The Modern Hotelier #238: Inside Hotel Social Media Marketing | with Dino Jevric
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David Millili: Welcome to The Modern Hotelier. The most engaged podcast in hospitality. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and let us know in the comments what you think about today's episode. Steve, who do we have on the program today? 
Steve Carran: Yeah, David, excited about today's conversation. We have Dino Jevric. Dino is the Social Media Marketing Manager at Arlo Hotels. Welcome to the show, Dino. How you doing today? 
Dino Jevric: Thanks for having you guys. I'm great. I'm excited to be on Big Fan. 
David Millili: Thank you. Alright, so we're gonna get started. We're gonna go through a lightning round. I'm gonna ask you some quick questions. We're gonna dive in, get to know your background, your career, and then jump into some industry topics. Sound good? 
Dino Jevric: Let's do it. 
David Millili: All right, here we go. What's something that you wish you were better at? 
Dino Jevric: Hmm. Figure skating. 
David Millili: What's your most used emoji? 
Dino Jevric: The hands up emoji. 
David Millili: Got it. What's a luxury you can't live without? 
Dino Jevric: I would probably say my morning coffee. 
David Millili: Alright. If you had a time machine and you can go back to the past or ahead to the future, which way are you going and what year are you gonna go to?
Dino Jevric: I would definitely go back to the past because I am an old soul, but I would travel back to 2015 through the beginnings of. Instagram and social media and when it was at its peak and when people were, you know, better at not just selling you things. 
David Millili: What's the best piece of advice you've received so far?
Dino Jevric: Best piece of advice I've received was actually from our director of marketing group. Daniels told me once that, you know, we're not saving lives. And I often use that in my day to day. 
David Millili: Got it. Alright. What's on your bucket list? 
Dino Jevric: On my bucket list, I definitely, I just came back from Japan. I definitely wanna check out the rest of Asia on my bucket list is definitely Thailand. 
Steve Carran: Very nice. 
David Millili: Good answer. 
Steve Carran: Great answer. So Dino, that was great. Now we're gonna dive into your background a little bit more about what makes you tick. So, you live in Brooklyn. Were you born and raised in New York? 
Dino Jevric: No, I was actually born upstate in a very, very small town, just south of the border of Canada, called Malone, New York. I lived there until I was about seven, then moved down to Brooklyn. So I am technically a New Yorker. Uh, as I'd like to say, I've been here for quite some time to earn that title. But yeah, I was not, not native to, to New York City, but been here for most of my life. 
Steve Carran: How did growing up in upstate New York and then moving to New York City at seven really shape you into who you are today?
Dino Jevric: I mean, it was a huge culture shock, as you can imagine. I came from a town, I think at the time there was about like close to 5,000 people populating it. Wow. So very, very small town. My dad owned a restaurant down there, so that's how I was introduced to the hospitality scene. But then everything changed when we moved down to Brooklyn, as you can tell, it's a big cultural shift. I got a lot into pop culture and learning about different things in culture that surrounded me at all times. So yeah, that was kind of the beginnings of Tina.
David Millili: So you got your degree in International Marketing from Baruch College. What made you focus on marketing and end up at Baruch?
Dino Jevric: Yeah, so I actually ended up, I started out in college with a general business major, I didn't know exactly what I was gonna do, but I've always been creative. I've been great at creative writing and always had a bit of creativity behind me. So marketing just seemed like necessary for me to, to take on. So, yeah, that's kind of how I came into that. 
Steve Carran: So Dino, when I was doing research for you, I came across a fan page of yours on Facebook. From your younger years, was that kinda your first introductory page and your first time on social media, or when did you really get excited about it? 
Dino Jevric: Steve, how do you know about that?
Steve Carran: You're Dino Jevric. We gotta know. 
Dino Jevric: That's great. So, and that's a bit traumatizing that you brought that up. But, you know, that was my kind of the beginning. I was a very creative person on social media. As you can see, I kind of created a persona around myself, which set me apart from others, and I think that that's, that's how I've been navigating my career in social media. I think being, realizing that I have that gift of, you know, communicating different brands and kind of making myself the brand is something that I've learned that I'm great at. 
