For many, stepping in front of a crowd to speak is about as appealing as stepping in front of a speeding train. And yet if you can whip those nerves into submission it can be an enjoyable, enriching experience—sometimes even for the audience too. 

There’s a time and pace for that

It’s rare to see a survey of this magnitude: over 28,000 internet respondents in 56 countries were asked about sources of advertising they trust. At the top of the list came “Recommendations from people I know”, with 92% indicating they trust them “completely” or “somewhat”.

No big surprise there. What’s interesting is that the second most trusted source is “Consumer opinions posted online”, at 70%. That ranks above even editorial content, at 58%—down from 69% in 2009.

It's understandable that consumers have a high trust level for other consumers. They're "people like us", and they aren't trying to sell us anything – well, not usually. But why do we trust the opinions of strangers more than professional journalists? It's quite a statement, especially when it comes to travel.

Meanwhile, trust in traditional advertising has declined. Advertising on TV and in magazines comes in at 47%; newspapers at 46%.

Trust in online and mobile advertising has increased, though it remains comparatively low. Those cleverly crafted email blasts you’re issuing? 50% don’t trust them, even though they opted in. Those tried and true cost-per-click campaigns? 40% trust factor. Ads on social networks? A paltry 36%.

Now who’s to blame for this deplorable lack of trust in advertising? Hmmm …

But this isn’t a blamestorming exercise. The question is, how to adapt? And is advertising a complete waste of time and money? 

Not exactly. We still need to cast our net far and wide to get the attention of travelers. And even if they’re a bit wary of the source, they often still book anyway.

As for adapting, what’s clear is we need to do less of the talking ourselves and to channel more resources into getting travelers talking about us. Not only talking, but reviewing, rating, liking, sharing, blogging and posting pictures and videos. And much of that action is taking place in social networks.

This means taking a systemic approach to managing reviews, engaging advocates and resolving issues raised by detractors. And it means setting realistic expectations for travelers by being authentic and transparent in our marketing.

That’s online. On property we need to train and empower staff to meet and exceed those expectations and to use guest feedback to guide improvements.

No sweat. Trust me.
 

Click here to download the full survey. And check out What do travelers want? for more insight into prioritizing marketing spending in 2012. 

The secretive Google X lab just released this video introducing Project Glass. Essentially these are glasses with a computer discreetly embedded into them. A stream of information is projected onto the lenses and the user controls what he sees with his voice. 

This is just a prototype. There's no word on when they'll be released.

Cool and scary at the same time. I foresee a ban on using them while driving. Even using them while walking might be perilous. But imagine, you could secretly be watching a movie while pretending to be listening to a boring presentation. 

And the potential as a tool for travelers is virtually unlimited. Augmented reality applications for smart phones like TripAdvisor's Live View and Yelp's Monocle essentially place local business listings, reviews and a GPS navigator into the palm of your hand. Project Glass places that and more — camera, search engine, video phone etc  –  a virtual concierge on the bridge of your nose.

And perhaps one day directly into your eyes in the form of a contact lens. 

Says the New York Times, "Project Glass is one of many projects currently being built inside the Google X offices, a secretive laboratory near Google’s main Mountain View, Calif., campus where engineers and scientists are also working on robots and space elevators."

I want to work there. 
 

Thanks to social media, the role of the hotel manager has gotten a lot more complicated. How are they faring so far?

Well, who hasn’t received a friend request in recent months from a sheepish GM who has finally accepted that this Facebook nonsense isn’t going away?

Social media, and review sites in particular, now play such an important role in how travelers make decisions and share experiences it would be negligent for the Fearless Leader not to have a least a basic understanding of how the major channels work. And there’s no better way than to climb into the driver’s seat.

Granted, some hotel staff would prefer their GM stay as far away from the steering wheel as possible. And isn't a GM’s time better spent kowtowing to guests and haranguing employees than crafting cutesy tweets about doggie VIP packages?

No question. But at a minimum he or she should be providing strategic direction and ensuring that guest feedback receives proper attention and social activities are focused, on-brand and, well, not flakey.

In this third installment of the Dedicated to Social Media series, I interview a GM who is actively involved in social media and enjoying many benefits as a result. 

I first met Ciarán Fahy last year at the Hotel Marketing Conference in London, when he tapped on my shoulder and informed me that in less than a year since his property, the 230-room Cavendish London, had started actively managing and responding to TripAdvisor reviews it had climbed 18 spots on the Popularity Index. 

