The Modern Hotelier #217: How Hotels Can Win with Creators, Podcasts, and Emerging Platforms | Independent Hotel Show Panel
===
Steve Carran: Independent hotel show day one. How we doing? All right. That was good. That was good. I am really excited about the panel that we have in store for you. We are gonna talk today about how to hotels can win with creators, podcasts, and emerging platforms. We've divi divided this into really three rounds.
The first one we're gonna talk about authenticity and the big picture. Second is strategy and third. Platforms and future opportunities, and then we're gonna save some time at the end for questions from the audience. My name is Steve Karen. I am the host of Modern Hotelier Podcast and Media, and I am joined by, 
Hillary Folkvord: Hi, my name's Hillary Folkvord. I own three boutique hotels in Montana, the Sagia Hotel, the RSVP, motel and the Cottages. And I also have an online personal brand called Lady H. 
Melissa Benhaim: Hi. I am Melissa Benhaim, founder of Heim Public Relations. I work with travel and hospitality companies to get the media coverage in the outlets that matter to them most.
Jennifer Glatt: Hey, I'm Jennifer Glatt. I am the writer and curator for Mint Pillow Newsletter and a hospitality journalist. And 
Karla Cobreiro: I'm Karla Cobreiro. I'm Chief Credibility Officer at Berdo Comms. We are a PR firm for properties. 
David M.: I'm David Millili. I'm partnered with Steve on The Modern Hotelier in Modern Hotelier media. 
Steve Carran: All right, so Hilary, we are gonna start with you, you own a few hotels. How can independent hoteliers use authentic, personally, personality driven storytelling to build trust and increase booking? 
Hillary Folkvord: Well, everything has a story and the best story wins, so it's important to get your story out there and how do you wanna tell it? I started a personal brand back in 2017.
It was originally a creative outlet for me to post about travel and lifestyle and fashion, but it really became more of an. Opportunity for me to share about our properties and the brands that we are building. And it's amazing how that platform really ties into everything else. We do a few more examples.
One of our hotels is a 1910 historic property, and our family is a sixth generation Montana farming family. We've been stewards of the land for a very long time, but now we're stewards of this hotel. And it's how do you tell that story? And that gets people very excited. Another, um, example is a our, one of ours is a motor in the s.
CP Motel. So that nostalgia, the 1950s of coming into the Motor Hotel. So we've really played that story. And then we have a cafe called the Farmer's Daughter's Cafe, which is an ode to my heritage. So it's how do you tell your story? How do you get people excited? And again, the best story wins. 
Steve Carran: That's great.
That's great. Melissa, the next one is for you. There you are. Uh, how can you best showcase your hotel brand on social media and what are different ways that you can leverage social media influencers? 
Melissa Benhaim: Yeah, so I would say think about what makes your hotel unique or different, and then use social media influencers to be able to help tell that story.
So, show don't tell. For example, we worked with a bike influencer recently for a hotel, um, that has a really scenic stretch that you can bike, um, to then get to the, the hotel at the end. So we use that influencer to be able to capture content of what it looks like at the bike ride. Then at the end, you get to the restaurant, you can refuel.
Um, and that helped us really tell that story better than we could have done it ourselves. 
Steve Carran: That's great. That's great. David, partner next one's for you. One of the things that we do at Modern Hotelier is do hotel experience episodes that are similar to MTV cribs. Um, what should hotels be looking for to make sure that that content feels authentic?
David M.: Yeah, I think the, one of the biggest things is that hotels sometimes get too caught up in the corporate video content where it's, it's very overproduced. So you've got. You know, the orange juice and croissant on the tray, on the bed. You've got, you know, the, the pretty woman in the pool, the older guy who was a GQ model checking in at the front desk.
So what we try to do is really help hotels tell their story through quality, but really real authentic video where that guest or that person who's looking to come into your property actually gets a feel for the property. Even down to when we do the MTV type cribs tour, we actually have people from the hotel that are.
Talking about it, talking about the history, talking about why you should stay there and things of that nature. So I think hotels need to start to embrace actually authentic quality video content set. 
Steve Carran: Jen, this next one's for you. Um, so hospitality leaders are flooded with emails on a daily basis. Um, what makes a curated new curated newsletter like Mint Pillow uniquely effective in reaching decision makers who can.
