HotelsMag October 2016 | Page 27

<<< To increase awareness and direct sales of its Rotana Escapes hotel packages in August , Rotana launched a Facebook sweepstakes for a free trip to a participating hotel . ( Pictured : Khalidiya Palace Rayhaan in Abu Dhabi )
BEST USE OF TWITTER
BY BRAND
ITC Hotels Description : ITC Hotels has a dual-pronged Twitter strategy . Brand handle @ ITCHotels is used to communicate promotions and offers along with holding tweet chats and other engaging campaigns . @ ITCHotelsCares serves as a Twitter concierge that addresses guest feedback and queries in near real time . ITC is still working to reduce its average response time and is
beginning to track social media handles of guests making reservations to enhance customer engagement . “ Responsiveness is the key for being successful on Twitter ,” says Baldev Dhir , head of digital marketing , distribution and brand operations at ITC Hotels . “ Real-time engagement and quick resolution of guest queries goes a long way in creating brand loyalists . We have been
able to successfully deploy robust process that enable us to track relevant brand conversations and engage with our customers in near real time .” Results : Resolved more than 4,000 queries and enabled 1,334 positive experiences through proactive assistance , all with an average response time in the past year of under 65 minutes . Runner Up : Rotana Hotels
BY PROPERTY
Virgin Chicago Description : Celebrating its first birthday in Chicago , Virgin Hotels created a set of videos primarily featured on Twitter using guest reviews from TripAdvisor . The objectives of the campaigns were to animate real reviews from guests who stayed at the property during its inaugural year . Past , current and potential guests have been interacting with the videos by leaving comments and sharing across their own social media pages . “ The success of this campaign ties back to the authenticity and whimsical nature of each video ,” says Doug Carrillo , vice president of sales and marketing for Virgin Hotels . “ We featured real people and their real reviews — we didn ’ t manipulate , adjust or change any content .
To celebrate its first birthday , Virgin Hotels
Chicago created a set of videos featuring guest reviews and experiences from TripAdvisor .
Instead , we gave guests an even bigger platform to share their thoughts . And because of that , the series continues to provide real insight for future and current guests at the hotel .” Results : Since the video series ’ inception , Virgin Hotels Chicago rose to the top 10 ranking on TripAdvisor within the Chicago hotels category . Virgin reports more than 1,400 clicks to VirginHotels . com throughout the monthlong campaign , and engagement rates reached 3.8 %. Runner Up : Rosewood Mayakoba
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