Hospitality industry is highly competitive, and the challenge is even tougher for luxury hotel properties. With the homestays and budget hotels flooding the lower end and the premium hotel chains fighting each other for the upper end, the individual luxury properties have to work overtime to attract the right audience.

Operated by DS Group, a conglomerate with presence in multiple domains, Namah is a beautiful luxury resort situated near Jim Corbett National Park in India. The group operates multiple hotel properties in different regions across India. To promote the destination among different segments of travellers, Namah Resorts recently carried out a blogger engagement campaign on the occasion of International Yoga Day. The event was called #TheRoyalRejuvenation, highlighting the blend of luxury and wellness that the resort offers.

The activity started with a group of over 20 bloggers and media people heading to Jim Corbett in a bus from Delhi. The bloggers were a good mix of people with different areas of expertise. Having experts from different domains is very important as it not only gives the brand different perspectives about itself but also ensures that the communities don’t overlap, effectively increasing the reach. Apart from the travel bloggers, there were photography enthusiasts, food bloggers, lifestyle bloggers and some marketing experts too.

The beautifully built resort sits at an amazing location with mountains in sight and a river flowing right behind. Being situated at a popular tourist destination, it is frequented by leisure travellers looking to unwind in luxury. However, it has also started to gain popularity for conferences and meetings and has recently played host to various MICE event. ‘Bleisure’ travel is a trend catching up fast, especially with the 45-54 year old age group followed closely by 25 to 35 year olds. This offers a huge opportunity for premium properties like Namah to tap into and that is why, they are offering the products and services to cater to the blurred lifestyles of modern business travellers. They have got flexible events and meeting spaces for business travellers along with a wide array of leisure options for the other part.

Yoga is indeed all about #theroyalrejuvenation @namah_resorts where I took my first plunge into… https://t.co/GBTCyN1sGe

— Arvind Passey (@arvindpassey) June 25, 2016

Celebrated International Yoga Day at @Namah_Resorts . Splendid experience with an overcast sky #TheRoyalRejuvenation pic.twitter.com/s3YNyeAerP

— Gaurav Bhatnagar (@dspunkytraveler) June 24, 2016

The getaway was themed around the International Yoga Day and featured a line-up of activities, both around the Yoga day and otherwise. The Asia-Pacific region offers huge room for growth in wellness tourism, especially with travellers becoming more health conscious. That is why, Namah is rooting in Yoga as a part of the standard guest experience in addition to the spa and gym. As they are building the character of the brand around this theme, coupling Yoga with the blogger engagement initiative would help them drive the initial push.

Speaking about the three day event, Manish Kumar, GM-Sales at Namah Resorts shared, “#TheRoyalRejuvenation was an exciting event for us as, not only did it help us boost our online visibility, but also allowed us to connect with renowned experts from different domains and receive constructive feedback about our services. We constantly strive to offer the best experience to our guests and the inputs that we have received during the three day event will help us take a step further in the same direction.”

Among the activities that were a part of the itinerary, there were some that leveraged the social media reach of the participants, giving the brand more visibility, while also engaging people offline. The contests that were held during the campaign fused together a social element by using Twitter as a medium of communication. The hashtag #TheRoyalRejuvenation was used for the course of four days across all social media platforms.

Our next activityof QR Code hunt begins. Share the screenshot of your scan and win free goodies. Let's get started!! #TheRoyalRejuvenation

— Namah Resorts (@Namah_JimCorbet) June 21, 2016

Won Special Dessert #TheRoyalRejuvenation @Namah_Resorts pic.twitter.com/r7EwXvT1QQ

— Nidhi Rohit (@coinsandmaps) June 21, 2016

Got my #MondayMojito. Thanks @Namah_Resorts

Just tried some photography on it. #TheRoyalRejuvenation pic.twitter.com/AJUKS9GEPK

— Gaurav Bhatnagar (@dspunkytraveler) June 20, 2016

During such blogger engagement initiatives, apart from offering quality experience, it is crucial for the brand to drive conversations, invite feedback & criticism and feed the input into the loop to enhance guest experience. That is why, the key management was closely involved with the bloggers to absorb the inputs. This can go a long way in forging new partnerships and making the most out of the activity.

#TheRoyalRejuvenation at Namah

I was invited to be a part of the blogger engagement activity at Namah Resort as TravHQ was one of the media partners. It was great to see how they are understanding guest preferences and trying their best to deliver an experience that ticks all the boxes. The hospitality exceeded the expectations and was possibly even better than what I have experienced staying with some of the biggest names in hotel industry.

There are some takeaways too for others hospitality brands on how they can execute a blogger engagement campaign. For instance, brands should look at working with influencers from different domains to reach wider audience. Another takeaway is that the key people from the brand should be involved closely to ensure the efforts invested yield the maximum results. The offline activities during the three days also presented an example of how an online element can be induced into the equation to multiply the conversations on social media.

You can follow the hashtag #TheRoyalRejuvenation on Twitter and Instagram to browse through some of the amazing photographs and stories shared by all the bloggers. You can find more details about Namah Resorts at www.namah.in.