Act on new ideas that they might have. 
Jennifer Glatt: Yeah, so the audience from Mint Pillow is highly curated, um, and it's tailored specifically toward, uh, GMs owners, operators, uh, people really in the, in the thick of it. Um, and, you know, really the, um, what I try and focus on is just relevance. Um, it's really just a snapshot of the industry on any given week.
You know, I, I think like a lot of these platforms, it's just a quick picture of, you know, what's happening. At the moment. Um, so I just really try and, and, um, gear the content toward what could be inspiring or a, a way that a Hotelier could take an idea and make it their own. 
Steve Carran: Yeah. One thing I love about Mint pillow is it's not information overload.
You feature properties, you talk about trends, you talk about fun things in the newsletter, not just the latest technology trends and stuff like that. So. Keep up the great work. 
Jennifer Glatt: Thank you. 
Steve Carran: All right, Carla. Um, when a small hotel doesn't have time to do everything, um, where should they start when they're deciding whether to say yes to an influencer or a different content opportunity?
Karla Cobreiro: So I was tapped by Forbes maybe about a month ago, and they gave me a list of like 20 different metrics that we use to decide whether influencers are a fit. And I said that the most important one is engagement bar none, right? You have to start by figuring out what their engagement is, and if that's okay for you, depending on the platform, one to 3% for Instagram, eight to 10% for TikTok.
Um, the next thing is clarity, right? Why? You can't put together an agreement with an influencer, with a content creator unless you know what your end goal is. And your end goal should never be just awareness. It should be followers, it should be selling packages. It should be getting people to sign up for a newsletter, right?
So that then you have a captive audience that maybe you can go back to later with a Black Friday sale or whatever the case is that it is that you're doing right. Um, but the most important thing is having the clarity of what your end goal is so that you can structure that agreement. So that you can ask for them to include a link to the package that you want people to book, so that you can ask for them to include a link to that newsletter if that's what you want people to do.
But you really need to have that clarity before you say yes, because the agreement and that barter, or you know that payment, whatever has to include those deliverables, if not asking for them on the backend, puts you at risk of having not the results that you need. 
Steve Carran: Well said, well said. So now we're gonna go to the second round, kind of the strategy, be behind these new content ideas.
Hillary, um, what are some effective ways that hotels can highlight the guest experience and local collaborations? Um, since hyperlocal is such a trend these days. Yes. 
Hillary Folkvord: One of my favorite parts about owning an independent hotel is personalizing our hotel rooms and our, our gifts, our amenities with local flavor.
So a few ideas that we do in our rooms. We have locally ground coffee, we have crystal rocks that are ma mined by a female minor in the area. Uh, sage smudge that you can smudge your room from a local, um, provider as well as face oil. So just a few ideas. So we promote them within our rooms. Our guests love these, but in return, they promote us on their socials, in their newsletters, and it's been a great collaboration.
A few others that we work with are, for example, fly fishing guides. We become their preferred hotel for their guests coming in, and they become our preferred vendor. In their newsletters when they're sending them out to huge newsletter, um, followers. We put 20% off in there to stay with us and it's been amazing to see the actual ROI on that and to be able to track that.
So those are just a few ideas. It's finding local vendors that you can work with, you promote them, they promote you, and it's a great partnership. 
Steve Carran: I'm gonna open up the rest of the panel here. Has, uh, any guest experience or local hyper-local experience you personally have experienced that really stood out to you?
I am putting him on the spot right here, by the way. Nothing. All right, well, I got one then. Um, I was, oh, no, you go. No, no, no. You go for it. I'm just monitoring. 
Melissa Benhaim: I was gonna say one thing that I, you know, just, just came to mind when you were saying that is here in Miami, you know, we have Miami Spa Month, um, spa months as one of the, um, you know, campaigns that the tourist board puts on, um, for two of the slower months of the year, July and August.
There are a few hotels, um, with spas that participated in it. I think it's really clever that they will extend that. So it's July and August and they'll sometimes extend it, let's say to September and October. And I think that's a great way to, um, you know, tap into the local community and get people in when it's still a really slow time.
Um, so thinking outside of just, you know, the, the, um, that defined, uh, period. 