Steve Carran: That's great. Well, when I came across that page, it made my day, so yeah. Well that made me shiver. It was a good blast from the past. Awesome. So do you know, now we're gonna dive into your career, how you got to be the social media marketing manager for Arlo Hotels. So you actually got involved in social media pretty early on. You've said you launched your career at the age of 19 in New York City. You've worked with companies like. Down to Dash Budha bar and the scene all in New York. What really made you passionate about social media? 
Dino Jevric: I think social media is a vessel in marketing that allows you to be the most creative. It's also something that everyone, no matter what age, what gender can relate to. And I think it's a great way to just communicate with different audiences and find personality in business. So yeah, that was kind of the thought process behind my shift in my career where I started out. 
David Millili: And so for almost two years, you've been the social media manager at Arlo Hotels. For those who are not familiar, can you let us know more about Arlo Hotels?
Dino Jevric: So Arlo Hotels is a lifestyle hotel brand. We're a small brand, but very mighty. We have seven hotels across the US so we have one in Chicago, one in DC that we just opened last year, one in Miami and we have four in New York City. So yeah, we're small but mighty. We focus on travelers who are. We want to experience things. We're all about the experience, whether that be starting the experience from what you see on social media to the end point, right? We're all about creating community and highlighting culture within this day. 
Steve Carran: Well done. And I'm familiar with Arlo, big fan of what you all are doing. Keep up the great work.
Dino Jevric: Thank you very much.
Steve Carran: So as a social media marketing manager, what are ways that you've helped grow the brand across social media, and what types of returns have you seen on this? 
Dino Jevric: Well, yeah, I mean, when I joined I definitely saw a lot of opportunity with Arlo because it is such a big brand that surrounds itself with culture, with different active activations. I wanted to lean into that more with our social media. Also, we have an amazing, incredible staff here, and I wanted to also tap into that too. So a lot of the times we'll feature different, you know, employees of ours on our social media and really go behind the scenes into what Arlo is at its core. So, yeah, that, that was kind of the evolution of, you know, what we wanted to tap into with Arlo social media.
Steve Carran: And you kind of have a unique way of positioning social media. Can you tell us a little bit more about that? It's not like a billboard on the side of a street or anything like that. Can you tell us a little bit more about your strategy? 
Dino Jevric: Yeah, so with social media strategy itself, I think that a lot of the times brands are really focused on that sell, sell, sell mentality. And it's kind of what I talked about before where social media used to be a place where we could all come together and share our creative, you know, processes and things like that. And with brands, I think that it kind of evolved into something where we constantly have to promote something, you know, there always has to be a CTA. There always has to be that Lincoln bio. And I think that what I realize is that travelers want to, travelers want to feel connected to a brand more than ever before. They want that feeling, they want that passion, and they want to, they don't wanna be just scrolling for deals. They wanna be also scrolling for humanity.
A great example of this is actually, I know on one of your recent podcasts we talked, you guys talked about, uh, you know, giveaways powering social media now. So that's something that we do, you know. Arlo with the social media, but we spin that in a way where, for, for an example, we just partnered with Kind Traveler, which is a, a huge partner of ours that we just introduced and we partnered with them for a giveaway and we had people tag somebody significant in their lives and say something nice about them.
And that really brought hundreds of people that shared like, you know, deeply personal and heartfelt messages and that. It made me realize that, you know, people aren't just looking for a good deal. People aren't just looking for something to buy on social. People are actually looking for something with meaning, and that's all what we're all about with our social media strategy.
Steve Carran: That's great. Also enables that human connection across social media as well. Well done. Well done. That is great. Now we're gonna dive into thought leadership, the thought leadership section of the podcast. So, you know, coming from the hotel and social media side, what do you think hotels really misunderstand about today's digital traveler?