In November I stayed as a guest of The Cavendish and sat down with Fahy to find out more about how his property handles the social media function. Here’s a condensed and edited version of our subsequent Q+A session. 

Tell us about your hotel.

The Cavendish is an independent four-star hotel situated on Jermyn Street in Mayfair, five minutes’ walk from Piccadilly. The hotel achieves the highest revpar of any four-star hotel in London and has won numerous service awards in recent years, including being the only hotel in The Sunday Times’ Top 100 Best Small Companies to Work For.

As Managing Director I am responsible for all aspects of the successful operation of the hotel. We have no corporate head office; we have to develop and implement all our own strategy. I have an outstanding team of leaders that support me. We work as a team to ensure that we continually invest in the people and the property.

How does your hotel manage the social media function?

The social media strategy is part of the annual sales and marketing plan. It is created by the revenue manager and the business development coordinator, who is in charge of day-to-day tasks (like regular postings) and the creation of less regular but equally important activities like Facebook and Twitter competitions.

We started to get serious with social media three years ago, initially working with our public relations company as a resource. However, we found that to be effective we needed to resource it on property—to ensure we are responsive, able to action guest requests quickly, [publishing] relevant content and, most importantly, building relationships with current and prospective guests. 

What role do you play in social media?

My role is to ensure our strategy is resourced. I continually provide suggestions for blogs and content and seek opportunities to gain coverage and align it with our overall communications strategy. We still have a professional PR company for traditional media. I keep up to date with trends and developments and ensure we keep pushing our business forward [and] improving levels of guest service, leadership development and people engagement.

Initially it was recommended that I write the blog [but] I quickly discovered writing is not my strength and it was not an effective use of my time.

Which social media platforms do you find most effective?

Facebook and Twitter. We use them in tandem to drive visitors from Twitter to Facebook and vice versa, and ultimately to our website to generate sales [and to] engage with customers to build loyalty and to understand their needs better.

What distinguishes The Cavendish when it comes to social media?

We have a team member exclusively dealing with guest requests, responding to comments, generating content, coordinating activities and working with our web designers to update the site with content and links. This means that requests are responded to within a few hours and the changes made to ensure they are fulfilled.

We align activity with our public relations strategy and have over a dozen people in the hotel involved to ensure we generate a lot of interesting content.

Tell us about one of your more effective social media campaigns.

We held a cocktail tasting for bloggers that generated a lot of coverage for the bar. A number of Facebook competitions and promotions have combined generated over £30k in new revenue for the hotel.

How do you measure results of social media activity?

We track Google rankings, room bookings generated and growth in Facebook fans. We track activity of hotels in our [competitive] set, their growth in followers, any updates in content, etc. In the monthly revenue meeting all bookings generated from the various campaigns are discussed with the team.

We [also] review all our activity as part of our monthly marketing and sales review. The team evaluates activity against bookings to enable us to monitor the impact of the myriad of activities we undertake both direct and with our distribution partners.  

As with most hotels it is difficult to quantify the monetary impact of our investment in social media; however, our objective is to the best in everything we do and we are working to stay ahead of developments. We take every opportunity to take part in online seminars and attend workshops. We leverage social media channels to promote The Cavendish London as a great place to stay and work.

Do you use a reputation monitoring tool?

We use ReviewPro. The hotel manager highlights feedback from ReviewPro at the weekly operations meeting. Any service shortfalls are discussed and a fix put into place. We also use the competitive set ranking in our month end report as an indicator of service quality. ReviewPro enables us to determine how we perform relative to our competition—a useful to benchmark [given that] all our other guest service measures are internal.

Name a company that inspires you when it comes to social media.

Red Carnation Hotels. They maintain regular communication with their clients and convey the personality behind their brand by using lots of content on their people and [showing] how they are different to the major brands.

What advice would you give other hotels that wish to achieve similar success with social media?

Resource it properly and align the activities of sales, marketing, revenue, food and beverage and human resources. Share updates with everyone on the team and get as many people engaged as you can. 

Contact Info
Website: http://www.thecavendish-london.co.uk/
Twitter: @Cavendish_Hotel
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cavendishlondon
Google+: plus.google.com/111343099707167931937/posts

And how social media savvy is your general manager? Share your comments here. And you? Test your social media savvy. See also my previous interviews in the Dedicated to Social Media series with IHG and citizenM.

This week for the first time I attended Eye for Travel’s Social Media Strategies for Travel conference at Hotel Nikko in San Francisco. I arrived feeling a bit skeptical, fearing I’d be mobbed by fanatics drunk on social media Kool-Aid. But I was very impressed overall by the caliber of speakers, content and attendees.