Steve Carran: That's great. Anybody else? We good? Alright, we'll move on. I, I'll share mine. So, uh, we had a hotel from the West Hamptons on our podcast. It was a new build, 13 rooms. Um, and they talked about how they increased hyper-local experience by partnering with local businesses, spas, restaurants in the Hamptons, for people to go and attend since they just didn't have the space themselves.
So I think, you know, we also stayed in a hotel currently in, uh, Fort Lauderdale that provided transportation to the restaurants that might be a mile or two away. To help increase their business as well. So, kinda gave us a flavor of Fort Fort Lauderdale since I've never been there. So, couple cool, cool things there.
So, uh, Melissa, you're next. Um, if your hotel has a small team, maybe only one person, uh, how can you work smarter to get your hotel covered in the media and by content creator? 
Melissa Benhaim: I would definitely, um, connect with your tourism board, so both your local tourism board as well as potentially your state one. Um, because they often are talking with, um, media, you know, local, national, international media.
That you can then, um, work with them to host those folks. And that way often you don't have to, um, cover the airfare or such, um, you know, you'll just host them for accommodations, experiences or such. And then you can also ask them about recommendations for content creators. Um, you know, they may have relationships already with both, again, local ones or from different.
Um, let's say drive markets that are a focus for you that you can work with, and that's a way to, um, you know, leverage your resources and have them do some of that legwork so then you don't have to do, um, some of that research. 
Steve Carran: Well said. Well said, David, beyond the follower count, what separates a transactional influencer from a true partner, and what are, what's a key, a green key and a red key to look out for when choosing an influencer?
David M.: Well, I, I think we touched on it a little bit. Really. You need to know what you want to get out of that influencer. Um, what I've found with some hotels that I've spoken to is that sometimes they're just desperate and they just want somebody to come and do something and they're hoping it's going to transform the likes or newsletters like we spoke about, but they don't really do the due diligence and make sure if that's the right.
Person representing their brand and their hotel. They're just looking for the followers or the likes or what have you. So I think Karla had said a great, like you really need to have a game plan going in and making sure that that person matches what you're doing. Again, you just need to do the research.
Like with anything, whether they're hiring an agency or having somebody do your website, you need to do the research on who that influencer is and how they're gonna affect your property and drive more business. 
Steve Carran: Well said. Well said, Jen. Yes. How do you balance inspiration with practicality in your content so that it resonates with hotel owners and operators who are focused on profitability, guest experience, and long-term strategies?
Jennifer Glatt: I think like an influencer, you, you really wanna know who you're talking to. Um, so I. You know, I'm looking at GMs owners operators. I, I wanna, um, prioritize practical applications. So I don't know if you've read today's mint pillow or not, um, but I talk about, um, traveler archetypes. So really knowing who your marketing to and, and that message that's really gonna Revinate with your ideal guest.
And I think, um, you know, prioritizing, um, you know, the applications that. GMs are really gonna be, um, you know, that they're gonna understand that they're gonna, um, maybe have some curiosity sparked. Um, and it's really highlighting what's working in hospitality and how you can tie that back to profitability.
Steve Carran: Well said, well said, Carla. Uh, sometimes pitches sound exciting. Uh, the numbers look big, the campaign. Ultimately ends up not performing too well. What are some signs that influencer opportunities might not be a good fit, even if they do have a high follower count? 
Karla Cobreiro: Yeah. I'm gonna build on what I said last time and one on what you just said, right?
Um, the word that I gave you last time was clarity on what you need and what your end goal is. My word this time is alignment, and it goes back to what we were just talking about where, I'm gonna give you a a a really good example. We were working with a property and the destination tourism board, it was an island, uh, decided to do a TikTok takeover with like 30 content creators.
They were bringing them all on one trip at the same time. And so they were like dispersing these content creators throughout, you know, different properties in the destination. And when we get the list of the people that were gonna be staying at our property, uh, the, the best one was this Santa Claus impersonator.
And so he had an incredible following. He had an incredible engagement. Um, but if you start thinking about it, the people that followed him. We're following him for like the feel good kind of scenarios that they were watching in the videos of the children bumping into Santa Claus. So our destination and our, uh.
Hotel per se was not gonna be at the forefront of that. And the people who were following the account were not following because they wanted to figure out where did this child bump into the Santa Claus and how can I book this as well? You know, it was for the feel good of it. And so that was one case where there was very high engagement but very low alignment.
