EDITOR ’ S DIARY
PASSION FOR HOSPITALITY
EDITORIAL Jeff Weinstein , Editor In Chief 1.312.274.2226 E-mail : jweinstein @ hotelsmag . com Barbara Bohn , Managing Editor 1.312.274.2209 E-mail : bbohn @ hotelsmag . com Chloe Riley , Associate Editor 1.312.274.2229 E-mail : criley @ hotelsmag . com Bert Ganzon , Senior Art Director 1.312.274.2227 E-mail : bganzon @ mtgmediagroup . com Steve Vanden Heuvel , Senior Art Director 1.312.274.2218 E-mail : svandenheuvel @ mtgmediagroup . com Brittney Hackbart , Associate Art Director 1.312.274.2216 E-mail : bhackbart @ mtgmediagroup . com Carolina Martinez , Freelance Design E-mail : cmartinez @ mtgmediagroup . com Bill McDowell , Vice President , Editorial Director 1.312.274.2201 bmcdowell @ mtgmediagroup . com
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Oriana Lerner , Erin Sund
PUBLISHING David Wood , Publisher 1.312.274.2225 dwood @ hotelsmag . com
INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD Nakul Anand Executive Director , ITC Ltd ., Gurgaon , India Stephen Bartolin President , Broadmoor Sea Island Co ., Colorado Springs , Colorado Geoffrey Gelardi Managing Director , The Lanesborough , London Alex Kyriakidis President and Managing Director , Middle East and Africa , Marriott International , Dubai Christopher Nassetta President and CEO , Hilton Worldwide , McLean , Virginia Monika Nerger Chief Information Officer , Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group , Atlanta Paul Sistare President and CEO , Atlantica Hotels International , São Paulo Susan Terry Vice president of culinary and food and beverage operations , Marcus Hotels & Resorts , Milwaukee , Wisconsin
EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION OFFICES , HOTELS Marketing and Technology Group 1415 N . Dayton Street Chicago , Illinois 60642 USA 1.312.274.2200 ; fax : 1.312.266.3363 edit @ hotelsmag . com
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All the pretty
POSERS
At every hotel event I attend over the past two years and during just about every interview I do these days the word “ authenticity ” quickly creeps into conversations . It is a timeless concept , and in my best millennial mindset vernacular , I am down with that . Life is supposed to be authentic , and that includes hospitality experiences . However , as I see more marketing practices focus on the new social rage , using influencers to drive brand recognition , I stop and scratch my head because there is very little that I see as authentic about paid , pretty posers posting their beautiful pics on Instagram and Facebook . Call me a cynic , but that particular type of influence
Editor In Chief peddling , if not well vetted , smacks of insincerity . More consumers will see through it and tune it out — and maybe the accompanying brands they represent .
That said , I admit influencers are delivering a certain set of eyeballs ( read HOTELS blogger Mark Grenoble ’ s post on how to vet them at hotelsm . ag / 2eYFWMO ). So , no , we are not ignoring the trend and I might be dead wrong predicting it won ’ t last . In fact , our story this month on the power of influencers ( p58 ) states that this form of marketing is expected to grow into a US $ 5 billion to US $ 10 billion business in the next five years . For even more proof of its viability , our reporter learned that the Four Seasons Resort in Seychelles last year invited a travel Instagrammer with more than 700,000 followers to stay at the resort . Each of her posts gained over 15,000 likes , and the resort was smart enough to make a deal for the rights to use photos from her stay on its own social media and marketing channels .
Still not a believer , I sat down with one of HOTELS younger editors , Chloe Riley , who also acts as our social media maven . I asked her to explain to a skeptic the upside of this phenomenon . She offered a thoughtful point of view : it ’ s not just the appearance of authenticity that makes these influencers so in vogue right now — from the hotel ’ s point of view , they also happen to be relatively cheap marketers who don ’ t require company benefits .
We ’ re living in a gig economy , she continued , which favors the uber driver , the Airbnb host . In some ways that means more flexibility and profitability for those who chose to engage , but security isn ’ t guaranteed and it ’ s a lifestyle that , for better or worse , encourages hustling . And , while authenticity is relative to a certain degree , the cookie cutter minimalist hand-holding a cute ice cream cone Instagram photos should be boiled in their own oil .
Yes , the broader social media landscape has quickly become a huge marketing tool and will only grow in importance , and even more so as a source of booking revenue . Proper Hospitality CEO made a point of saying during a recent interview ( p18 ) that social media will very soon become a big driver of bookings at a minimal expense .
No dount , the road ahead for social media marketing will not be without its missteps and some of its enormous upside is presented this month in case studies about the winners of our 6th annual social hotel awards ( p20 ), and yes there are stories about gaining eyeballs by using influencers . As Chloe wrote , “ Social doesn ’ t do you , you do it .” My only suggestion is to do it more honestly and with integrity because your reputation matters more .
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