Stairwellblog

In 1995 video advertising on the web was such a hassle most companies didn’t even bother. Most of the country was on dial up and notebooks didn’t have nearly the market saturation. Fast forward 15 years and web marketing videos are everywhere, particularly in the hotel, resort, and hospitality industry. Of the 15 Million videos uploaded every minute about 10% of those are advertising. Having video content on the web isn’t just a good idea; it’s a necessity if you want to be competitive in the hospitality market. With that in mind let’s take a look at 10 companies that have tried to take advantage of the growing online video market. First of all if you haven’t already registered you companies name on a YouTube Channel you should do that now. It’s O.K. I’ll wait… (Learn how here), good. No matter what industry you’re in any time a new social media site launches you should register your company. You don’t want to end up with DrakeHotel14 because thirteen frat guys or a bunch of speculators beat you to it. Now that that’s out of the way let’s get on with the countdown.

10. Wyndham Hotels (http://www.youtube.com/user/WyndhamHotels)
Wyndham Hotels was one of the first hotel and resort companies to use online video advertising as a form of viral marketing and that’s one of the reasons they make the list. Their online videos also appeared on FunnyorDie.com and are a decent YouTube hit. They may have started out good but it’s been at least 2 years since they even logged into their site, which really just shows that they have a wasted opportunity here. At least they have a channel, the opposite can be seen with Trump Hotels which has a fairly large YouTube presence but lacks a home channel to properly showcase them.

9. Doubletree Hotels (http://www.youtube.com/user/DoubletreeHotels#p/a)
Doubletree proves that you don’t need a huge budget to run an effective internet video marketing campaign. Almost all of their videos can be done with just an employee and a video camera. They make sure to include various tours of their facilities, something that should be obvious but not all companies do them. Holiday Inn has a channel that only has a few commercials on it. They should be grateful to the 32 people that subscribe to their empty page. Doubletree included their commercials but went above and beyond creating web exclusive videos that that include cooking and crafts. Again, not expensive to do and it gives your page personality which translates into loyal followers.

8. Fairmont Hotels (http://www.youtube.com/user/fairmonthotels#p/u/5/seey5SKiKt4)
Fairmont Hotel’s channel shows that a little production value can be good if you can capitalize on it. If you just spend a lot of money filming videos and don’t have a way for people to get there then that’s just wasted money. Fairmont’s channel has a combination of their custom videos about golf and skiing, alongside smaller hotel tours, interviews, and commercials. This helps a lot with search engine optimization and, like doubletree, helps them compete with much larger companies.

7. Grand Geneva Resort (http://www.youtube.com/user/GrandGenevaResort)
Anyone in showbiz will tell you that production value is nothing if you don’t have a personality behind it. The Grand Geneva has that to spare. Not only does their channel have a lot of tours and videos of their great scenery, but they make sure to show people having a good time. Like the doubletree they know the value of a great instructional video for infotainment. Whether it’s interviews with people on the golf course or at the water park Grand Geneva makes sure to capitalize on everything they have to show that they are the place to be. Again, nothing on there is really expensive to produce so the only investment they made in their digital video ad campaign was time.

6. Four Seasons (http://www.youtube.com/user/fourseasons)
The Four Seasons channel not only gives you a great view of the hotels themselves, but they also go in depth about the surrounding town. They take that video camera and go out and show you everything you need to see before choosing your vacation destination. Not only that but the page is loaded with more content than most on this list. They have a lot of videos in a variety of different areas from commercials, to tours, to mini-documentaries on events they hosted. I’ve said this about twitter but the same reads true for online video, but the internet is not a bullhorn. If all you do is shout your message via commercials and video sales pitches you won’t get an audience. 4 Seasons has gotten almost 100,000 views because they make sure to entertain as well as inform.

5. Alerton Hotel (http://www.youtube.com/user/AllertonHotel)
One aspect of advertising that is overlooked is the simple idea of capitalizing on free publicity opportunities. Some of the multibillion dollar companies on this list don’t do it. For that reason alone The Alerton Hotel deserves to be on here. Not only do they do the things that others on this list do like tours and interviews, but they were smart enough to put news stories that featured them on their website. In effect they just doubled their Search Engine Marketing performance because they get traffic from news sources and people looking for hotel destination.

4. MGM Grand (http://www.youtube.com/user/mgmgrandlv#p/u)
Like the Alerton, MGM recognizes the value of free publicity. They make sure to include news segments where they are featured. They also take advantage of very event they have. They have everything from spring break to Cirque Du Soleil, or a filming of The Young and The Restless featured on their channel. They also showcase the things around them like nearby restaurants so that you know exactly what to expect without even making your plans.

3.Hyatt (http://www.youtube.com/user/hyatt)
Hyatt takes the idea of infotainment one step further by making funny videos about their attractions, from the corporate execs angry and the Japanese Chef to the business meeting suddenly breaking out into a techno dance party they have some funny stuff that shows off their product without even mentioning the company name. They have personalized videos for hundreds of their hotels so anywhere you want to be you can see it. It makes there YouTube presence essential in planning your travel which drives up their online video traffic exponentially. Their 500+ followers are proof.

2.Disney Parks (http://www.youtube.com/user/DisneyParks)
It’s not surprising that the big giant mouse has its advertising in order. From mini-documentaries to custom commercials that look like they could be made on a notebook with Photoshop Disney has got its entire base covered. They don’t just want their channel to be an advertising medium, they want it to be entertaining in its own right and they don’t break the bank to do it. They even go so far as to create their own news stories about new attractions, from rides to restaurants to the ESPN zone, they make sure to cover every demographic.

1.Marriott (http://www.youtube.com/user/marriott)
If you look at almost all the others on this you’ll see one odd thing. Where it says “Most Recently Logged In” some of them might say months, weeks, or even years. Marriott’s Channel is one of the only ones that is constantly updated and constantly monitored. No one wants to subscribe to or follow a company that hasn’t updated their videos in a while. At the very least it tells the customer you aren’t as interested in that medium as others. Marriott not only constantly updates and checks its page, but they showcase events, news stories, and tours to their utmost effect. Everything that the others on this list do wrong, Marriott does right and more so.

Online Video vs TV Ads
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.12/youtube.html
http://www.youtubeadvertising.org/

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