it calls “ the voice of the traveler .” Four Seasons employs a corporate social media marketing team of four and a dedicated social media monitoring / guest relations team of two — in addition to more than 80 property-level social media marketers — to apply a 24 / 7 monitoring approach . Social teams work in tandem with operations to ensure coordination of digital and on-property guest experiences . The fan page encourages the posting and sharing of user-generated content . RESULTS : The brand ’ s Facebook fan page followers increased more than 50 % from April 2012 to April 2013 . An increase in fan engagement resulted in 59,517 “ shares ” of Four Seasons brand Facebook content from January 2012 to April 2013 . RUNNER-UP : Hilton Hotels & Resorts
BY PROPERTY
W TAIPEI , TAIWAN DESCRIPTION : W Taipei focuses on contests and posts about cocktails , cuisine , events and celebrities on its Facebook page , emphasizing images . Instagram photos are posted regularly . To build followers , the hotel also tagged certain third-party fan pages , asked other fan pages such as Vogue . com to share information on the hotel and promoted the fan page with US $ 2,000 in Facebook advertisements targeting Hong Kong and Singapore users . The page allows users to book guestrooms , make spa and restaurant reservations , take a virtual tour , watch YouTube clips and access other W Taipei social media accounts .
BY BRAND
BY PROPERTY
FOUR SEASONS HOTELS AND RESORTS , TORONTO DESCRIPTION : Four Seasons ’ “ Ignite the Spark ” global promotion included an interactive Facebook application available on the brand fan page with localized versions of the app on property fan pages . The Facebook app invited all Facebook users to create their own personalized “ countdown to romance ” widget by filling in the details of a forthcoming romantic getaway , with the option of selecting their partner ’ s Facebook profile . Once completed , the app generated a live ticker that counted down the days until the user ’ s romantic escape , and the widget could be embedded on any website . The app also generated romantic tips and ideas specific to the couple ’ s trip and expressed interests . RESULTS : The Facebook app generated 15,854 Facebook post “ likes ” and 2,025 Facebook post “ shares ,” and had a Facebook post reach of 1,356,448 . Among those who visited the booking widget within the Facebook app , 92 % checked availability at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts . RUNNER-UP : Best Western International , Phoenix
FOUR SEASONS RESORT JACKSON HOLE , WYOMING DESCRIPTION : The “ Stealth Stache ” contest was created as an interactive way to launch and promote on-property gastropub The Handle Bar . The contest challenged consumers to capture , share and submit photos of their own Stealth Stache ( such as putting their finger over their mouth to make a fake moustache ) for a chance to win a vacation for two to Four Seasons Jackson Hole . The campaign was timed to integrate with the “ Movember ” annual event that raises awareness of male cancer during the month of November .
SPECIAL REPORT : SOCIAL HOTEL AWARDS
BEST FACEBOOK PAGE
BY BRAND
FOUR SEASONS HOTELS AND RESORTS , TORONTO DESCRIPTION : Four Seasons has refreshed its Facebook page with a more conversational and personal approach it calls “ the voice of the traveler .” Four Seasons employs a corporate social media marketing team of four and a dedicated social media monitoring / guest relations team of two — in addition to more than 80 property-level social media marketers — to apply a 24 / 7 monitoring approach . Social teams work in tandem with operations to ensure coordination of digital and on-property guest experiences . The fan page encourages the posting and sharing of user-generated content . RESULTS : The brand ’ s Facebook fan page followers increased more than 50 % from April 2012 to April 2013 . An increase in fan engagement resulted in 59,517 “ shares ” of Four Seasons brand Facebook content from January 2012 to April 2013 . RUNNER-UP : Hilton Hotels & Resorts
BY PROPERTY
W TAIPEI , TAIWAN DESCRIPTION : W Taipei focuses on contests and posts about cocktails , cuisine , events and celebrities on its Facebook page , emphasizing images . Instagram photos are posted regularly . To build followers , the hotel also tagged certain third-party fan pages , asked other fan pages such as Vogue . com to share information on the hotel and promoted the fan page with US $ 2,000 in Facebook advertisements targeting Hong Kong and Singapore users . The page allows users to book guestrooms , make spa and restaurant reservations , take a virtual tour , watch YouTube clips and access other W Taipei social media accounts .
W Taipei posts a maximum of two items a day on its Facebook fan page while responding to fans . Both English- and Chinese-language items are posted . RESULTS : The hotel ’ s Facebook page is its top traffic referral source to its website , generating 69 % of the website ’ s new visitors in the first quarter of this year . RUNNER-UP : The Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay , California
JUDGES ’ COMMENTS :
“ The Four Seasons Facebook campaign had a strong appetite for innovation , guest-centricity and creativity . The campaign combined a variety of interests to appeal to new guests .”
JUDGES ’ COMMENTS :
“ This page does a very good job of using Facebook to drive traffic and conversation . It uses great images of hot topics — lots of people photos , which is somewhat rare — and does a nice job with customer replies , too .”
BEST FACEBOOK PROMOTION
BY BRAND
JUDGES ’ COMMENTS :
“ They did a great job at sharing guests ’ stories , and the Weddings tab was visually appealing and creative .”
BY PROPERTY
FOUR SEASONS HOTELS AND RESORTS , TORONTO DESCRIPTION : Four Seasons ’ “ Ignite the Spark ” global promotion included an interactive Facebook application available on the brand fan page with localized versions of the app on property fan pages . The Facebook app invited all Facebook users to create their own personalized “ countdown to romance ” widget by filling in the details of a forthcoming romantic getaway , with the option of selecting their partner ’ s Facebook profile . Once completed , the app generated a live ticker that counted down the days until the user ’ s romantic escape , and the widget could be embedded on any website . The app also generated romantic tips and ideas specific to the couple ’ s trip and expressed interests . RESULTS : The Facebook app generated 15,854 Facebook post “ likes ” and 2,025 Facebook post “ shares ,” and had a Facebook post reach of 1,356,448 . Among those who visited the booking widget within the Facebook app , 92 % checked availability at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts . RUNNER-UP : Best Western International , Phoenix
FOUR SEASONS RESORT JACKSON HOLE , WYOMING DESCRIPTION : The “ Stealth Stache ” contest was created as an interactive way to launch and promote on-property gastropub The Handle Bar . The contest challenged consumers to capture , share and submit photos of their own Stealth Stache ( such as putting their finger over their mouth to make a fake moustache ) for a chance to win a vacation for two to Four Seasons Jackson Hole . The campaign was timed to integrate with the “ Movember ” annual event that raises awareness of male cancer during the month of November .
For the campaign , a custom tab was created on Facebook to serve as a hub for all entries submitted on Facebook , Twitter or Instagram , and the Offerpop photo contest application was utilized and registered the # StealthStache hashtag so all entries from Twitter , Pinterest and Instagram would be pulled in automatically . RESULTS : During the campaign the hotel ’ s Facebook fan page gained 2,582 fans , a 130 % increase compared to the previous month . RUNNER-UP : Conrad Tokyo
JUDGES ’ COMMENTS :
“ One of the most creative entries of the year . Reading the submission entry you can see exceptional quality when it comes to the writing and design .”
24 HOTELS October 2013 www . hotelsmag . com