Here are a few speaker remarks and content that stood out for me, in order of appearance. I’ve included their Twitter feeds—these are good peeps to follow.  

·       I don’t like the word “trend”. If it’s a trend it’s already too late. I call them “Looming Social Inflection Points”. They include: less social media bragging and more useful insights; less mass publishing and more broadcasting to smaller groups; and more one-on-one sharing and meaningful conversations with customers. [paraphrased] – Geoff Lewis, Switchfly @JustGLew @Switchfly

·       You don’t need a Google+ strategy. Don’t waste your time with platforms that don’t have an audience. – Geoff Lewis, Switchfly

·       “Marketing is a tax you pay for being unremarkable.”—Robert Stephens, Geek Squad, as quoted by Elizabeth Cecconi, SimpliFlying @SimpliElizabeth @SimpliFlying 

·      “We can’t be everywhere but our fans can be”. – Josh Pelz, Gansevoort Hotel Group, @JMPelz

·      We’re paying too much attention to negative feedback from guests. What are we doing to acknowledge the positive feedback? – Margaret Mastrogiacomo, HeBS @hebs_nyc, and Lise Struwing, Loews Hotels @Loews_Hotels

·       Graphic: What’s the ROI of your Mom?  In a smart and entertaining presentation on measuring social media ROI, Barbara Pezzi of Fairmont Raffles Hotels (@FairmontHotels) shared the Flowtown infographic pictured here.

·       “If your social media activity doesn’t deliberately drive ROI, it probably won’t accidentally result in any.” – Olivier Blanchard per Barbara Pezzi, Fairmont Raffles Hotels

·       “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” Albert Einstein, as quoted by Barbara  Pezzi, Fairmont Raffles Hotels

·       Our social media strategy is to generate awareness and brand loyalty through meaningful engagement with past, present and future guests, with the ultimate goal of driving revenue. Mac Joseph, Mandarin Oriental  Hotel Group @BMacJ @MO_Hotels

·        When it comes to measuring social media influence, “A guest is a guest is a guest”—as in all are equally important. – Mac Joseph, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group

·       “Social is not point of sale—use it to drive people to point of sale … Your website is key; it’s where you make money.” Anil Aggarwal, Milestone Internet Marketing @MilestoneMktg

·       “She’s on our MSB team—as in Make Shit Better.” – overheard from David James, MEDL Mobile @MEDLMobile, on cell phone

·        Best Western Europe’s website shows not only its members’ TripAdvisor ratings but also ratings from a variety of review sites. – Benjamin Jost, TrustYou @TrustYou

·       “Last year our hotel group received 27,000 reviews. Our goal is to respond to 20 to 30% of them.” – Hayley Mitchell, Fairmont Raffles Hotels @FairmontHotels

·        Only Disney has more views on YouTube that Hyatt’s channel: approx 1.9 million views.  – Ellen Hahn, Hyatt Hotels @HyattConcierge

·       Guests who tweet a complaint are less likely to complain in person. It’s an opportunity for us to engage someone we might not otherwise hear from … We strive to find in-person resolutions to online complaints. – Andrew Gillespie, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts @ADGillespie @FourSeasons

·       “Social networks based on communication are more sustainable than those based on self expression, like Pinterest and MySpace.” – Sam Shank, HotelTonight @SamShank @HotelTonight

·       “Apps are for loyalists, mobile sites are for casual users.” – Sam Shank, HotelTonight

·       When engaging highly device transient consumers, a seamless cross-device experience will be key to success. – Philip Grote, comScore @philipgrote @comScore

·       Pinterest is highly effective at attracting young females with high income. It has a bright future as a dating site if things don’t work out. – Philip Grote, comScore 

·       Our concierge tweet service is for everyone, not just for Hilton guests. We’re not looking for anything in return but thank you’s. – Vanessa Sain-Dieguez, Hilton Worldwide @HiltonSuggests

·       Video: Sarah Clark of STA Travel shared the compelling video above, which has had over 1 million hits and counting @Sarahtas22 @STAtravel

·       Our manager incentives are based on the hotel’s performance in online reviews as measured by ReviewPro's Global Review Index – MarcoFanton, Meliá Hotels International @MarcoFanton

·       Check out Visit Baltimore’s social media hub, an excellent example of integration of user-generated content that now boasts over 3000 videos and 21,000 photos. — as shared by Tom Rowe, Visit Baltimore @BaltimoreMD

·       The value of a response to guest feedback diminishes the more time that is allowed to lapse. – Josiah Mackenzie, ReviewPro @JosiahMackenzie @ReviewPro

·       Social media success is about more than guest satisfaction, it’s about creating talkable, shareable moments. – Josiah Mackenzie, ReviewPro 

There were lots more great ideas and comments—my apologies to speakers whose wise words I missed. The ability to listen and tweet simultaneously is not something I’m gifted with.

