HotelTech Archives - Page 4 of 5

One small step for integration, one giant leap for outreach

Sometimes, making a small change can make a big impact for your hotel. Take your welcome email—what can be a great personal touch for your guest, can also help you, the hotelier! In fact, welcome emails typically generate four times the total open rates and five times the click rates compared to other bulk promotions. This drives home that fact that it’s a great opportunity to do even more.

Enter the image URL from Flip.to, which doubles as a tracking pixel. Flip.to implements this strategy for our clients through our advocacy platform.

Why you should do it

The image URL or tracking pixel provides the ability to continue marketing to your guests with Flip.to, regardless of the channel that they originally booked. This enhances the conversations from your hotel, and builds strong brand connections with your guests.

Since this is coming from your hotel’s existing welcome email, the recipients include those who booked through a call center, mobile device, in-house, or travel agency. Here is where the pixel really stands out—with the ability to continue marketing to those guests before and after their stay, you can continue the conversation with your guests even when they’ve packed and gone home.

How to set up your image URL

Within your welcome email, simply insert an image URL into your existing email template. This URL acts as a tracking pixel that provides the ability to enhance campaign outreach. Any guest that receives the email will now receive pre- and post-arrival touch points through the Flip.to platform.

Because the pixel is an image URL, if you have Photo Advocacy enabled, you also have the ability to display a graphic relevant to their upcoming stay. This would include an invitation to let the guest know about the photo competition.

In this case, when the URL displays the graphic to announce the photo contest, it excites the guest by letting them know about their eligibility to participate—and knowing is half the battle. Following their stay, another email is sent to all of those guests that were tracked through the engine, as well as through the image URL, inviting them to interact and share their positive experiences to their friends and family across their social networks.

For hoteliers utilizing Photo Advocacy, guests participate further through periodic emails that rekindle their favorite moment, again and again. These interactions continue the relationship not only between the hotel and the guest, but also the guest’s friends and family, well after check-out.

So now, thanks to one tiny URL, the hotel has the opportunity to reach out to more guests, even if they’ve booked from other sources. This allows hoteliers to nurture these guests, and their networks, down the path to future direct bookings,

Bonus: Some providers include these email services and technologies within their subscription. Make sure you’re taking advantage of this service!

A sneak peek at Group Advocacy

There’s a lot going on behind the scenes here at Flip.to. Fueled by our very own bean-to-cup coffee machine, (more on that here,) our team of product designers and engineers are constantly working to enhance the platform and create a better experience for our users. Group advocacy is the latest example of this innovation, as we aim to weave advocacy into every level of the guest experience.

The new Group Advocacy is a big enhancement in a hotel’s ability to use advocacy with group business. Hotels can now easily import events, create and manage campaigns to target groups with specific incentives, track statistics across campaigns, and more.

So what does this all mean for our hotel partners? Well, now all of your hotels’ weddings, meetings, or corporate groups are stories ready to be told by these guests to their friends and family. And it’s through those stories that your hotel can reach more travelers worldwide, and deliver each one a unique, inspired experience that takes them down the path of becoming a future guest.

This is thanks to our integration with Lanyon Passkey—part of Lanyon’s Smart Hotel Cloud software—that lets hotels streamline and automate meeting and event bookings. Used by thousands of hotels, destinations, and meeting-planners worldwide, it’s easy to manage hotel accommodations for events of all sizes.

There’s more to follow, but enjoy a taste of Group Advocacy below. (For current customers, log in and take a peek at this new feature on your account!)

Making sense of social media—how to create the conversation about your hotel

Our very own President, Edward St. Onge, was recently featured on Global Hotel Network’s Perspectives column, a site that provides market insights and thought leadership to executives in the global travel and tourism industry. Flip.to is proud to be a member of the online network, and Ed himself sits on the GHN’s Technology Committee.

The column, Create the Conversation About Your Hotel takes a deep dive into the value hotels can see from social media, even as it’s constantly evolving.

Social media was born as a conversation between friends—users sign online to connect with their family and colleagues. It makes sense that hotels want to be a part of the conversation. But it’s important to do so in a way that doesn’t fall by the wayside. As Ed notes in his perspective, hotels often put time and money into posting uninspired content:

“This just adds to the social noise, getting lost in hundreds of other messages competing to gain exposure on your guest’s news feed—more than 1,500 at a time on average, according to Facebook.”

