Special RepoRt : Social Hotel awardS
BesT use of TwITTer
By Brand
ITC HoTels desCrIpTIon : ITC Hotels is one of the first Indian hotel chains to embrace Twitter as a real-time communication channel . Its dedicated customer service Twitter handle , @ ITCHotelsCares , engages and services guests 18 hours per day , seven dayts a week . Additionally , ITC ’ s corporate handle , @ ITCHotels , was created to spread brand awareness and leverage the company ’ s presence among consumers .
ITC has also used Twitter to hold regular contests to reward followers and drive brand buzz . One of its most successful campaigns was # MyTravelColours around Holi , the Indian festival of colors . Followers were asked to share their most memorable travel moment and ITC transformed them into colorful caricatures . ITC also conducts weekly Twitter chats focused on cuisine and wine .
“ ITC Hotels has taken a 360 degree approach to social media marketing and has cemented its presence on all traditional and newage social networking channels , including Twitter ,” says Baldev Dhir , head of digital marketing , distribution and brand operations for ITC . resulTs : @ ITCHotelsCares handled more than 4,000 queries in under 65 minutes , making ITC one of the fastest and most efficient luxury hotel Twitter handles in India . ITC also received more than 50,000 unique brand mentions on Twitter , a rise of 284 % from 2014 to 2015 . runner-up : Trump Hotel Collection
Atlantis Paradise Island uses Twitter as the main channel to promote special events and performances taking place at the resort .
By properTy
aTlanTIs paradIse Island , BaHamas desCrIpTIon : Atlantis Paradise Island uses Twitter as the main channel to promote special events and performances taking place at the resort . To drive fan engagement and brand interest , Atlantis partners with celebrities and musical artists as part of its Atlantis Live series to execute multiple promotions , including hashtag sweepstakes , trivia sweepstakes , Twitter Parties and on-property scavenger hunts .“ Atlantis ’ Twitter account has a unique brand voice that gives followers a taste of what paradise has to offer each day through beautiful imagery , videos , and user-generated content from past and current guests ,” says Megan Napier , director of public relations and social media for Atlantis Paradise Island .
In 2014 , Atlantis partnered with the band Emblem3 to cohost a “ retweet sweepstakes ,” giving fans the opportunity to win a trip to Atlantis to see the band in concert . resulTs : The Emblem3 sweepstakes exceeded expectations with over 4,480 mentions , 3,088 re-tweets , and 5.75 million impressions for the unique hashtag # Emblem3Atlantis in a 48-hour period . Atlantis also gained 2,000 new Atlantis followers with nearly 100 mentions per hour .
Since the Emblem3 sweepstakes , Atlantis has continued to grow its Twitter efforts and recently initiated its first independent Twitter Party and sweepstakes , # ParadiseSweepstakes . At press time , Atlantis had sent more than 10,000 Twitter replies in 2015 , including assisting guests with reservation questions , providing important property updates and sharing fun images from fans ’ Atlantis vacation . runner-up : The New Tropicana Las Vegas www . hotelsmag . com October 2015 HOTELS 25