Congratulations to Gina Baillie (@anigba) and Marco Saio (@MSaio) for organizing a terrific event (@eyefortravel), and to Susan Black (@Susantravels) for being a energetic, funny and thought-provoking moderator.

For a list of top tweets from the conference check out my new collaborator Josiah Mackenzie’s roundup on the ReviewPro blog, as well as Yvonne Yuen's 12 Lessons from #SMTravel12. 

Since then, hotel management has gotten even more complex—and social. Social media has transformed the industry by providing platforms for travelers to exchange trip information and advice with other travelers. Hotels have been hit with a myriad of guest feedback and are grappling to make sense of the data and to turn it into meaningful action. 

Recognizing that hotels would need help with this transition, I decided not to return to the world of expense accounts and “my pleasures” and instead to start a consulting business specializing in online marketing and reputation management. Since then I’ve been spreading the gospel through blog posts, articles, guidelines and training.

I like to compare the evolution of reputation management to revenue management. Fifteen years ago revenue management was a new function in the hotel industry; today most hotels have a dedicated revenue manager and a revenue team that meets weekly to review performance and set strategies and tactics for the coming weeks.

Though still in its infancy, reputation management is heading in the same direction. Like revenue management it’s a complex function that requires specialized staff, training and tools. One such tool is ReviewPro, a web-based analytics tool that allows hotels to efficiently aggregate and organize data and manage their online reputation on leading review sites and social networks.

I’ve admired ReviewPro for some time now. Through constant innovation in product, service and support, the company has established itself as a world leader in online reputation management in the hotel sector. Last year, when Josiah Mackenzie of Hotel Marketing Strategies (@HMarketingHelp), one of the brightest minds in hotel marketing today, joined the company I really started paying attention.

In December I met ReviewPro CEO R.J. Friedlander (@rjfriedlander) at the Buy Tourism Online conference in Italy, and he shared with me his plans for ReviewPro to play a pivotal role in providing hotels with the data and resources necessary to integrate reputation management into operations and culture. When he later asked if I’d be interested in getting involved, I jumped at the opportunity.

As Industry Advisor, Client Engagement, I’ll be drawing from my background as a hotelier and marketer to help ReviewPro develop a resource center for clients to use social data and reputation management practices to achieve higher guest satisfaction, improve operations and drive revenue.

At the same time I’ll continue to build my consulting business, working directly with a variety of hotel groups and travel organizations worldwide.

So I won’t be going back to manage hotels anytime soon, but I will be helping hoteliers achieve greater success. For me that's the best of both worlds. And I haven’t heard a peep of protest from that shrill little voice.

Click here for information about ReviewPro or contact me to arrange a demo. 

Following last week’s interview with Diego Sartori of citizenM, this week I take a closer look at InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). While the two companies are vastly different in size and structure, they share a common to dedication to social media and to keeping pace with the changing tastes and behavior of travelers.

Like Sartori, Charles Yap’s reputation precedes him. As Director of Global Brand Communications at IHG, he is a serial tweeter who casts his social net far and wide. I met him in London in late November, where we indulged in a bit of old-school social networking (socializing, not working) sipping champagne on a Friday afternoon at the InterContinental Hotel London Park Lane.

Hotel groups tend to be slow to adapt to change. It’s hard to turn a ship around, much less an entire fleet. When it comes to social media, the upscale segment in particular has been resistant, some sniffing that “social media isn’t luxury.” But as more travelers turn to social networks to seek advice and share experiences, hotels have had little choice but to pay attention. Now many of the late adopters talk about social media as though they invented it.

IHG is a notable exception. The company, which manages a diverse portfolio of brands from luxury to economy, was an early adopter of social media. Several years ago its InterContinental Hotels brand began producing high quality concierge-hosted destination videos, and in 2010 it launched a concierge iPad app. And last year IHG launched mobile apps for each of its seven brands. Through its various social channels, IHG demonstrates that a hotel group can engage on a large scale while staying true to brand and above all human. 

Charles and I discussed the challenges of upholding brand standards while at the same time empowering on-property staff to actively contribute to social media. Later I sent him a list of follow-up questions, and here’s a condensed version of his responses. 

