5 minute read
ESSENTIAL 5
THE SOCIAL DILEMMA
With the rise of consumers using social media to plan their activities, are you missing a trick by not maximising the opportunities your social pages provide? A few simple ideas could really help drive footfall to your venue. The team at the stunning Cave Hotel in Kent, gives us their top five tips for getting your socials in order:
1STORY TELLING
Where does it start? It begins with a vision and the need to develop a design framework that reflects the USPs of your venue. Start by expressing why your hotel exists, what are the core values and the motivation behind everything you do. Every successful brand has a powerful vision. Take the time to establish, initially, who you want to attract. Share your brand’s personality in a relatable and meaningful way to spark an emotional connection with your audience.
3CHOOSE YOUR PLATFORMS
You will need to consider carefully which platforms to use. Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Tiktok all have their own benefits. Match the attributes of the above with the size of your audience and their likeliness to engage with each platform. Instagram has great call to action features, allowing bookings to be made from the app. The relatively new app taking social media by storm is Tiktok, who predict that they will reach 755 million monthly users in 2022!
2AUDIENCE IS KEY
Your hotel guests are almost certainly a different audience to your drinks and diners, although this doesn’t have to be the case. Once you have the design that appeals to each audience group, you must now consider the writing style and tone of voice. Through all of your messaging, customers need to be able to recognise your unique tone, identity, and your story.
4ENGAGING CONTENT
The next step is to manage the regularity of posting; too much and you could irritate your followers, too little and you won’t generate a loyal following. Polish your content and remember to begin with the end in mind. The biggest pitfall here is likely to be posting dull content. Ask yourself why you’re posting something and if you’d engage with it as a customer. Be your own audience.
5ALWAYS MONITOR YOUR ANALYTICS
Do this using scheduling tools, facebook pixel and split testing. Always compare campaigns and understand which one generated the best results. Never stop this process, never. It can be tedious, but it will ensure you are generating the most efficient outcome for your brand. Be sure to stay on top of replying to DMs and comments, interacting and sharing the customers’ content.
@cavecanterbury
Images courtesy of The Cave Hotel.
TAKE YOUR PERCH
The Nest, Langham Place, London
Images courtesy of The Nest.
The Nest is an extension of the TreeHouse Hotel, strategically positioned in the heart of London, and celebrates its fantastic position overlooking the London skyline and the city’s landmarks.
As one of London’s most iconic locations, the team are always keen to highlight seasonal and locally sourced ingredients and produce by using small batch spirits and home-grown brands served alongside more established names. Max Cuccaru, Area Director of F&B for SH Hotels and Resorts UK and Europe, revealed: “This gave nature to our changing food and drinks program; giving a stage for innovative creations.”
A bar situated on location at an overnight stay venue, as we know, is a simple way to generate a large stream of extra revenue. The main qualm is, exactly how do you ensure that the guests who are staying the night are also drinking in your bar? Max explained that for The Nest, it’s important to offer a full experience to their guests: “We love for them to experience all the hotel has to provide and, one of these aspects is The Nest, which sits above the TreeHouse Hotel and its rooms offering a truly unique location.”
Using incentives to consumers who are already onsite is an easy way to entice them to the bar, should they need persuasion past the extensive cocktail menu. The Nest provide a weekly curated DJ program with some of London’s top DJs, playing a mix of genres from house to old school hip-hop. Because of the bar’s location and the broad wrap-around rooftop terrace, it makes for a great place to look over London throughout the seasons.
Rooftops in London have been, and always will be, high in demand, so how can you ensure your bar is appealing to consumers who aren’t staying at the hotel and the wider general public? Max explained: “We have a good percentage of our in-house guests booking rooms because they want to spend time in the bar. Things are made easier by the interior design of the bar which is unique, warm and welcoming”
In terms of additional features to ensure a hotel bar stands out from other competition on the market, distinctive menu choices are an easy way to position yourselves in a place that keeps you at the forefront of consumers’ minds.
The Nest’s market-driven food and drinks menu is a combination of their take on old favourites executed extremely well, and seasonal influences, hence the menu is a general hit: “Keeping things simple is key to the bar’s success.” Max added.
Premium offerings can be quirky, fun and imaginative and do not always need to be formal. Max told us that The Nest has been fortunate enough to establish a fantastic core team of staff who have been with them since the doors were opened in November 2019, and loyally stayed throughout the last turbulent few years which has hugely impacted the venue’s reputation in the most positive manner. So, along with a reliable menu and a great location, loyal staff are a key component to the success of a hotel bar.