The post Namah Resorts invites travellers to rejuvenate in luxury with an interesting blogger engagement campaign appeared first on TravHQ.

Every once in a while, social media platforms surprise us with their capabilities. They bring together people in ways that would not be possible otherwise. #TWC2015 was one such event which recently caught our attention on social media due to the ongoing conversations around it! #TWC2015 has been conceptualised by Shraddha Gupta. Shraddha is a Design graduate from NIFT, New Delhi, a post grad in Media from London, and is now pursuing her MS Journalism from Boston University. She is a passionate traveller and shares her travel experiences through StreetTrotter. Thanks to #TWC2015, we got a chance to have a chat with her. Here is an excerpt from the conversation.

How was social media used to create awareness for #TWC2015?

#TWC2015 is all about changing the way we network and communicate with each other as bloggers. With this being the very vision of the club, it’s almost impossible to underestimate the power of social media today and what miracles has it done in connecting people over common platforms. To be specific, Twitter was truly a game changer for us, catering to the success of the club as bloggers tweeted day and night about TWC amongst each other. Even the smallest of conversations and the biggest of doubts were tweeted transparently which added to the media buzz around our entire campaign. Once it started, the word spread like a wildfire and we got applications pouring, all thanks to Social Media.

Bunch of Happy Travel Bloggers displaying their personalised framed travel quotes

What was your bloggers mix for this event?

We are extremely excited about the mix of bloggers we have achieved till date. We are a club of new, intermediate and old bloggers who are all very humble and truly passionate about travel. What we really appreciate in this mix, is their desire to learn more about professional blogging, help each other grow and also the fact that each one of them is looking to be a part of a like minded travel community. Keeping their individual gains aside, they all are looking at travelling together to new destinations and work as a team to promote travel and tourism in general – which is something that #TWC2015 is happy to have successfully accomplished.

How much would you credit technology and mobile devices in the success of #TWC2015?

Honestly, TWC was not possible without both Technology and Mobile. The very plan of TWC from my head to a live post was typed on the mobile during my flight from US to India. With the kind of promotions TWC has witnessed, it was practically impossible to pull it off on a regular laptop or a computer. You need a buzzing phone all the time in your hand with all your SM apps active simultaneously to run a platform like this where all bloggers are continuously networking with each other only through the medium of everyday instant technology.

How significant was the use of hashtag #TWC2015?

There is no doubt that Hashtags have become like a revolution in SM marketing. Today, an entire gamut of information from different sources and different parts of the world can be stored under a single hashtag which has significantly changed the way ideas are commonly shared about new and old concepts. The #TWC2015 hashtag worked the same way for us where all bloggers throughout Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and their blog posts have been using it to promote the club under one common resource. With time the ‘Travel Wizards Club’ has formed its own new SM identity with #TWC2015 and all one needs to do is search this hashtag to be updated about the club from its very start till today.

What brands were involved in #TWC2015 and what did they gain out of it?

We had five brand partners involved who helped TWC to grow and leave an impact. In return they were promoted on an equal scale along with the club, as once again – it is all about ‘changing the way we network and grow’. The club being a niche concept with passionate travel bloggers as its members holds a very strong advantage for brand partners as they get to market their products and services amongst this carefully curated group and also through them in the future. Chhattisgarh Tourism board was kind enough to collaborate with us as our Tourism partner and will be now hosting 12 blogger members in their state for a sponsored FAM trip. Travelflat, another budding digital travel blog pitched in to be our Media Partner for the event, helping us with back to back promotions and social media buzz.

Our gift sponsors were three very promising brands – #ThreadCasa, Cheapsex and I party Wild, which proved to be our star partners in the end giving away engaging goodies to all our members such as travel pouches, eye masks and travel-games to make our travels a lot more happening. All in all the partnership was purely to network with a newer and nicher crowd which worked for all of us brilliantly.

Santosh K Mishra, IAS MD Tourism, Government of Chhattisgarh in conversation with Bloggers via Skype

What is the way ahead for TWC?

TWC is a club for travel bloggers that aims to function truly like any other club or secret society is operated around the world. We are working hard towards bringing more opportunities and benefits for our blogger members every day through which they can grow as bloggers and truly enjoy the perks of being a travel enthusiast. We plan to meet once every few months in different cities, trying to connect more and more bloggers around the country and giving them this platform where they can just relax, socialize, discuss and become friends. Apart from the meets, the club is active on a daily basis through SM platforms where we are all helping each other with ideas, sharing and reviewing each other’s work – and being genuine mentors for each other.

For us, simply the next step would be a lot of fruitful tie-ups with companies who are looking at collaborating with a group of travel bloggers at large, and also to network deeper and better amongst each other as a travel ‘wizards’ community.

We wish the Travel Wizards Club good luck for their way ahead. You can stay updated on their activities by following StreetTrotter on Twitter.

The post #TWC2015: Interview with Shraddha Gupta, StreetTrotter appeared first on TravHQ.

