Stories, ideas and resources for the hotel industry. Updates on building brands, direct bookings, revenue management, social media, hotel advocacy, and more from Flip.to.
One of our core values: No minions here. We hire amazing people first, let them tell us what they’re good at, and then help them find their superpower. So as you may have guessed, team is important to us, and ours is made up of some pretty incredible people.
So, last month, our whole team stopped by HQ in Orlando for a week of creative collaboration, coffee brainstorms, and a bit of fun.
Here are some of our favorites moments from the week:
Wrapping up Thursday’s catered lunch after team updates and Founder’s Corner
“Escaping” from the Great Escape Room in record time
Getting ready to race electric go-karts on Friday’s offsite at Andretti Indoor Karting
Celebrating the wins (and crashes) after the checkered flag waves
An extra bonus of having the entire team in-house means we get the chance to take advantage of the creative talent of our design team. Any time they’re in town, we schedule a few hours to update the chalk wall in our lunch room.
This time, we set up a camera to capture the entire session:
To meet some of the Flip.to veterans along with some fresh faces, hop over to our about page. Plus, always feel free to say hello 👋 to us here—we’re always eager to chat with other movers and shakers in hospitality!
At Flip.to, we’ve made our careers in hospitality. Now, we’re certified in advocology. (Our science-y approach to turning advocacy into revenue.)
On this team, we aim to hire amazing people, which is why we’d like to introduce Matt—dedicated Account Manager and “punny” guy who settles for nothing less than huge wins for every customer.
A few months back, we shamelessly shared our first blooper reel after an excited foray into video production. It’s been one heck of an experience and we’ve learned an awful lot along the way.
At Flip.to we’re all about authenticity and the connections between individuals. So when we first committed to making video there was unanimous agreement that whatever it is we’re talking about in our videos, it should be us talking about it.
Setting up the mic and testing audio before getting started.
I was asked to be the voice of our videos. One never to turn down an opportunity (or a challenge), I was happy to take up the mantle. (To be honest I was more excited about recording impersonations, so I convinced myself this was a step in that direction.)
As fun as it’s been, we’ve been focused on continuous improvement. If you’re thinking of integrating video into your content marketing strategy (and you should), here are some major lessons to help you get started.
1. Spend time on a script…
Going into this, I was working under the assumption that we’d need some manner of script but, for the most part, we’d be winging it. It only took a single video to realize how wrong I was. We were using a script from the beginning. While we did adlib a bit, it was immediately apparent how important the script was.
This may seem like an obvious thing, but when you spend the better part of your day talking about a product, you feel confident enough you can do the same with a microphone in front of your face.
Don’t bet on it–having a polished script ensures you’re covering the important points.
2. …but don’t be afraid to deviate
As critical as the script is, if you want the video to feel authentic and convey real emotion, you’ll need to make changes on the fly. We’ll record each section of the video multiple times to make sure it feels and sounds authentic and natural. The script isn’t gospel. Instead, it’s a guide to tie together the scenes and concepts in the video.
3. Record, record, and record again
Getting a bit of feedback from Hunter on the recording.
Getting a scene right on the first try is akin to keeping a wet dog in the bathtub. Try as you might, there will be slip ups.
Or, it just may not feel right. No matter how you feel after recording a scene, the playback may change your mind. In the beginning, we recorded a scene, played it back, and recorded it again—then repeated. We wisened up and now we record each scene a few times back-to-back and then listen in succession. Doing it this way lets you compare each attempt to single out the best take. If none sound good, well… do it again!
4. Finding the right voice and tone takes time
I don’t mean to say you need to make a host of videos to find your voice and tone. Instead, I’m talking about finding the right tone for a specific video.
While recording our “Introduce your hotel to the people that matter most” video, we were about three-quarters of the way through the voice-over when we hit our stride. We wrapped up several scenes in quick succession and they felt incredible.
We went back and listened. It sounded noticeably different! The final 25% felt so right, that we took the time to re-record everything up to that point so that there was continuity. It was well worth the effort. Once we dialed it in we were able to record much more quickly too.
Hunter gives the thumbs up on the new recording.
For future videos we recorded a reading of the entire script, sometimes multiple times, to get a feel for the tone. Ultimately this saved us time, produced a better quality video, and gave the video authenticity.
5. Have fun
It’s not all business. You will definitely need to take breaks. We deviate from the script (sometimes by A LOT) because a good laugh can go a long way.
And like I said at the start, doing impersonations was what I really wanted to do in the first place. So don’t hesitate to cut loose when the urge strikes and enjoy the moment. It’s not often you get an opportunity to professionally record yourself cutting up for, you know, posterity.
Oh, and don’t think we didn’t save some of the fun stuff—listen in for yourself below!
Jumping into your own recordings? Let me know! We’re always eager to share and learn more, and collaborate along the way.
The sounds of grumbling stomachs were heard far and wide, and the torment of a bagel-less, muffin-less, and cold-brew-less morning in the office had to stop. Plus, the line at the Starbucks machine was getting a bit lengthy thanks to the 32 ounce option. (I mean, really, Kevin? Who needs 32 ounces of coffee in the morning? All those dev hours, I guess…)
The decision was clear. We needed help:
Director of Breakfasts Flip.to seeks first-meal-making wizard
Qualifications:
We are looking for a creative and gifted Director of Breakfast. You will be known as “the meal-making wizard” and maintain complete control of the kitchen and breakroom.
