SALES & MARKETING
GOING ( GEO )
LOCAL
By BRITTANY FARB GRUBER , associate editor
Last fall , W Hotels became the first hotel brand to sponsor Geofilters on Snapchat , targeting the millennial travel market . The campaign allowed Snapchat users near the W ’ s 24 properties in the U . S ., as well as the W Montreal and London , exclusive access to three filters , “ Current Situation ,” “ You Wish You Were Here ” and “ Auto Reply ,” that included a sticker with a W Hotels logo . With more than 60 % of 13- to 34-year-old smartphone users in the U . S . on Snapchat and more than 100 million daily active users , the platform is establishing itself as a prime tool to reach young travelers .
THE ‘ HUMBLE BRAG ’ FACTOR Working with J Public Relations ’ social division , 7th & Wit , the Revere Hotel in Boston last summer rolled out a Snapchat Geofilter campaign to promote its “ Rooftop at Revere ,” aiming to build brand awareness and reach a younger audience across the city . Similarly in the Hamptons , New York , Gurney ’ s Montauk sees value in providing Geofilters to young guests .
“ If someone is posting in the room , on property , with room service or at a restaurant but no location , then the name gets lost ,” says 7th & Wit ’ s Brigid Cotter . Described by Cotter as a “ humble brag ,” Geofilters can ensure guests enjoying amenities show their followers exactly where they are . “ There is value in location . When you are running a Geofilter , you
control the message . You design it , make sure it ’ s on-brand . Even if it ’ s just the name of the hotel , you know it ’ s spelled correctly ; it ’ s the way you want it to look .”
While costs ranges depend on the length of time and surface area , Cotter says running a Geofilter over a summer weekend for an entire hotel can total anywhere from US $ 250 to US $ 400 . However , Cotter adds that Geofilters are also more likely to be used from Fridays to Sundays , so Geofilters at Revere and Gurney ’ s are currently only running over the weekend .
Virgin Hotels Chicago also capitalizes on popular times to reach the most guests . It recently created Geofilters for special events on its Cerise rooftop , including Pitchfork and Lollapalooza after parties . Virgin also is planning a special holiday season-themed Geofilter .
“ Snapchat is always telling a story in real time , which differentiates itself from Facebook , Twitter and Instagram ,” explains Doug Carrillo , vice president of sales and marketing at Virgin Hotels .
Similarly , timing was key for MGM Resorts when it tested Snapchat filters over New Year ’ s Eve 2015 . Following the popular pilot , MGM launched a large Snapchat Geofilter collection in Las Vegas in August , with 17 designs that include landmarks and logos such as the MGM Grand Lion and The Mirage Volcano . Targeted guests , described as " a generation of selfie-starters ," can engage with two filters at each resort , one for the property and the other for its M Life Rewards program .
MEASURING ROI Due to its novelty , ROI for Geofilters is relatively difficult to substantiate compared to other social media initiatives . The temporary life of Snapchat messages presents some of the greatest challenges .
“ The bigger-named hotels were wary getting onto Snapchat ,” says Cotter , adding that smaller hotels are more likely to experiment . “ Many businesses in general still don ’ t see the real reason to get on Snapchat with a messaging platform that disappears after several seconds .”
“ One of the biggest challenges with Snapchat is measuring our success ,” adds Carillo . “ Besides the number of views and screenshots per story , there aren ’ t official Snapchat analytics you can measure . Currently , we go by the views on our stories , how many viewers stay to view the entire thing , and the adds we get each week to measure our success .”
Virgin Hotels recently created Geofilters for special events on its Cerise rooftop , including a Pitchfork after party .
50 hotelsmag . com October 2016