HotelsMag October 2015 | Page 20

Global update

Celebrating ‘ unscripted exploration ’

Destination Hotels ’
“ 2 Days Local Guide ” aims to help guests plan unique visits and activities such as watching the sunrise over Terranea Resort , A Destination Hotel , in Rancho Palos Verdes , California .
Over the past year , Destination Hotels has aimed to better understand the connection between its properties and customers . In conjunction with its larger rebranding and repositioning initiatives , the company launched a new blog , Go | See | Do , dedicated to “ celebrating life , food and unscripted exploration .”
The blog features content such as “ 2 Days Local Guide ” to help guests plan unique visits plus content from local experts , chefs and other industry insiders . “ The old blog was a bit too
tech-heavy and like a data dump ,” explains Marie Torres , vice president of marketing and branding . “ Now it is very visual , includes sound bytes from each destination and resembles a genuine insider ’ s guide .”
In addition to Go | See | Do , Destination Hotels launched a new website in June to better serve prospective and current guests . To provide more personalized content while navigating the website , Destination Hotels is using the Sitecore experience management tool . With
Sitecore , users ’ experiences are customized in terms of what they see based on previous browsing activity and preferences as well as data from loyalty members ’ profiles .
“ I tell my team that the average goldfish has an attention span of seven seconds and humans have an attention span of eight seconds ,” Torres says . “ With that in mind , we wanted to escape the old way of hotel marketing and create an experience that was useful , welcoming and guest centric .”

Show and tell , sustainability style

Earlier this year , The Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta debuted “ green tours ” to provide meeting attendees a behind-the-scenes look at sustainability , conservation and environmental efficiency efforts at the Green Seal Silver Level-certified convention hotel .
The tours take guests through four areas :
• Loading dock : Hotel associates demonstrate the property ’ s US $ 13 million environmental upgrade to its central plant , completed in 2011 , which included the replacement of the original chillers , boilers , pumps and controls .
• Kitchen : Executive Chef Russell Sleight talks about working with local farmers and vendors when sourcing ingredients . The hotel also requires vendors to deliver food in biodegradable or recyclable packaging .
• Housekeeping : The department discusses its use of environmentally friendly cleaners , in-room recycling bins , and energy-efficient lighting and temperature controls .
• Meeting space : Attendees learn how their own meeting setup minimizes environmental impact .
“ I think [ the tours ] create goodwill and trust , backed up by going in and taking a look at it ,” says Ron Tarson , the hotel ’ s general manager .
16 HOTELS October 2015 www . hotelsmag . com