That’s a lot to compete with at any given moment! So how do you cut through the clutter? For hotels, the trick is advocacy. Ed adds:

“Advocacy is a game-changer for how hoteliers use social media. The content is real and shareable—we’re talking about authentic stories of guest experiences, amazing pictures taken at the hotel, and great examples of the hotel’s happy staff. A single guest can reach hundreds and sometimes thousands of potential future guests beyond the scope of your current fan base. How many new guests does your hotel reach every day? If handled correctly, these truly social shares can translate into real, trackable ROI for your hotel.”

With advocacy, hotels can truly tap into the potential that social channels bring to the table. For more, check out Ed’s full perspectives piece featured on GlobalHotelNetwork.com.

HITEC at the Hangar Lounge, and the Icebreaker Photo Contest

We kicked off the first night of HITEC with an amazing event at the Hangar Lounge, co-hosted with our friends at Social Tables and Lanyon. The mid-century modern travel hangout couldn’t have been more perfect, complete with three lounges including the top observation deck overlooking the streets of Austin.

It was a great party, and we’ve got the pictures to prove it (thanks to our guests!)

Flip.to hosted the ‘Icebreaker’ photo competition, encouraging folks to ‘break the ice’ and take a photo with a new friend. For the last month the contestants have been rallying votes. Some sweet prizes were on the line, like an Apple iWatch.

Needless to say, our guests came through. Check out some of our favorite quotes and snaps below:

I know, I know—what you’ve all be waiting for…the winner! I’m happy to be the first to say, congratulations Marcy Albert! She tallied up an astounding 668 points and 112 votes, (in addition to the sweet tattoos.)

Another really great aspect of this event is that each host played a huge part in the technology that made it memorable. While we headed up the photo competition, Lanyon and Social Tables each headed up the event logistics with some really great products:

Event Registration

RegOnline® by Lanyon
RegOnline® by Lanyon is the affordable event management software that lets you plan and manage meetings and events quickly and easily.

Leading up to the event, our guests easily registered themselves and their guests online. Confirmation and reminder emails were sent to all attendees inboxes, making event info handy the night of the event.

Event Check-in

Software by Social Tables, an Event Software Platform
Event check-in software that revolves around people. Organize your attendees with the power of the social graph.

Event check-in was a snap thanks to this amazing platform by Social Tables. Guests were checked in at the touch of a finger, keeping traffic flowing (especially important at a high-volume event!)

We had a fantastic time at HITEC—the biggest show in it’s history. The latest, most innovative technologies were on the floor, with quality attendance of over 6,000 hotel professionals from around the globe. A huge thank you to our friends at HFTP, our co-hosts Social Tables and Lanyon, and all of our fantastic guests!

(Now, who’s ready for New Orleans?!)

Flip.to partners with In1 Solutions to help hotels win direct bookings and massive ROI

New partnership with In1 Solutions opens doors for Flip.to in the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa

ORLANDO, FL – June 2015 – Flip.to, the brand advocacy platform that helps hotels earn new guests, today announced their strategic partnership with In1 Solutions, a leading provider of hotel booking engines, multi-channel digital marketing, and integrated online distribution services for hotels in the global market.

Executive Studio, The Cleveland Hotel, London

Hoteliers in the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa using In1’s comprehensive booking engine in tandem with Flip.to are now able to reach an entirely new channel of guests with advocacy. This integration in combination with In1’s digital marketing expertise has amassed enormous results. By allowing existing guests to share their stay with family and friends, they become a growing extension of the hotel’s marketing force. The hotel’s reach is extended to travelers across the world, building trusted brand connections and moreover, increasing direct bookings.

The integration has been a resounding success, resulting in massive return for shared hotel clients. Barbara Mus, Hotel Manager of The Cleveland Hotel in London commented, “We have been delighted with the return we have achieved to date with the brand advocacy product—over 930%—and are working closely with the team to encourage further engagement.” Over the last quarter alone, the combined efforts of the Flip.to and In1 Solutions platforms have delivered over £6,200 in revenue. Mus added, “It is a great way to increase awareness of the hotel’s brand and generate both increased levels of visitors to the site and to grow direct bookings.”

