Social Media,

Storytelling

and the

Innkeeper

PAII Innkeeping

Conference

January 12, 2011

Daniel Edward Craig

Author &

Hospitality Consultant

Overview1.About me

2.What makes a good story?

3.Why tell stories?

4.Storytelling elements

5.Resources

6.Reputation management

7.Key takeaways

8.Questions & comments

I’ve worked in

hotels for twenty

years in positions

ranging from

front desk agent

to vice president

About me

By

Daniel Edward Craig

In 2002 I opened Opus Hotel

in Vancouver as director of

sales and marketing. This is my

office. Okay, maybe not.

It’s the penthouse suite.

Under leadership,

Opus was voted one

of the World’s Best

100 Hotels. I take

full credit. But in

reality it was a team

effort … mostly in

spite of me.

Five-Star Mystery Series

I published the first of

hotel-based three mystery

novels in 2007.

My main character is a hotel

manager.

HOTEL MANAGER WRITER

I left my job as hotel

manager to focus on

writing.

It was a tough transition.

Now I work as a consultant specializing in

social media & reputation management

for the lodging industry. Social media

allows me to combine my backgrounds as

a hotelier, marketer and author because

it’s all about storytelling, n’est-ce pas?

What makes

a good story?

“Good storytelling

makes people sit up

and listen.

It is worthy of their

attention, worth

remembering and

retelling.”

Corey Torrence

CEO

AMP/BeantownToys

It’s not enough to have a good

story. It needs to be well told

Why do

innkeepers

want to tell

stories?

1.Capture attention

2.Convert travelers

3.Set expectations

4.Stand out

5.Manage reputation

What’s your story?

The more interesting and relevant

the content you publish, the more

traffic you drive to your website

and social media channels.

Storytelling

Elements

1.Setting (location,

history)

2.Characters (you & staff)

3.Theme (style of

property)

4.Audience (guests &

prospects)

5.Plot (experience)

6.Conflict?

Storytelling Resources

But ...

Who has time?

Social media requires discipline. Always ask yourself, is this

important and relevant? If not, move on.

I’m going to show you a few examples of good storytelling

from small properties.

No big-budget marketing campaigns here. Just simple ideas

that capture attention, convert travelers and set expectations.

All for (almost) free. And not much of your time.

Setting – History

This is the website of One

Grafton Street in

Charlottetown, PEI.

People stay at small

properties in part because

they want a sense of history

and place.

Setting – Location

Fort Putney Road in

Brattleboro, VT has an

interactive map that shows

activity icons and a

satellite view, so travelers

know exactly where they

are and what’s around.

All for free from Google.

Setting – the Destination

What kind of

experience would you

expect here? Images are

powerful. We explored

the very visual blog

from Hopton House in

Shropshire, England.

Setting – the Destination

Fort Putney Road runs

a separate blog that

promotes its

destination.

Characters – The Innkeepers

Travelers want to know who they’re sleeping with.

Doesn’t this make you want to hang out with Tim and Amy?

Characters – The Innkeepers

If you’re in the witness protection program you can tell your story without

photos. Like the owners of La Basse Cour in Normandy, France.

Theme – Environment

The environment

is important at

Hopton House.

Audience – Guests & Travelers

Remember, travelers

want to know how

they will fit into your

story. One Grafton

Street’s blog never

forgets this.

Audience – Guests & Travelers

Facebook is a

great platform

for slices of life

like this.

Plot – The Experience

This video is far from

slick, but it was made

in minutes and

supports the property’s

positioning: “spacious,

clean, budget

accommodation.”

Plot – The Experience

This video from Happy

Day Bed & Breakfast in

Italy is not even really a

video. It’s animated

stills with music.

Made in a snap.

Promotions

Travelers want info but

don’t want to be sold to.

Here’s a creative way to

do both on Twitter, from

40 Bay Street B&B in

Parry Sound, ON.

Guestsourcing

Go!

Out of content ideas?

Search for guest

content. It’s out there.

Hotel consultant

Josiah Mackenzie calls

it “guestsourcing”.

This woman found all

sorts of images on

Flickr for her blog

without snapping or

paying for one.

Stories from Guests

Of course, the

most compelling

stories come from

your guests.

Stories from Guests

B&B Smart in

Rome scanned

postcards from

guests to its

website.

Stories from Guests

Increasingly, travelers

turn to other

travelers for advice.

Make it easy for them

with TripAdvisor

widgets and feeds.

Plot – The Experience

When a guest says

something you want

to highlight, post it to

your Facebook page

Instant Personalization

Increasingly, travelers

are turning to their

social graphs for advice.

With TripAdvisor’sTrip

Friends Facebook

application, friend

activity comes up first.

Prominence of reviews in search

Reviews are

more prominent

than ever in

search.

Storytelling

&

Reputation

Management

1. Monitor

2. Respond

3. Share

4. Encourage

5. Be remarkable

By encouraging guests to share, telling great stories and being

remarkable we build a favorable online reputation.

Key takeaways

1.Good stories capture attention, are memorable and

worth retelling

2.Innkeepers have great stories to share

3.Social media facilitates the telling & sharing of stories

4.Save time with new, easy-to-use storytelling tools

5.Guestsource content & encourage sharing

6.Manage your reputation by participating in storytelling

7.Be “remarkable”

The Coles Notes version.

For more info

www.DanielEdwardCraig.com

The End At the end I gave

away a copy of my

third book, Murder

at Graverly Manor,

which caused an

enormous amount

of excitement.