Dino Jevric: I think the number one thing is, is also to the same point, is that. They want more promotion. I think that that's something that's simply not true. And as a consumer myself, I kind of, it kind of deters me from being a social media user, is the fact that I'm always constantly being fed a sale. Funny enough one of my favorite podcasts that you guys have done, just to plug another one is the one that you guys do with Scott Eddie, and he said, if your mouth is moving, you're selling something, which is true, you know, as a brand on social media, when you are talking about something, you are generally selling something. However, I think that we focus too much again on that sell, sell, sell, you know, personality that we're kind of deterring the customer away from. You know what? The personality of the brand, and that's where we really shine through. We want today's traveler to feel something first and then they book. 
David Millili: And how has Arlo redefined what a boutique hotel brand can look like on social media? 
Dino Jevric: I think that we show that you don't have to be. This hyper polished version of a hotel. You don't need those super editorial photos or those, you know, really expensive videos in order to communicate that, you know, you are a great hotel brand. You know, at Arlo, I think our main mission with our social media is to create a world in which we're inviting everyone to experience the Arlo experience before they even make it on property.
And we let them into our funny and chaotic. Human moments, uh, of life in the hotel. So I think that's kind of what, what helps us shine and, you know. A big thing in terms of the social media strategy was when I joined, was introducing something called Behind the Doors at Arlo, which is a series that we did and that invol it evolved into different series where we showcased, you know, little moments behind the scenes, whether that be, you know, going to the market with, uh, our chef Michael at Sungold and Williamsburg, or, you know, following the GM around the hotel at soho. I mean, these are definitely things that if someone can scroll through our, our feed. Feel the Arlo experience without stepping foot in in the lobby. You know, that's how we know we've done our job. 
Steve Carran: That's great. So I feel like social media is always evolving. You know, from the early days where you had your fan club on Facebook to now, it has changed quite a bit and it continues to change and evolve is there a different strategy that you have kind of moving into next year or kind of something you're excited about with Arlo's social media strategy? 
Dino Jevric: You know, I'm generally excited and I'm always excited as to where the social media is going. But I think a really big thing, especially within the coming years that we're celebrating a huge milestone at Arlo, it's our 10 year anniversary next year.
And with that, in terms of social, we're working on a huge campaign that's, you know, brand wide. It also involves a billboard in Times Square, which is pretty neat. So yeah, we're, we're really excited. We're also introducing some new concepts to the Arlo social media in terms of series. So we're doing a concept that's kind of like in bed with Arlo, where we sit down with partners in a bed at Arlo Hotels, and we talk about, you know, different facets of, of their partnership with Arlo, which, you know, could connect with nightlife, wellness, art, et cetera. So yeah, there's huge opportunities in the future that I'm looking forward to, and I'm just looking forward to the brand growing. 
David Millili: This is a very interesting question for you 'cause I'm pretty sure you're the youngest guest we've had on the podcast, so it's a great honor.
Dino Jevric: Thank you. 
David Millili: Yeah, no, and it's been a great conversation. So what legacy do you hope to leave on hospitality with the work that you're doing today? 
Dino Jevric: That's a great question. You know, the other day someone actually commented on a LinkedIn post that I did a while ago talking about, you know, what we've been doing with social at Arlo. And they said like, I like this, you know, brands who pretend. Again, like that it's 2015 and that real social media personality shines through and. Before everything became an ad or before authenticity got replaced by algorithm, uh, chasing, I think that that is the legacy that I'd like to leave on the industry. I think that that's something. That is really, you know, important to me in terms of what I do and really allowing brand branding and personality to meet at the intersection of marketing is something that I'm looking forward to continue doing and, and also leave on the industry.
Steve Carran: That's great. And Dino, one last thing here. A lot of hotels struggle with social media. There's some hotels that do an exceptional job like Arlo, but it's not natural for a lot of hotels and they do struggle with it. What advice do you have to those hotels that might be struggling with their social media strategy? Maybe a tip that they can just implement or put to use right away. 