Tell us a bit about your company.

IHG is the world’s largest hotel company by number of rooms. We operate seven hotel brands – InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites. We have 4,500+ hotels in 100 countries and territories worldwide, as well as Priority Club Rewards, the world’s largest hotel loyalty programme, with 61 million members.

Describe your background and current responsibilities.

I head up global social media engagement strategy and planning for all of our seven hotel brands. I work closely with social media colleagues and specialists from our global distribution and relationship marketing team.

My background in PR and earlier career in journalism has helped me a great deal in my current social media role. As a PR person, you are trained and nurtured to look at a situation from every possible direction. It’s certainly given me the ability to look at social media engagement from a wider, more holistic lens.

How does your company manage the social media function?

I work closely with Nick Ayres, who heads up a team focused on listening, engagement, reach and support across all areas of social media engagement. I tap into the expertise of a team of community managers who are true brand specialists. We are a small but tight global team, with members in key markets worldwide. We also have Zaaz agency as our global brand social media planning and strategy partner.

Like our hotels, social media is a 24/7 operation. Sentiments, positive or negative, never take a break. It’s not a walk in the park, but the outcomes are definitely worth it. The tools and structures that have been developed over time also mean that we are able to listen, reach and engage a lot more efficiently. The beauty of being part of a global team, across different geographies, also means we can divide the commitment and workload amongst colleagues in different time zones. It’s hard work, but really fulfilling!

What distinguishes IHG when it comes to social media?

Our seven hotel brands include some of the best-known and most popular in the world. We've built up a diverse portfolio that covers everything from luxurious hotels in the world's major cities and resorts to reliable family-oriented hotels that offer great service and comfort. Every brand has a different set of unique features, a different target guest and mindset, and our social media engagement takes these into account.

Our aim is to be as human and as conversational as we can in our engagement. We have a big focus on building relationships and real-life interaction as well as achieving higher brand awareness and revenue.

Tell us about social media campaigns you are proud of.

My three most memorable ones [in 2011] are: Candlewood Suites’ King of the Road, where we invite our guests to share their travel tips across different subject areas in a pinboard app; The Hub at Holiday Inn, which showcased our brand new lobby, bar and restaurant concept in a fun and interactive and ideas-generating app; and InterContinental Hotels & Resorts’ Concierge consultation via FaceTime on iPad2, offered by 10 hotels worldwide.

How do you measure results of social media activity?

We develop brand specific monthly performance scorecards outlining reach, engagement and sentiment as well as web and channel traffic, bookings conversion and revenue generated. We also track and celebrate our wins as a result of customer care interaction and relationships with brand influencers and advocates.

Do you use a reputation monitoring tool? Other essential tools?

Yes, we have developed a customized listening and monitoring platform in partnership with a leading global market analytics provider. We use tools to help us make better human decisions and executions.

Who inspires you in social media in the travel industry?

I admire the work of KLM (great ideas), Lexus (top class engagement) and Delta (great customer care).

What advice would you give other hotel companies that wish to achieve similar success in social media?

Think holistic, think relationships, think beyond your usual sales and marketing goals.

Contact info:

Website: www.ihg.com

Twitter: IHG Corporate @IHGPLC; Deals & Offers @IHG_Deals; Customer Care @IHGCare; Charles @HotelPRGuy; Nick @NickJAyres

Facebook: Dedicated pages for each brand, including www.facebook.com/InterContinental, www.facebook.com/HotelIndigo, www.facebook.com/HolidayInnHotels

See also How to Make Compelling Video Content for Hotels. Next up: Ciarán Fahy of The Cavendish London.

By now most hotels have found a way to accommodate social media. Some are playing lip service and still praying it will go away, whereas others have embraced it fully and appointed a dedicated employee.

While in Europe recently I had the opportunity to take a closer look at three very different hotel companies that have chosen the route of full engagement: citizenM, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and The Cavendish.

In this three-part series I interview the individuals leading social media efforts with these companies to gain insight into how they’re taming the social media beast and at the same time staying true to brand. Whether you’re a B&B, boutique or big box, there are ideas and inspiration to be drawn from all three models.

Today we kick things off with Diego Sartori of citizenM, a company whose reputation preceded itself thanks to its active social presence. citizenM is a small group of boutique hotels in Glasgow and Amsterdam with reported plans to expand to London, New York and Paris. I stayed at the Glasgow property, and it was one of the freshest hotel concepts I’ve experienced since Ian Schrager and Philippe Starck launched over two decades ago what is known today as Morgans Hotel Group.

