Hotel E-volution enables independent hoteliers to keep posted on the latest trends in digital marketing for the hospitality industry.

1.
Digital
Developments
In
Hospitality
November,
3nd
2011
Digital
Developments
in
Hospitality
is
a
division
of
Oneglobe
Network
dedicated
to
exploring
Net
capabilities
and
innovations
facilitating
differentiation
via
breakthrough
services.
DDIH
explores
the
impact
of
apps,
tools
and
platforms,
already
adopted
in
the
marketplace,
and
the
impact
on
users’
service
expectations.
Digital
Marketing
Trends
for
Hoteliers
Social
Media
Trends
Foursquare
P.2
Facebook
P.3
Mobile
Trends
Photo
Sharing
Devices
P.4
Online
Trends
Google
P.5
Analytic
Trends
HootSuite
P.6
Latest
Trends
in
Hospitality
Online
Contests
P.8
Online
Customer
Engagement
P.9
In
October,
World
Hotel
Groups
were
contest-­‐oriented.
With
Accor,
Four
Seasons,
Hilton
and
Starwood,
all
determined
to
win
over
market
shares.
Only
one
objective:
creating
online
customer
engagement!
Several
solutions:
a
social
media
treasure
hunt,
an
online
lottery,
social
media
reviews,
social
loyalty
programs,
digital
awareness
campaigns….
They
chose
to
play
either
the
originality
card
or
the
simplicity
card,
which
one
will
be
the
most
effective?
Hotel
guests
will
tell…

2. 2
Social
Media
Trends
Foursquare
Foursquare
Hack
Reveals
When
Friends
First
Met
October,
3rd
2011
by
Sarah
Kessler
Google
engineer
Mihai
Parparita
met
his
wife
during
their
junior
year
of
college.
But
at
some
point,
it
occurred
to
them
that
they
had
actually
taken
a
class
together
two
years
prior
to
that
without
introducing
themselves.
It
took
the
couple
years
of
conversation
to
discover
this
coincidence,
but
Parparita
recently
created
a
way
for
other
couples
—
or
friends
and
people
who
just
met
—
to
plot
their
past
intersections.
A
clever
app
he
put
together
at
a
Foursquare
Hackathon
in
San
Francisco
compares
two
people’s
checkin
history
and
shows
them
when
they’ve
been
in
the
same
room.
The
app
is
called
Intersquares.
To
use
Intersquares,
users
hook
up
their
Foursquare
accounts
and
send
a
link
to
whomever
they
want
to
compare
checkins
with.
As
soon
as
that
person
links
his
or
her
account,
voilà,
out
spits
a
list
of
common
checkins.
http://ddih.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/foursquare-­‐
hack-­‐reveals-­‐when-­‐friends-­‐first-­‐met/
Moving
Beyond
The
Check-­‐In,
Foursquare
Introduces
“Radar”
October,
13th
2011
The
next
update
to
Foursquare’s
iPhone
app
for
iOS
5
will
pester
you
even
more
about
things
to
do
nearby.
The
new
feature
is
called
Radar,
and
it
pulls
suggestions
from
FourSquare’s
Explore
feature.
Depending
on
your
location,
it
might
suggest
a
nearby
restaurant,
or
remind
you
that
the
coffee
shop
on
your
to-­‐do
list
is
nearby.
It
will
also
tell
you
when
your
friends
are
meeting
nearby.
Radar
pulls
in
Explore
suggestions
nearby
and
sends
them
to
you
as
notifications
so
you
get
them
even
if
the
app
is
closed.
http://ddih.wordpress.com/2011/10/13/moving-­‐beyond-­‐
the-­‐check-­‐in-­‐foursquare-­‐introduces-­‐
%E2%80%9Cradar%E2%80%9D/
To
keep
in
Mind
…
Intersquares
app
enables
users
to
compare
check-­‐ins
and
find
places
they
have
in
common.
Foursquare
Radar
gets
people
informed
of
what
is
happening
in
the
surrounding
locations
by
sending
notifications.