Travel brands host various events and meetups to bring together influential people associated with the industry. This gives them an opportunity to network with them and leverage their following for spreading the word about the brand. Not only that but such events bring them meaningful input about the brand and industry. We guide you on how you can get the most out of your bloggers meet.

If you are a travel brand, there are good chances that you have hosted a bloggers meet sometime in the past. Even if you haven’t, you must have come across the news of some other brand hosting a meetup and maybe even considered doing the same. Such events are a great way to connect with people and take your brand to a large number of audience. Bloggers also love to be a part of such meetups because they get to meet like-minded people, expand their network and learn from other people’s experiences. So clearly it is a win-win situation for both the parties involved. But there is lot more involved in hosting a bloggers meet than just inviting some people for a chat over lunch at a fancy hotel. Here are some pointers to consider before you host your next bloggers meet.

(Image: writing by pedrosimoes7/ CC BY 2.0)

Get bloggers involved

That sounds a little obvious, isn’t it? Getting bloggers involved is the whole idea behind bloggers meet but that isn’t exactly what we mean here. We are suggesting that you get bloggers involved even in the planning process. Going out trying to figure everything by yourself is a definite way to burn your time and energy. You might have some blogger friends, guest bloggers who write for your website or maybe bloggers you know from the past bloggers meets. They can provide useful inputs for the meet you are planning to host and might also help you with the list of invitees.

What’s your bloggers’ mix?

You are a travel brand and cater to travellers (and tourists), so inviting a good number of travel blogger makes perfect sense. But you need to make sure that your list includes other types of bloggers as well. That fancy restaurant in your hotel would get more love from a food blogger than a travel blogger. Who knows, a mention on their blog might bring in more local customers rushing to your restaurant. Maybe you can learn a thing or two to serve your customers better. Even when it comes to travel bloggers, you will come across different kinds. Some might have a strong following on Instagram, some might have a YouTube channel with amazing videos while some might be experts at wordplay. Make sure you don’t miss out on the relevant ones for your brand.

Marketing bloggers can provide inputs on the serious side of your business. They take the market trends seriously and associating with them would definitely do some good to your brand. Some of them might be avid travellers too. Travel and photography go together so obviously some photo bloggers have to be a part. You don’t want every blogger to write the same thing about your event and this is how you can ensure that.

Social following isn’t everything

If you are tempted to invite some bloggers because of their following on Twitter or Facebook, think again. What is more important is their content niche and how well they connect with their community. Some of them are just contest freaks who post hundreds of tweets around a particular brand and then switch to some other one. If they keep following this pattern, a good number of followers start ignoring their posts (or is it just me?) and maybe even stop engaging. A quick look at their followers will also reveal how many of them are genuine and whether the followers themselves have some reach.

(Image: Social Media apps by Jason Howie/CC-BY 2.0)

Major brands usually associate with travel bloggers having a strong following and thus they are writing lot of sponsored posts and guest posts. There is an obvious point here. If two people expect us to do the same thing and the first one is paying, he will sit higher on our priority list. You will have to consider the fact that the super famous twitter stars might not go back home and write about your event or brand. We are not saying they would not, but they might not.

Avoid using platforms

Go to Google, type in ‘bloggers meet’ and you will find many blogger platforms that will let you connect with bloggers and easily host a meetup. It is tempting for sure but might not yield the best results because they have a huge pool of bloggers from across categories which is why there are good chances of a spill over. Nothing can beat your own research and outreach. The relationship that you will establish with them will have a long term sustenance. You need the bloggers to have a personal connection with your brand, not with the agency or platform you used.

Hashtag

You must have decided on a particular hashtag for the bloggers to use while they live tweet during the event. Create buzz about this hashtag well in advance. This will involve the bloggers and the audience who can follow the event. Apart from responding to your invite, request them to RSVP via twitter as well using the hashtag. If you do this, the guests will be able to find out who will be present at the event and will have a chance to connect with them before or after the event. This will make the meet more interactive.

(Image: Twitter Buttons by garrettheath/CC BY 2.0)

Make sure you use a single hashtag and make it consistent for all the event related activity, keeping it short & simple for obvious reasons.

Define expectations

What do you expect from the bloggers? Do you want them to live tweet? Do you want them to write about you after the meet? It is advisable to clearly define what you expect from the bloggers that are a part of the event. They understand the fact that you want to reach more people through them and that is why you are putting your resources into it. Mentioning the same in your invite would be good.

Ensure presence of your key people

It is very important that the key people of your company are present at the bloggers meet. This would definitely increase the conversations at the event and your takeaway from the meet. Try to have a personal connect with the guests and make sure the meet doesn’t turn into a boring formal one.

Follow up

Make sure someone from your team gets in touch with the guests after the event and thank them for being a part. Ask about their experience, share some pictures from the event and ask them for pictures. Avoid sending bulk mails for that. This would also give a chance to follow up with them and know if they posted on their blog about the event. If they haven’t, this could serve as a reminder to them about the same.

Follow these little tips and you are sure to make the most out of your bloggers meet. Have anything else to add to the list? Do let us know.

The post Here is how you can host the perfect bloggers meet appeared first on TravHQ.