Highlights include modern design, free WiFi and movies, small but stylish rooms and great public spaces for socializing or work.  There are check-in kiosks and a cafeteria-style restaurant, and yet I experienced better service here than at many full-service hotels. And really, after you’ve lugged your bags halfway across the world do you really need a bellman for that last stretch to your room?

With its quirky, irreverent branding citizenM is a natural fit for social media. Here’s my Q+A session with Sartori, edited and condensed. 

Tell us about your hotel group.

Our mission was to invent a new breed of hotels, an entirely new category offering affordable luxury for mobile citizens. We are a hotel but also a personality. citizenM stands for citizen mobile; these mobile citizens are contemporary, up-to-date, urban, have a desire for discovering the new, and value luxury but are also cost conscious.

Describe your role and responsibilities.

I’m the social media strategist, which basically means I am responsible for spreading the citizenM personality online. From answering and maintaining citizenM’s Twitter, Facebook and other channels to tracking and managing our reputation online—everything that is being said about us. On top of that, I identify social and technology trends that can improve the communication with anyone that reaches out to us. 

How does your company manage the social media function?

I have a very full time job, 365 days a year, 24/7! The Internet never sleeps. I manage, monitor, report and keep up with available online tools. It is the responsibility of the entire team, from housekeeping to our CEO, to be above all guest centric, constantly devoted, honest, up-to-date, non conformists, and to allow everyone to contribute … we value our collective cultures, warmth and friendliness.

Which social media platforms do you find most effective?

Twitter is becoming more of a customer service platform while Facebook has some elements of that too, but [also features] posts related to lifestyle, new trends, etc. Via our digital magazine citizenMag we also talk about the things we like: art, culture, urban movements, the latest contemporary trends and how we like to have fun. Foursquare is used by a fraction of customers but is as effective as other platforms, for those who are active on it. Same goes for Instagram, Gowalla, review sites and so on.

What distinguishes your hotel group when it comes to social media?

We understand that social media is more about communication and relationships rather than another marketing/media channel … We never promote “Stay here, we are the best hotel”, we choose to showcase our personality, who we are and what we do.

Tell us about a social media campaign you are proud of.

For our hotel opening in Glasgow we prepared flyers to give away in the streets and posts via social media channels [announcing] that we would give away 400 rooms. We basically asked locals to test the hotel for free in exchange for their feedback. After three hours we had to cancel the flyers and street teams because all rooms were gone! After one single post on Facebook and Twitter.

The result? Number 1 on TripAdvisor (we haven’t asked for reviews) at the time of opening and Twitter trending topic in Glasgow for almost a day. Word-of-mouth starts from the source, from locals, right?

Do you use a reputation monitoring tool? Any other essential tools?

We use ReviewPro for gathering all reviews and comments online and for organizing specific mentions using semantic technology. Through notifications and continuous checks, we get to understand the level of satisfaction in any given time, brand perception and more importantly, [we can] react quickly. I like using Crowdbooster to schedule tweets in times with higher reach.

How do you measure results of social media activity?

We don’t measure our success by how many followers we got today, we look at the level of satisfaction and sentiment online, everything from our brand to guest satisfaction. The result of our actions and culture is reflected online, with great experiences but also frustrations. It is a transparent platform, which we use to continuously improve ourselves.

Which companies or individuals in the hotel or travel industry do you take inspiration from when it comes to social media?

KLM and its many fun campaigns, like Little Acts of Kindness and Tile & Inspire. I also appreciate that you can tweet KLM about anything, including complaints, and they will follow up, quickly. Josiah Mackenzie of Hotel Marketing Strategies is a must follow, a trend watcher, sharing what is new, cool and revolutionary in the hotel industry, including social media trends.

What advice would you give hotels that wish to achieve similar success with social media?

Well, everyone gets that social media is a place where you connect with your family and friends, see what they are up to even if in the other side of the planet. It is the same with companies: what are they up to? Show who you are and what you do, those who “like” it will literally do so. It is communicating, customer service; never replacement of TV ads or billboards.

Contact info:

Website: www.citizenM.com

Twitter: @citizenM, @diegosartori

Facebook: www.facebook.com/citizenMhotels

Google+: plus.google.com/104099681590545895358/posts

Stay tuned for Part II and Part III, featuring interviews with Charles Yap of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and Ciarán Fahy of The Cavendish.

See also interviews with the Pan Pacific Hotel in Vancouver, HKHotels in New York and The Peabody in Orlando.