3. 3
Facebook
Facebook
Timeline:
5
Sites
for
Customizing
Your
Cover
Photo
October,
13th
2011
by
Amy-­‐Mae
Elliott
Facebook’s
new
Timeline
design
gives
you
a
big
space
for
a
photo
at
the
top
of
your
profile.
So
far
we
have
seen
some
cool
and
creative
uses
of
this
new
“cover
photo.”
If
you
don’t
have
the
time
to
design
your
own,
consider
these
fun
free
services
that
can
help.
We
have
found
five
fledgling
websites
that
offer
free
cover
photos
you
can
easily
upload
to
your
profile.
http://ddih.wordpress.com/2011/10/13/facebook-­‐
timeline-­‐5-­‐sites-­‐for-­‐customizing-­‐your-­‐cover-­‐photo/
Facebook
Acquires
Social
Q&A
Service
Friend.ly
October,
11th
2011
The
acquisitions
continue
for
Facebook.
Last
week,
the
social
network
bought
Friend.ly,
the
social
question
and
answer
service,
both
sides
confirm
today.
Of
note,
the
Friend.ly
team
says
that
they’ll
be
working
on
“new
projects”
at
Facebook.
But
they
also
say
that
Friend.ly
will
continue
to
operate
as
a
service.
As
Inside
Facebook
noted
back
in
April,
Friend.ly
was
able
to
gain
a
ton
of
users
on
top
of
Facebook’s
graph
very
quickly.
http://ddih.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/facebook-­‐acquires-­‐social-­‐qa-­‐service-­‐friend-­‐ly/
Facebook
Launches
New
Translation
Tool
For
Pages
October,
5th
2011
By
Kris
Holt
Facebook
has
quietly
rolled
out
a
new
in-­‐line
translation
tool
that
allows
you
to
quickly
translate
content
on
pages
using
Bing
Translate.
This
will
make
it
easier
for
you
to
translate
posts
and
comments
on
public
pages
into
your
preferred
language,
so
you
can
enjoy
content
from
any
public
page
on
the
social
network.
Whenever
a
post
or
comment
is
posted
in
a
language
you
don’t
claim
to
know
on
your
profile,
a
“Translate”
button
will
appear
under
that
content
alongside
the
“Like,
“Comment”
and
“Share”
buttons.
When
you
click
the
button,
the
content
is
translated
into
your
preferred
language.
You
can
switch
back
to
the
original
version
of
the
content
by
clicking
the
“Original”
button.
http://www.scribbal.com/2011/10/facebook-­‐launches-­‐
new-­‐translation-­‐tool-­‐for-­‐pages/
To
keep
in
Mind
…
Facebook
Translation
Tool
enables
users
to
translate
Facebook
page
content
into
several
languages.
Friend.ly
allows
individuals
and
companies
to
learn
from
their
Facebook
friends
by
sharing
Q&A,
made
in
a
fun
way.

4. 4
Mobile
Trends
Twitter
Updates
iPhone
App
with
Photo
Sharing
October,
12th
2011
by
Todd
Wasserman
A
day
before
Apple
is
expected
to
release
its
iOS
5
update
with
Twitter
integration,
Twitter
has
upgraded
its
iPhone,
iPod
touch
and
iPad
app
with
new
features,
including
photo
sharing.
The
3.5.0
update,
introduced
Tuesday,
includes
an
upgraded
direct
messages
design
on
the
iPad
and
the
ability
to
tap
a
location
on
the
iPad
to
show
nearby
tweets.
The
most
significant
upgrade
is
a
feature
that
lets
you
take
a
photo
on
your
mobile
device
and
then
upload
it
to
pic.twitter.com.
http://ddih.wordpress.com/2011/10/12/twitter-­‐updates-­‐iphone-­‐app-­‐with-­‐photo-­‐sharing/
First
Look
At
ImageSocial,
The
Photo-­‐Sharing
Network
That
Just
Scored
$15
Million
In
Funding
October,
12th
2011
By
Sarah
Perez
Earlier
this
month,
Australian-­‐based
Mooter
Media
took
in
$15
million
from
San
Francisco
investment
firm
La
Jolla
Cove
Investors,
Inc.
in
order
to
launch
a
new
social
photography
platform.
The
platform,
called
ImageSocial,
will
include
a
gaming
element.
Instead
of
just
friending
users
and
uploading
photos,
at
launch,
ImageSocial
users
will
be
able
to
participate
in
what
Mooter
says
is
the
“largest
online
photo
contest
ever
conceived.”
The
contest
will
involve
a
search
for
the
most
defining
moments
of
our
generation,
and
will
award
“big”
prizes.
When
it
launches
in
Q1
2012,
ImageSocial
will
encourage
users
to
share
photos
on
the
network
via
desktop,
tablet
or
mobile
devices
and
will
encourage
them
to
vote
on
others’
images.
http://ddih.wordpress.com/2011/10/12/first-­‐look-­‐at-­‐imagesocial-­‐the-­‐photo-­‐sharing-­‐network-­‐that-­‐just-­‐scored-­‐15-­‐
million-­‐in-­‐funding/
To
keep
in
Mind
…
ImageSocial
allows
to
enter
online
photo
contests
through
photo-­‐
sharing
and
votes.
Twitter
Iphone
App
enables
users
to
take
photos
and
post
them
directly
on
Twitter
Photo
platform.
Photo
Sharing
Devices