Dino Jevric: I think that the number one tip that I've also learned with myself within the past year is lean into culture a lot more. A lot of brands have been doing it and you know, at Arlo we've been doing it a lot, but lean into culture when it makes sense for the brand is what I always like to say. For example, we did, uh, you know, lab booboos were a huge craze earlier this year. They were literally everywhere and you know. Brands left and right were, we're feeding into that. And doing campaigns and different popups and things like that. And at Arlo, I definitely saw the opportunity to implement that cultural trend, but then also make it make sense for us.
So we did a day in the life with from the POV of a Laboo at Arlo Nomad. So, I definitely would say that's my number one tip is really, you know, the brands who are on the playing field when it comes to culture are the ones that are gonna succeed at the end, so, so yeah, definitely lean into that. I like that. Do you have a favorite campaign that you guys have done at Arlo? I would say our most recent one that we've done is the we had halloween party coming up at Arlo Nomad that we did a little tiny campaign with, and we actually had our director of marketing act in it. And I would highly recommend that you check it out.
It was kind of like a haunted library thing, uh, that we had going on. So, so yeah, that also goes back to, you know, just having our audience, you know, experience the Arlo experience. 
Steve Carran: Yeah. It seems like you have fun just doing this, like this is, this is just, you know, what a cool job you get to create these cool social media campaigns.
Dino Jevric: It is so fun and I'm blessed that I get to come to work every day and create different ideas with the team and to kind of spitfire. We have like our 4:30 PM sessions every day where we're just like all tired and just throwing ideas at each other that are the most insane. Actually, one just to, I kind of wanna do change my answer on that last question?
Steve Carran: Yeah, go for it.
Dino Jevric: About the campaign that I liked the most, we actually did a campaign around a promo, called Take It Off. It was a transition between winter to, um. I believe the spring, summertime. And we were just, you know, take it off like taking off your clothes 'cause it's getting warmer outside. And I had the idea, and this kind of evolved from one of our like 4:30 PM, ideas was what if somebody just dropped their panties? And we thought like, what if it was me and I really implore you to go see this on our social media. It is one of my favorite ones that we've ever done, and it, again, it's fun, it's authentic, and it's just who we are as a brand. So, yeah, that's great. 
Steve Carran: That's unique, that's for sure. I don't know of any hotel company that I've heard of that has a campaign like that, so for sure. That's great. So, Dino, we've been asking you questions this whole time. This is where we turn those tables and let you ask David and I a question.
Dino Jevric: Wow, that's an honor. I kind of wanna put you guys on the spot and I wanna ask you, other than Arlo, who are other brands that you guys have been seeing that have, you know, been doing well in terms of social media? 
Steve Carran: Yeah, I'll go first. One of my favorites to follow is the Goodtime Hotel. Oh, they do an incredible job with their social media. I mean, they have pool parties. It's a very sexy hotel. I mean, the, the founders are, are pretty big names, but I thoroughly enjoy their social media posts and every time when I'm sitting in Colorado and it's snowing, I'm like, man, I'd love to be in Miami at that pool party right now. So I think they do a fine, fantastic job.
David Millili: Agreed. Yeah. And I think for me, and obviously I'm a little biased 'cause we filmed it, but the Lafayette Hotel in San Diego, they do a great job of not only 'cause it's such a unique property, but they do a great job of mixing in kind of. You know, a little bit more stage photography with a little bit more kind of influencer or kind of ad hoc, and so you kind of, you don't feel like you're seeing the same images and the same thing time and time again. Tower 23, which we also film does a great job of that, where they've got a really good blend. And I think that's where the hotels for me, that I like to follow on social media is the ones that mix it up and are doing a combination where it's not always just image, image, image or just all video where you kind of get that blend and get to see the property.
So, but I like your comment earlier which is something we always say is that it seems like there's too much stage to video and especially in lifestyle kind of boutique independent hotels where there's not that kind of real, and that's what we try to do. Film more real footage. So you feel connected to the property versus, you know, just some sort of corporate video.