The Buckatree Hall Hotel, Telford

The Buckatree Hall Hotel in Telford noted similar results. “The brand advocacy campaign over the last few months has managed to reach in excess of 10,700 social connections, growing awareness of our hotel brand across the social media channels and also delivering us growth in website visitors and direct bookings,” said Wayne Jenson, General Manager. “With an ROI of over 370% we would not hesitate to recommend this tool to other properties.”

Richard Dunbar, Director of Partnerships at Flip.to said of the pairing, “Flip.to is thrilled to be partnering with In1 Solutions. Together, we’re able to provide a seamless, integrated platform that has exponential impact for our clients. We’re driving more direct business for hotels worldwide. Plus, In1’s global appeal makes them a natural fit into our partner program as we continue to grow in new markets.”

Richard Toms, Director of Sales and Global Partnerships at In1 Solutions spearheaded the integration with Flip.to. “In1 Solutions’s main focus is delivering more direct bookings to our clients,” Toms said. “This opportunity provides a tremendous return for our hotels, opening up an entirely new stream of revenue—it’s been a critical addition to our world class online booking engine software, and helps our clients maximize their booking potential.”

In1 Solutions provides a suite of integrated solutions for hotels alongside their booking process, with offices in the Ireland, the United Kingdom, Spain, South Africa, Holland and New Zealand. For more information, contact Richard Toms at richard@in1solutions.com, or visit www.in1solutions.com.

To discover more about Flip.to, and how the advocacy platform for hotels helps drive direct bookings and earn more guests, schedule a demo at http://flip.to, or contact Jeff Weibel at jweibel@flip.to.

Flip.to unveils the right approach to “social” for hotels

Flip.to helps hotels engage future travelers with Photo Advocacy

ORLANDO, FL – June 3, 2015 – As Flip.to continues to unveil new layers of the advocacy platform for hotels, its impact is changing the landscape of social for hotels worldwide. As social media matures, challenges in the ability to see measurable results and the limitations implemented by many of the large networks have made it even more difficult for hotels to stay relevant. Flip.to is helping hotels be “social” in a way that’s natural, with significant, measurable ROI.

adrift-hotel-canoe — Guest stories create an unique, authentic experience for hotels

Being “social” revolves around the idea of people sharing personal experiences with friends and family- travel conversations that hotels have long tried to join. “Social media” has seemingly adopted the term “social,” but in fact is neither personal nor between friends, and is quickly starting to resemble another paid advertising channel for hotels. A core concept of Flip.to is that “social media” is a way to reach global audiences and spark conversations about travel between friends. Social media should be a point of distribution for hotels, rather than a destination where staff sink large amounts of time posting streams of uninspired content.

Advocacy gets people talking about your brand. When guests share brand experiences with their friends and colleagues, it is a more trusted and natural engagement than any form of paid marketing. With the launch of their new site, Flip.to unveils how hotels can tap into advocacy and do “social” and “social media” correctly, helping hotels earn direct bookings through their massive, untapped marketing force-their existing guests.

In addition to Pre-stay and Post-stay Advocacy, the new site, http://www.flip.to, debuts Photo Advocacy, which encourages guests to share memorable experiences. Perpetual photo contests provide the hotel with real, sharable content, customer quotes, and valuable insights from guests about their stay. This content is curated in just a few clicks, creating an ongoing stream of marketing material designed specifically for social use.

“Advocacy is completely revolutionizing the way hotels approach social media. Guests are already talking about their travels-Flip.to works with hotels to get their guests talking about where they are staying, too.” said Ed St.Onge, President of Global Sales and Marketing for Flip.to.

“A single guest can reach hundreds. The combined reach of your guests eclipses your existing fan base and their voice is far more authentic. Hotels need to start engaging new audiences in a more natural way, as ever growing social media sites create new hurdles for brands, and organic reach nears zero,” added St.Onge.

Flip.to creates a new channel of revenue by harnessing the excitement of travel, encouraging guests to advocate on the hotel’s behalf. From their new headquarters, Flip.to continues to hone in on their mission to help hotels earn new guests. The team is now also fueled by an amazing new touch screen, bean-to-cup coffee machine “… but are woefully lacking a ping pong table,” noted Jeff Weibel, Chief Marketing Officer.

