Marriott asks Twitterati to review revamped hotels
Marriott has launched a campaign via social networking site Twitter which asks celebrities and travel journalists to 'Tweet' reviews of its refurbished hotels.
The hotel chain, which has just spent £120m refurbishing its 38 Marriott, JW Marriott and Renaissance hotels in the UK and Ireland, believes the campaign will deliver a 'strong message' to guests that it has confidence in its new-look hotels.
“Twitter is an incredibly powerful communication tool and whilst we are not attempting to replace traditional methods of hotel reviewing, we want to communicate news of the refurbished hotels in an original and forward thinking way that resonates well with our guests.” said Osama Hirzalla, Marriott's European vice president for brand marketing and eCommerce.
The Twitter campaign, which has already enlisted the help of celebrity Tweeters such as presenters Gail Porter and Max Rushden; actors Noel Clarke and Angela Griffin and Apprentice winner Michelle Dewberry, is part of Marriott UK’s overall social media strategy.
Social networking
The hotel group sees social media as the ideal platform on which to target the 'rapidly growing segment of guests' who are using social networks like Twitter to communicate.
“It is important that Marriott has a presence everywhere our guests are and this includes Twitter.” added Greg Dwyer, director of marketing for UK & Ireland. “By launching the current Twitter campaign we are reaching new customers and fostering relationships with valued guests.”
Many hotels, restaurants and pubs have set up Twitter accounts to communicate deals with their customers. Last year Chinese restaurant Sweet Mandarin in Manchester reported a massive uptake in bookings for Valentine's Day when owner Lisa Tse started Tweeting about dishes on the menu.