5. 5
Online
Trends
Rooftop
QR
Codes
Aim
to
Infiltrate
Google
Maps
October,
12th
2011
by
Todd
Wasserman
Here’s
a
circuitous
route
to
free
advertising
on
Google:
An
Austin,
Texas,
firm
will
install
QR
codes
on
rooftops
in
an
attempt
to
sneak
into
Google
Maps.
Phillips
&
Co.’s
new
proposition,
called
Blue
Marble,
offers
a
“space-­‐accessible
profile”
for
businesses,
cities,
schools
—
anyone
who
wants
to
raise
their
profile.
Phillips
says
in
a
statement
that
Google
Earth
has
been
downloaded
400
million
times
and
“by
integrating
a
readable
code
into
the
space-­‐accessible
profile,
mobile
users
can
access
dynamic
marketing
programs,
videos,
digital
coupons
and
other
content
while
viewing
the
specific
geographical
location.”
In
addition
to
showing
up
in
Google
Earth,
the
codes
would
also
surface
in
Google
Maps,
which
makes
use
of
the
former
with
Earth
View.
http://ddih.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/rooftop-­‐qr-­‐codes-­‐aim-­‐to-­‐infiltrate-­‐google-­‐maps/
Google
Maps
rolls
out
business
interiors
in
Street
View
October,
28th
2011
by
Meghan
Kelly
Google
is
taking
its
Street
View
feature
indoors.
The
company
announced
last
May
it
would
be
taking
interior
shots
of
stores,
but
now
it
is
moving
out
of
its
pilot
phase
with
more
360
degree
interiors
cropping
up
online.
Now
Google
is
using
these
images
as
a
marketing
tool
for
businesses
that
want
to
show
off
their
interiors.
http://ddih.wordpress.com/2011/10/28/google-­‐maps-­‐
rolls-­‐out-­‐business-­‐interiors-­‐in-­‐street%C2%A0view/
Google
extends
Hotel
Finder
tool
beyond
US
destinations
October,
20th
2011
By
Linda
Fox
Google’s
experiment
with
its
Hotel
Finder
tool
for
US
destinations
must
be
paying
off
as
the
search
giant
has
quietly
opened
it
up
to
include
European
cities.
The
tool
enables
users
to
search
for
a
hotel
within
a
named
destination
by
editing
a
shape
on
a
map.
Users
can
also
view
hotels
within
the
shape
as
a
list
and
by
clicking
on
a
‘book’
button
are
provided
with
advertisements
from
online
travel
agencies
and
the
hotels
enabling
users
to
compare
prices.
Property
reviews
are
also
provided
from
Google
Places.
http://ddih.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/google-­‐extends-­‐
hotel-­‐finder-­‐tool-­‐beyond-­‐us-­‐destinations/
Google
To
keep
in
Mind
…
-­‐
QR
codes
on
rooftops
could
infiltrate
Google
Maps.
-­‐
Google
Maps
displays
photos
of
business
interiors:
360°
information.
-­‐
Google
Hotel
Finder
is
available
in
the
UK.

6. 6
Analytics
Trends
HootSuite
Integrates
LinkedIn
Company
Pages
&
Groups
October,
6th
2011
The
integration
is
key
for
HootSuite
—
which
previously
only
supported
LinkedIn
profiles
—
in
evolving
side-­‐by-­‐side
with
its
main
user
base:
social
media
marketers.
In
short,
LinkedIn
is
quickly
coming
into
its
own
in
the
social
networking
realm
—
and
social
media
managers
need
to
stay
on
top
of
it.
With
the
new
HootSuite
features,
they
can
send
company
status
updates
and
start
group
discussions
around
their
content.
For
companies
using
LinkedIn
for
HR
marketing
and
recruiting,
it’s
an
opportunity
to
post
job
openings
and
share
professional
expertise
as
well.
LinkedIn
has
named
HootSuite
one
of
its
four
charter
members
in
its
new
Certified
Developer
Program,
a
network
of
developers
designated
to
help
marketers,
agencies
and
companies
use
LinkedIn
to
connect
with
their
audiences.
http://ddih.wordpress.com/2011/10/06/hootsuite-­‐
integrates-­‐linkedin-­‐company-­‐pages-­‐groups/
Check-­‐out
Who’s
Checking-­‐in
~
HootSuite
Acquires
Location-­‐Based
Marketing
Tool
Geotoko
October
12th,
2011
HootSuite
has
acquired
Geotoko
–
a
location-­‐
based
marketing
tool
–
adding
to
the
existing
geo-­‐location
capabilities
in
the
social
media
management
dashboard.
This
geo-­‐analytic
software
will
help
businesses
market
to
understand
their
audience
and
customers.
The
Geotoko
technology
reports
on
geo-­‐
based
social
media
interactions
like
key
influencers,
customer
sentiment,
and
demographic
patterns
to
help
businesses
draw
conclusions
about
audience
behavior,
as
well
as
help
brands
reward
customers
for
checking-­‐in
via
Foursquare
and
Facebook
Places.
http://blog.hootsuite.com/geotoko-­‐acquisition/
HootSuite
To
keep
in
Mind
…
-­‐
HootSuite
enables
LinkedIn
to
help
businesses
develop
their
social
media
presence.
-­‐
Geotoko
(acquired
by
HootSuite)
lets
businesses
better
understand
their
audience’s
activities
on
social
media
websites.

