THE INAUGURAL SOCIAL MEDIA AWARD WINNERS ACCOMPLISHED THE MOST WITH THEIR POSTS , PINS AND TWEETS .
By Nathan Greenhalgh , associate editor
After being a relative latecomer to marketing via social media , the hotel industry now boasts many successful and innovative social media campaigns . To celebrate this , HOTELS Magazine this year launched the Social Hotel Awards .
After receiving more than 120 entries in 10 categories , winners were chosen by a panel of social media experts and the HOTELS editorial staff .
Categories ranged from best Facebook page to best reputation management , and entries were evaluated for their quality , creativity and reflection of the brand ’ s voice and goal accomplishment , among other criteria . The award categories are divided by hotel brand and individual property .
Congratulations to all of the winners , and thanks to everyone that submitted entries .
BEST BLOG
BY BRAND
THOMPSON HOTELS , New York City
DESCRIPTION : Thompson gave its Room 100 blog a makeover in the summer of 2011 to increase monthly unique visitors from 2,000 to 25,000 . Over three months , Room 100 underwent its transformation from a Flash-built , basic text and photo blog to a customized Wordpress website . Biweekly newsletters to all past and present Thompson Hotels guests were sent to promote the blog ' s new , offbeat content covering tastemakers and curiosities . Instagram posts and Facebook and Twitter chatter are pulled into the blog through a customized feed , and a direct booking widget was installed .
RESULTS : By January 2012 the newsletter open rates rose 57 %. The blog subscriber list grew 25 %, and revenue from the newsletter went up 3,017 %. Monthly unique visitors also grew to 29,104 , surpassing Thompson ’ s goal .
RUNNER-UP : Marriott International
JUDGES ’ COMMENTS : “ The Thompson blog was well-designed and conceived , with a very broad goal of establishing a point of view on culturally significant interests .”
BY PROPERTY
THE PFISTER HOTEL ,
Milwaukee , Wisconsin
DESCRIPTION : The hotel created the Pfister Narrator program , in which a writer-in-residence is hired to spend time in the hotel ’ s lobby , speaking with visitors and guests and sharing their stories on the Pfister ’ s blog with the goal of increasing website traffic and engaging guests on a personal level . The budget for the program is the Narrator ’ s choice of three payment types : US $ 1,000 stipend per month , a scholarship for continuing education or a donation to a charity of choice .
RESULTS : Between January 1 , 2011 , and April 1 , 2012 , the website saw 569,051 visits , about 75 % of which were new visits .
RUNNER-UP : The Broadmoor , Colorado Springs , Colorado
JUDGES ’ COMMENTS : “ Very nicely done . This hotel took the forward-leaning step to hire a narrator . The blog posts are extremely wellwritten — long form and creative in nature with a lot of personality .”
20 HOTELS September 2012 www . hotelsmag . com