Experience:
Making breakfast taste good
Skills:
Cold brew making ability
Can incorporate tasty, vegan alternatives
Must hail from New York City
Sure, these were HUGE shoes to fill, and quite honestly we weren’t too sure they could.
To our surprise, the response was overwhelming. We had lines of people outside our office giving us tastings of their best breakfast dishes for days. In fact, we’re still getting the occasional chef trickle into our office. It’s a tear-jerker turning down so many crumble-top muffins in the past few days. Regardless, we had to stay strong and move on.
After countless hours of taste testing, résumé reviewing, and deliberation, a decision had been made! We couldn’t be more ecstatic to announce our new Director of Breakfasts, Traci Kent—sister of CEO and fearless Flip.to leader, Brian Kent.
The NY Style Bagels—you should’ve tasted them. And don’t get me started on the multitude of muffins. They’re so good that Traci was once asked to come to the White House for a Presidential Breakfast. She kindly turned it down. With gumption like that, we couldn’t be more proud to have her on the team. She captures the essence of Martha Stewart with the execution skills of highly trained Swat team. In other words, she’s the best.
UPDATE: Traci had to return to Brooklyn after the holidays. The team didn’t take the news very well, but we’re working out a plan to bake remote.
Flip.to unveils Photo Advocacy at the 2014 World Travel Market
ORLANDO, FL – OCTOBER 2014 – Flip.to, the brand advocate platform, will premiere their newest product, Photo Advocacy, to a worldwide audience at the 2014 World Travel Market at the ExCel London from November 3rd through 6th.
A guest from The Shores shares their special memory
Photo Advocacy reinvents a hotel’s ability to reach new markets, earn new guests and open new revenue streams with the snap of a shutter. Hotels can engage their guests with beautiful, perpetual photo contests and turn memorable moments into amazing brand connections around the world. Photo Advocacy taps into an entirely new marketing channel delivering significant, measurable impact to a hotel’s bottom line.
World Travel Market Senior Exhibition Director Simon Press said: “We are delighted to welcome Flip.to to WTM 2014 and are sure its attendance will prove to be a wise decision. WTM is showing consistent and strong growth in the business deals generated there and with this year’s innovations, we are confident the 2014 event will continue in this vein.”
A guest from Nick Hotel shares their special memory
“Last year we won Most Innovative and People’s Choice at WTM. We are excited to return and show the world the exciting new addition to our platform, Photo Advocacy,” said Edward St.Onge, President, Global Sales & Marketing for Flip.to.
Flip.to will be part of The Travel Tech Show at WTM, which has doubled in size over the past five years. The Flip.to team will be available in Booth TT585 for demos and high fives.
To schedule time in advance with the Flip.to team or to learn more, please get in touch with Debi Moses at dmoses@flip.to or visit www.flip.to.
I recently joined the Flip.to team, and being based out of Madrid, I’m very excited to be the first European team member! With that said, here’s a little bit about my past (and future!)…
Tell us one of your favorite memories from childhood?
I grew up in a large family. I was one of 5 kids. Once we were a bit older my dad created a family tradition. Each weekend he would take one of us on a weekend trip. We traveled all over Spain and Portugal. Each weekend was a mini holiday alone with our parents in hotels both good and bad.
How did that influence you as a grown up?
It gave me a great love of hotels and travel. I knew then that I wanted to do something that let me travel and stay in amazing hotels.
So, is that what drew you to the hospitality industry?
Oddly, that is not how it started. In the 1980’s, I moved to the United States and got a job with the Tourist Office for Spain in Chicago. It was my job to represent Spain to cities in the midwest. It was while doing this that the hospitality bug bit me.
What was your favorite part of that job?
As the junior employee, I had to do the trade shows in smaller cities. I would hop into my old station wagon and drive to places like St. Louis, Minneapolis, and other cities in the midwest. I really enjoyed seeing the US by car.
And you got hooked and stayed in hospitality forever?
Not quite, when I moved back to Spain, I applied for a job with Hertz. Alas, it wasn’t the car rental divisions it was the heavy equipment rental division. I got the job and was the operations manager for a couple of years. But, ultimately, I missed the hospitality industry and I found my way back.
Where else have you worked in the hospitality business?
I worked at an OTA back before they were big. Ultimately, I moved onto EZ Yield and helped hotels better learn how to manage OTAs.
Alfredo, you’ve been around the industry for a while, and you’ve been on the ground floor of some interesting products. What was it about Flip.to that you liked (other than the completely awesome people who work here)?
Over the past 2 years, I’ve seen hotels do more and more on social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. However, when I have asked them about it, there were two things that always seemed to be an issue for them.
What’s the first one?
The amount of time it takes to properly manage the social networks. For most hotels this takes hours per week. However, the Flip.to platform isn’t something that needs to be managed constantly. It’s designed so that hotels can turn it on and almost walk away. So, the hotel reaps the benefits of reaching more people via the social networks without having to invest a lot of man hours to do it.
And, the second thing?
The tracking, the platform tracks multiple different metrics for hotels. In the blink of an eye, a hotel can see how many people shared a message, how many social connections were reached and how many people visited their website as a result of their posts. Beyond that, they can tie that to room nights booked.
So, ease of use and tracking, was there anything else that made you excited about Flip.to?
I love that there wasn’t anything else out there like it. Most social networking depends on using another brand to market your brand. Flip.to uses your guests’ networks as a new marketing channel and points their friends over to your hotel’s website in a way that feels personal. So you get to broaden your reach but ultimately drive traffic to your own site. No one else is doing that. I really like being a trailblazer.