Guest photos go viral for The Shores Resort with Flip.to Photo Advocacy

Guest stories pave way for huge marketing reach for The Shores Resort and Spa

ORLANDO, FL – JANUARY 2015 – The Shores Resort and Spa has recently switched on an entirely new marketing channel as guests compete to fill the resort’s amazing library of authentic photos. After The Shores Resort launched Photo Advocacy, guests have shared photos of their favorite vacation moments with hundreds of thousands of friends and family.

The Shores Resort & Spa

Flip.to Photo Advocacy encourages hotel guests to enter into photo contests that The Shores uses to turn memorable moments into amazing brand connections around the world. Guests share their photos of The Shores Resort to their social networks as they compete for votes in the contest. Contestants get competitive as they share to win.

“The reach of Photo Advocacy can be astounding. One entrant was a travel blogger with 428,000 followers who sought out votes through her social media – sending her voters (and potential guests) directly to the hotel’s website,” said Debi Moses, Senior Director of Sales for Flip.to. “No amount of marketing can have the kind of trusted reach that your guests have combined.”

The Flip.to platform makes it easy for The Shores’ marketing team to curate a hotel’s brand story through the creativity and the authentic voice of their guests. Photo Advocacy helps turn social connections into new guests.

Unlike traditional hashtag photo contests, guest photos are chosen and approved by the resort, linked to the brand and carry full copyright permissions. This allows the hotel to repurpose and reuse the photos in all of their social media channels. Photo Advocacy photo contests run perpetually so there is always a stream of new photos to choose from, vote on and share to promote The Shores Resort.

“Flip.to’s first Photo Advocacy contest, ‘The Shores Outdoors,’ allowed our guests to embrace their inner photographer and resulted in sharing amazing scenic shots that I can honestly say would rival a professional. It is no wonder so many went viral!” said David Rijos, General Manager of The Shores Resort & Spa.

The Shores Resort & Spa, Pool

The Shores Resort & Spa is an AAA Four-Diamond luxury beachfront hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida, and one of the first hotels to launch Photo Advocacy. Guests submitted photos that included beautiful sunrises, children playing on the beach, messages in the sand and striking ocean views from hotel balconies.

“Flip.to continues to amaze us with their innovative approach to harnessing the power of our happy hotel guests and turning them into our property’s brand ambassadors. Everything we do with them is a big win-win!” Rijos added.

To find out more about how Flip.to can help you tap into an entirely new marketing channel and earn new guests, please get in touch with Debi Moses at dmoses@flip.to or visit www.flip.to.

Learn more about Photo Advocacy at www.flip.to/photoadvocacy.

Flip.to partners with PAR Springer-Miller’s ATRIO® PMS

Flip.to partners with award winning cloud-based Property Management System

ORLANDO, FL – DECEMBER 2014 – Flip.to has forged its first strategic partnership with a Property Management System (PMS) provider, by integrating Flip.to with PAR Springer-Miller Systems’s award winning cloud-based ATRIO PMS.

Flip.to, the brand advocate platform, turns hotel guests into a huge, trusted extension of a hotel’s marketing force, boosting brand awareness and earning new guests around the world by encouraging guests to spread the word about their stay with friends, relatives & colleagues. Each social connection then receives a unique, personal experience on the hotel’s website, taking them down the path of becoming a future guest.

With ATRIO PMS, PAR Springer-Miller Systems has pioneered and delivered a new generation of technology for the hospitality industry; moving the hospitality industry to The Cloud, to a new user experience, and to a new way of doing business. ATRIO PMS reduces the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for hoteliers and management companies by embracing true cloud computing, minimizing on-property technology, and reducing implementation and training costs to increase staff efficiency and productivity.

The seamless integration of Flip.to and the ATRIO Online Booking Engine will save hotels both time and effort, resulting in an immediate impact on their bottom line with the help of engaged brand advocates and improved guest retention.

“We are very pleased to have partnered with Flip.to and to deliver a unique and innovative solution for our mutual customers. The tight integration between our products will drive a tremendous return on investment for our clients,” commented Victor Vesnaver, SVP Sales & Marketing at PAR Springer-Miller. “A natural extension of both organizations’ commitment to innovation, the integration of the ATRIO Online Booking Engine with Flip.to, will assist our clients in their efforts to drive more traffic to their own website, resulting in increased bookings and revenue. Our combined solution represents a significant step forward for our customers.”

