Hyatt today launches its first-ever dual-branded marketing campaign, ‘You’ve Come Too Far to Settle Now,’ for the Hyatt Place and Hyatt House brands. The campaign is targeted at business travellers who, according to their research, have low expectations of select service hotels and want a hotel that allows them to be productive on the go.

With the message of ‘You’ve come too far to settle now’, the video campaign celebrates the travellers who are on the top of their game and don’t have to settle for average hotels with usual services. The campaign features people who actually represent that to be the voice.

This is a slightly different approach when compared to otherwise run of the mill business hotel ads that highlight the amenities like Wi-Fi and large lobbies that business travellers look for. Instead, it highlights the key audience of the brand to spark an emotional connect with them.

“We want to show our guests who travel tirelessly and passionately for business that we understand them and they shouldn’t have to settle when they’re on the road,” said Sandra Cordova Micek, senior vice president of global brands, Hyatt. “Today, business travelers are traveling with purpose – whether that’s making a sale, getting a promotion or building new relationships. They never settle and neither do we, which is why Hyatt Place and Hyatt House hotels are designed around business travelers to make their journey easier, more productive and successful.”

As another part of campaign, Hyatt is bringing in #WhySettle Spirit Awards. The Hyatt Place and Hyatt House brands will be honouring real people who fit the theme. Starting October 5, 2016, people will be able to nominate their colleagues, family and friends for the awards. More information will be available on their Facebook pages on October 5.

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Hospitality sector has been thriving to enhance any experience a guest has for better and the best. The times have witnessed clever ways how hotels have evolved riding on the wings of technology. And in amidst all the chaos, basic methods rose up to bring that dazzling idea to create a ripple effect.

Messaging services, a basic method, has been used by the industry for far too long. This simple communication channel has seen hotels engage customers like never before.  While most hospitality companies still handle the majority of customer service enquiries over the phone, email, and social media channels, brands looking to stay ahead of the curve have also been turning to mobile messaging apps.

For hotels, messaging allow a single staff member to interact simultaneously with multiple customers, not just one over the phone. On both ends, all correspondence is housed neatly within a single conversation so it’s easy to track customer history.

Here’s how hotels are using messaging services to create a brand around their name-

Marriot’s in-house messaging app

Marriot has come up with an in-house messaging app for the Marriot Reward, an award-winning loyalty programme that rosters more than 50 million members since last May.

The members can use Mobile Requests to ensure that they have everything they need for a comfortable stay. Marriot International extends this service in five different languages at selected properties within its JW Marriott, Autograph Collection, Renaissance, Courtyard, and flagship Marriott brands, and will soon expand it to others.

Sheraton’s Whatsapp grouping initiative

Sheraton Frankfurt Airport Hotel and Convention Centre adopted Whatsapp as a channel of the communique to all the consumers. Hotels adopted the app and include their mobile number along with the WhatsApp logo on their website, and also on their Facebook page and other social media profiles.

Once established, a hotel’s WhatsApp account was even used to create groups, like for members of its loyalty programme, making it easier to reward them with exclusive incentives and drive customer retention.

Hyatt’s Facebook Messenger engagement

Hyatt has recently started testing Facebook’s Messenger for offering services to the customers. Although the hotel has been using social media (Hyatt Concierge on Twitter) for reaching out to their guests.

Facebook’s Messenger for Business, launched earlier this year, provides a one-on-one real time interaction with customers as they’re experiencing a brand. Customers can file room service requests, complete reservation requests, get provided with local weather updates.Guests can also reach out with questions themselves, as they simply need to have the app installed on their smartphone.

Loews’ Zingle partnership

Loews Hotels and Four Seasons Philadelphia, are tech-savvy brands that partnered with a personal texting service called Zingle to explore in-house messaging using third party app. Once you check in, the hotel will register your phone number to your personal “service on demand” profile. You will then be able to text any request, whether you are inside or outside the hotel, for your entire stay.

The hotel guarantees that your text will be answered within four minutes. 400 hotels have used Zingle for its parking service, which allows them to text when they want their cars out of the parking garage.

Chicago Athletic Association’s initiative to improve TripAdvisor ranking

Chicago Athletic Association used messaging service so as to amplify their TripAdvisor ranking. This allowed hotels to identify service failure while the guest was still on the property, mitigating the risk of negative reviews that stem from unknown service issues.

It also empowered hotels to satisfy guests, identified which guests were likely to leave a positive review, and encourage them to share their experience on TripAdvisor.

These were classic examples where the giants experimented with messaging apps and engaged customers actively. This trend is yet to pick up in India and the hotels could actually learn from these basic methodically used communication channels. Hotels could engage their customers day before their arrival, by asking the time they would check-in or concierge services they’d like to avail.

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Airbnb is considered to be one of the biggest disrupters in the hospitality industry. With more and more travellers looking for authentic experiences during their travel, the sharing economy is booming and Airbnb is leading the change. With new tools for business travellers and premium listings, Airbnb is eating into the bigger pie. There have been some controversies around the brand but there is lot more to it than just the controversies. Here are some interesting facts about Airbnb that you probably didn’t know.

#1. Those Funding Days

The initial funds ($30,000) were generated by selling special breakfast cereals called “Obama O’s” and “Cap’n McCains” taking inspiration from presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain.

ObamaO’s breakfast cereal

#2. The Valuation Game

It is valued at $20 billion which is higher than the valuation of Accor and Hyatt combined (Accor-$10.82 billion, Hyatt-$8.98 billion).

#3. How did it all happen

The idea originated with Brian Chesky & Joe Gebbia (co-founders) renting air mattresses in their apartment to visitors of a trade show to pay rents.

#4. You can stay at Brian’s place

Brian Chesky has been living on and off in Airbnbs since 2010 and listing the original Airbnb apartment on the website. 

#5. The name

The original name was AirBed&Breakfast which was later shortened to Airbnb.

#6. Celebs at Airbnb

You can find large number of celebrity houses listed on Airbnb like Elizabeth Taylor’s house here.

#7. Zero Ownership

Despite being the largest accommodation provider, Airbnb owns no real estate.

#8. Size Zero

You can rent a 1 sqm house in Germany on Airbnb. A wooden waterproof construction on wheels with slide door and a desk.

#9. Your Favourite F1 Team

Airbnb sponsors the Manor Marussia F1 Team.

The Manor F1 car with Airbnb sponsorship logos

#10. and lastly…

Their love for cars goes beyond F1. You can find Tesla charging stations at various Airbnb properties in California.

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