7. 7
Latest
Marketing
Trends
in
Hospitality
A|Club
launches
grand
game
contest
for
all
its
members
October
6th,
2011
From
October
6
to
November
15,
2011,
A|Club
is
offering
all
of
its
members
a
chance
to
play
its
big
on-­‐line
game:
Jackpot
Days.
By
connecting
to
the
“A|Club”
Facebook
page,
participants
have
a
chance
to
win
the
Jackpot:
1
million
A|Club
points
credited
to
their
loyalty
card,
equivalent
to
a
year
of
weekends!
At
the
same
time,
A|Club
is
doubling
points
earned
for
any
weekend
reservation
from
October
10
to
December
18
made
on
a-­‐club.com,
Accorhotels.com,
brand
sites
–
Sofitel,
Pullman,
MGallery,
Novotel,
SuiteNovotel,
Mercure,
Adagio,
ibis,
and
all
seasons/ibis
style,
and
via
Accor
call
centers.
http://ddih.wordpress.com/2011/10/06/aclub-­‐launches-­‐
grand-­‐game-­‐contest-­‐for-­‐all-­‐its-­‐members/
Online
Contests
Travel
deal
of
the
week:
Four
Seasons
Resorts
Facebook
giveaway
October
6th,
2011
For
those
who
can’t
bear
the
thought
of
planning
the
family
trip,
the
Four
Seasons
Hotels
and
Resorts
is
hosting
a
Facebook
giveaway
that
will
end
with
three
lucky
families
vacationing
at
one
of
three
Four
Seasons
resorts:
The
Four
Seasons
Nevis,
The
Four
Seasons
Vail
or
The
Four
Seasons
Boston.
Four
Seasons
teamed
up
with
luxury
family
vacationers
Luxury
Travel
Mom,
Ciao
Bambino
and
PoshBrood,
to
create
this
social
media
scavenger
hunt.
Here’s
how
it
works:
The
contest
is
a
Luxury
Facebook
Treasure
Hunt.
At
each
stop
you
answer
a
question
which
gives
you
another
entry
and
another
chance
to
win.
http://ddih.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/travel-­‐deal-­‐
of-­‐the-­‐week-­‐four-­‐seasons-­‐resorts-­‐facebook-­‐giveaway/
Hilton
comes
up
with
social
media
treasure
hunt
promotion
October
6th,
2011
Hilton
Worldwide’s
loyalty
programme
Hilton
HHonors
has
launched
“the
world’s
largest
social
media
treasure
hunt”,
giving
away
500
free
hotel
nights
over
the
course
of
five
consecutive
days
this
week.
Clues
for
the
treasure
hunt
activities
and
locations
are
being
given
on
the
Hilton
HHonors
Twitter
account
and
Facebook
page.
HHonors
members
and
treasure
hunters
must
follow
or
become
a
fan
to
uncover
the
giveaway
cities
and
required
tasks.
In
each
city,
the
first
100
people
to
correctly
complete
the
task
and
find
the
Hilton
HHonors
team
will
be
awarded
with
a
free
night
certificate,
redeemable
at
any
participating
property
in
the
Hilton
Worldwide
portfolio
of
brands.
http://ddih.wordpress.com/2011/10/24/hilton-­‐comes-­‐up-­‐with-­‐social-­‐media-­‐treasure-­‐hunt-­‐promotion/