“This partnership was forged by the shared desire to improve the technology landscape for our customers. A well-thought-out integration can create immense value for hotels. ATRIO and Flip.to drive more value for hotels together,” added Edward St.Onge, President of Global Sales & Strategy for Flip.to.

To find out more about how Flip.to can help create a significant, measurable impact for your hotel, please get in touch with Debi Moses at dmoses@flip.to or visit www.flip.to.

Flip.to is “secret sauce” for The Oliver Hotel’s off the charts guest engagement & room sales boost

The Oliver Hotel joined forces in 2012 with Flip.to to help spread the word about its updated Southern charm, sophistication and amenities

ORLANDO, FL – DECEMBER 2014 – The Oliver Hotel, a historic, boutique hotel in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, underwent renovation and renaming in 2011. The hotel joined forces in 2012 with Flip.to, the brand advocate platform, to help spread the word about its updated Southern charm, sophistication and amenities.

The Oliver Hotel

The partnership has been so successful that the 28-room hotel booked an astounding 430 room nights through Flip.to’s guest advocacy in the past year.

“Flip.to is The Oliver Hotel’s secret sauce. We hate to give away the recipe but Flip.to is the future of hotel social media,” said Mike Riley, GM of The Oliver Hotel. “Our engagement rate is off the charts, and Flip.to has lead to at least a direct 5% increase in total annual room sales, not to mention the word of mouth it creates down the line.

“Furthermore, Flip.to gives us an easy way to immediately gauge guest feedback the moment they step out the front door. If you don’t believe me, check out the front page of our website – it’s like our very own TripAdvisor,” added Riley.

Right at the time of booking, Flip.to encourages guests to share their upcoming trip to The Oliver Hotel with their social connections around the world. This drives friends and relatives to a uniquely personalized hotel website experience and leads them down the path of becoming future guests.

Oliver Royale

“When guests love a hotel, they want to let everyone know,” said Debi Moses, Senior Director of Sales for Flip.to. “And The Oliver Hotel is a hotel guests love. Flip.to offers a way to share that excitement in a way where everybody wins – guests, friends, and the hotel’s bottom line.”

To find out more about how Flip.to can help create a significant, measurable impact for your hotel, please get in touch with Debi Moses at dmoses@flip.to or visit www.flip.to.

Flip.to & Vizergy partner to help hotels turn guest referrals into a powerful new business channel

Flip.to partners with Vizergy, the leading partner in hotel internet marketing

ORLANDO, FL – NOVEMBER 2014 – Flip.to is proud to announce its most recent strategic partnership with Vizergy, the hospitality industry’s leading partner in hotel internet marketing. Flip.to, the brand advocate platform, turns hotel guests into a huge, trusted extension of a hotel’s marketing force, boosting brand awareness and earning new guests around the world.

Vizergy has partnered with Flip.to on multiple fronts, ranging from a new product offering within Vizergy’s best-in-class suite of marketing services, to a seamless integration with Secure-Res, their globally respected booking platform. This partnership has allowed Vizergy clients to take full advantage of the Flip.to brand advocate platform and has laid the foundation for hotels to earn increased customer engagement and generate new guests, with the help of their existing guests.

Since partnering, Vizergy has integrated Flip.to on a number of customer websites, as well as a variety of booking engines. The roster of Vizergy’s customers that have opted to integrate this service into their online strategy continue to see added revenue gains and increased traffic due to viral marketing. These successes are driven by the performance of the Flip.to platform and its ability to create uniquely personalized messaging for guests of each specific hotel property.

“Flip.to and Vizergy are proactively working together to design an integrated platform that has a real impact for our mutual customers based on what’s best suited for each one. Our mission is to help hotels earn new guests and we’re laser-focused on doing just that everyday,” said Edward St.Onge, President of Flip.to.

“We are thrilled to continue partnering with innovative new social platforms such as Flip.to,” said Robert Arnold, President of Vizergy. “As guests become increasingly vocal in the social sphere, it is critical to bring new and unique products to the table that will allow our clients to maximize booking potential and enhance relevant and targeted messaging for their properties. Flip.to delivers that added benefit of trusted word-of-mouth marketing, and we look forward to providing this service to many more of our socially savvy hotel clientele.”