Dino Jevric: Exactly. 
Steve Carran: I share that sentiment. Well, this has been great. We're gonna kick it over to John, our producer. He's been listening this whole time. He is gonna ask you one more question before we get you outta here. 
Jon Bumhoffer: It's been fun listening to the conversation. I love the topic, kind of building off what David said, what have you found? You know, with the stage photos and video, it can tend to look like, you know, things get recycled all the time. Like you, like a hotel and a property will pay a lot of money to get photos and video done and like a three-to-four-day span. And then these things get reused for years and years.
So I guess, how do you find from your perspective, what's the balance of like that really maybe more stylistic or cinematic, maybe video or photo style mixed in with the more authentic kind of running gun shot from the phone. Like how do you balance that and how do you guys view that? And then I've got a second parter to this, but I want to hear that answer.
Dino Jevric: For sure. I think that, you know, with that balance, that balance is really key. You don't wanna constantly just show that polished version of the hotel. You do wanna have a lot of that content that really speaks to your personality. I think that at Arlo we definitely find ways of finding that balance in terms of the type of content that we're talking about.
When it comes to a lot of promos, either we handle it by doing, you know, a cell phone video of what the promo's about, doing some fun skits and stuff other times when we're talking about something on a more brand wide level where we'd like to represent the brand under one umbrella, that's where we start to implement a lot of that professional photography and professional video.
So I definitely think that there's room to leverage both. I don't think that there. Should be brands that stick to one end of the spectrum. And that's something that we, we try to do a lot of the times here. 
Jon Bumhoffer: Yeah. And I saw that I was going through previous to this episode, looking through kind of what your website looks like and then what it show, what it shows like on social media. And you're right, you have a great mix of like, oh, if I was at the website, I can see this. Still ties into the brand, but yet there's some of that more kind of run and gun, you know, content that's more kinda like user generated type of stuff, right? The second part is the experimentation. Like how do you, you know, with all these campaigns that you're talking about, those are ideas that you have to come up with.
So what does it look like to really just experiment and say, Hey, we're gonna try something? And then how many of those things that you maybe experimented with didn't even make it to be a social media post? How many did you try and be like, yeah, we're never doing that again. You know, like, what? Because that's the reality of the experimentation. So I'm curious to hear the behind the scenes of that. 
Dino Jevric: Yeah. I mean, we've had a multiple times where we tried something out and didn't really work, but there I kind of like to believe that. We're big risk takers. I think that sometimes we do tend to go behind the backs of our superiors and kind of stick things in there and be like, Hey, like, see, it actually works.
So, yeah, I think that, you know, developing a balance of kind of spewing out those ideas, take the risks, do things that aren't necessarily, you know, something that a hotel, some would think should be doing on social media and see if it works. You know, I definitely see our brand taking the risk of doing these different trends on social media and stuff. And some would say like, you know, like that's never gonna work for a hotel, or that'll never work for this specific promotion that you're trying to do. But then it ends up working and it's kind of like a hot in your face moment. So there's a lot of that. 
Jon Bumhoffer: Well, you don't know what's gonna be the next thing until you have an idea and you try it, you know?
Dino Jevric: Exactly. Yeah. 
David Millili: Well that does it for another episode of The Modern Hotelier. This is where Dino, you get to plug away. Tell us how people can get in touch with you, how they can find out more about Arlo Hotels. 
Dino Jevric: Yeah, for sure. Well, I'd be happy to connect with all of you on LinkedIn. You can just find me at my first and last name here, but with Arlo, you can find us on Instagram. You can find us at our website at www.arlohotels.com and yeah, you can stay in touch with all of our other social channels. We have Arlo After Dark, all of our restaurants, sun, gold, bk Nomad Diner, NYC, and that's pretty much it.
David Millili: All right. Well, that does it for another episode of The Modern Hotelier, the Most engaged podcast in hospitality. Whether you're watching or listening, we appreciate you and hope to be with you again soon. Thank you, Dino.
Dino Jevric: Thank you guys.