8. 8
Meliá
Hotels
Opens
A
“Social
Suite”
at
ME
Madrid
October
19th,
2011
by
Josiah
Mackenzie
At
ReviewPro,
we
advocate
using
guest
feedback
from
the
social
web
to
guide
design,
but
a
new
campaign
from
Meliá
Hotels
takes
this
philosophy
to
another
level.
Earlier
this
month,
ME
Madrid
opened
its
“Social
Suite”
–
created
and
inspired
by
the
company’s
Facebook
fans.
The
“Social
Suite”
is
the
result
of
the
recent
“Everything
is
Possible”
online
campaign
by
the
hotel
chain
on
Facebook
which
for
two
weeks
encouraged
fans
of
all
the
company’s
hotel
brands
to
share
their
dreams.
The
campaign
helped
the
company
raise
the
number
of
fans
to
make
it
the
top
Spanish
hotel
company
on
Facebook
with
more
than
200,000
fans.
http://ddih.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/melia-­‐
hotels-­‐opens-­‐a-­‐%E2%80%9Csocial-­‐
suite%E2%80%9D-­‐at-­‐me-­‐madrid/
Online
Customer
Engagement
Starwood
Hotels
to
publish
online
customer
reviews
October
25th,
2011
By
Barbara
De
Lollis
Starwood
later
today
will
launch
a
first-­‐ever
online
review
function
–
a
first-­‐ever
move
by
a
U.S.
global
hotel
company
that
gives
its
customers
a
high-­‐profile
voice
and
potential
influence
with
other
guests.
The
new
function
will
let
Sheraton,
Westin,
W
and
other
Starwood-­‐brand
hotel
customers
write
their
assessment
of
their
recent
hotel
stay
directly
on
Starwood
websites,
senior
Starwood
executive
Chris
Holdren
tells
Hotel
Check-­‐In.
Anyone
will
be
able
to
read
the
reviews
and
share
them
via
social
media
channels,
such
as
Facebook
and
Twitter.
Starwood
hopes
that
by
giving
customers
the
chance
to
write
reviews,
they’ll
be
more
engaged
with
the
company
and
more
likely
to
book
repeat
stays.
http://ddih.wordpress.com/2011/10/25/starwood-­‐hotels-­‐to-­‐publish-­‐online-­‐customer-­‐reviews/

9. 9
The
Power
of
Foursquare
and
Location-­‐Based
Services
[Presentation]
How
Hotels
and
Travel
Companies
Are
Nailing
Social
Media
October,
28th
2011
Social
Loyalty
Startup
Topguest
Launching
White
Label
Service
With
Facebook
Integration
Today,
the
company
is
announcing
a
new
product
that
will
make
Topguest
not
just
a
social
loyalty
program,
but
a
full-­‐fledged
social
loyalty
SaaS
company.
This
fall
it
will
debut
a
white-­‐label
service
that
will
allow
brands
to
customize
their
communication
with
each
of
their
customers,
based
on
their
social
networking
activity.
Topguest’s
first
partner
with
this
effort
will
be
Hilton
HHonors.
Hilton’s
new
social
loyalty
program,
powered
by
Topguest,
will
be
available
at
www.socialhhonors.com
(site
is
not
yet
live).
Members
will
receive
2,500
points
simply
for
connecting
their
Facebook
account,
and
will
then
have
the
opportunity
to
earn
even
more
points
for
further
engaging
with
the
brand.
http://ddih.wordpress.com/2011/10/28/social-­‐loyalty-­‐startup-­‐topguest-­‐launching-­‐white-­‐label-­‐service-­‐with-­‐facebook-­‐
integration/
Luxury
Collection
launches
bold
new
ad
campaign.
October
4th,
2011
The
Luxury
Collection
Hotels
&
Resorts
announces
a
new
global
advertising
campaign,
framing
its
ensemble
of
iconic
hotels
and
resorts
with
photography
of
experiences,
destinations
and
passions
of
the
brand
to
tell
the
story
of
a
global
explorer
and
deliver
a
personal
approach
to
the
collection.
Conceived
by
The
Luxury
Collection
brand’s
marketing
team
and
executed
with
photographer
David
Prince
and
noted
prop
stylist
Jocelyn
Beaudoin,
the
campaign
captures
unique
travel
experiences,
singular
environments
and
cherished
memories
that
reflect
The
Luxury
Collection
brand.
http://ddih.wordpress.com/2011/10/04/luxury-­‐
collection-­‐launches-­‐bold-­‐new-­‐ad-­‐campaign/

10.
Digital
Development
In
Hospitality
A
word
from
the
team…
“
We
are
pleased
to
share
through
DDIH
blog,
all
the
pieces
of
information
related
to
the
latest
digital
trends
in
the
objective
to
inspire
independent
hotels
when
creating
marketing
strategies.”
Find
us
on
http://ddih.wordpress.com/
@oneglobeddih