Um, and we ultimately decided to take a step back and not participate. One other red flag for me in that scenario, as the consultant to the hotel. My hotel did not have a TikTok presence. They did not have a TikTok account. So all of this great content was not gonna lead to an account where we could capture followers, where we could repost, where we could comment, where we could engage.
It was just completely misaligned, even though maybe it was a great opportunity for either another property or another brand, and we, we stayed out of it. 
Steve Carran: Are there any questions that you should, that, I guess hotels should be asking influencers to make sure that they're a good fit? And I'm gonna open this up to everybody.
Karla Cobreiro: I'll start. Yeah. Um, and whether it's an influencer or a podcaster or whatever, just yesterday I was talking to a podcaster who wanted $10,000 to put a founder on the podcast, and I said, great. Can you send me your media kit? I wanna know how many downloads you have. I wanna know where your audience is based.
I wanna know their demographics. You know? No, we don't have that. I need the numbers. I need the data. 
Hillary Folkvord: And I always wanna ask if we work with influencers, are you open to an ambassadorship program versus a one and done type of experience? Are you willing to come back again and again? And we run an ambassador program through our cafe, the Farmer's Daughters Cafe, where we hand selected people in our community.
A lot of, um. Fitness influencers, so to speak. 'cause we have a feelgood cafe type of food and when they come in they get free food in return, they post on Instagram and it's over and over again that they're posting. And it's been really great for us in terms of return. 
Steve Carran: Do you think, and I'm gonna follow up question, do you think it is better to have a more of a long-term relationship with influencers?
Or is it better to kinda spread it around to different people to get a different perspective? 
Hillary Folkvord: I know for us it's been great to have. Returned influencers over and over again. I, I'm curious in your guys' markets, what you think, but I know for us just to create that relationship, it's more about that trust and that authenticity that we talk about.
That if their followers are seeing this over and over again, they know they must like this product. 
Melissa Benhaim: Yeah, I think there's a mix definitely. Um, there are definitely influencers that we have worked with, um, you know, over and over again that I think just like you say, the, the repeat, um, you know, views that their followers get and such.
Um, I think it's also worth, you know, exploring. Um, partnerships, testing sometimes with, with new folks often, that's a great way to reach different audiences, um, and sometimes, you know, test into those, um, different niches. Great. 
Steve Carran: All right. Now we're gonna go to the third round here on the different platforms and future opportunities.
Hilary, how does combining different media platforms like Instagram podcasts and newsletters create a stronger, more cohesive guest experience? 
Hillary Folkvord: I truly believe in the cohesion, the continuity. Tells a story of the brand. I want when someone's scrolling through Instagram to see a post and know that that's Lady H without finding my name on there or one of my other properties.
I feel like that aesthetic needs to roll over through the newsletters and the voice in the podcast, to the website where they just know it's you. And I think that's important to find your voice, find your aesthetic at the beginning, and then that can play through everything you do, every touch point that the guest sees.
Steve Carran: And I love that because I think people consume content in so many different areas, right? Newsletters, podcasts, YouTube, you know, so it kind of hitting a more people more than once and also getting a wider audience as well. Have you all seen that as well? Yeah. Okay. Getting nods. 
Melissa Benhaim: No, I was gonna say we worked with a freelance travel writer recently who, um, he talked about the hotel on his podcast, then he wrote about it in a newsletter.
Then he was, um, you know, commissioned by an outlet to write, uh, a roundup piece. And he mentioned it in that. And so for us it was great because it was awareness in all these different platforms where, yeah, there might be some overlap of followers. Um, but it's again, that repeat. Um. You know, exposure and such that we are seeing that maybe somebody by the third time they read it, oh, I think, you know, maybe I should go check out this hotel.
I've, I've heard it about it now a few times. 
Jennifer Glatt: Yeah. I think the same applies to newsletters too. If, if somebody is forwarding you a newsletter again, you know, a, a couple of people will, you know, send it to you. It reminds you, okay, I really like this content. I'm gonna go ahead and, you know, subscribe. That's huge.
Um, you know, to, to kind of get that, that back, that almost social proof, you know, that backing of somebody that I really respect or admire, or a colleague, you know, is, is sharing this. Um, and then that turns into additional subscribers. 
Steve Carran: Absolutely. Well said Melissa. So, what do hotels need to know about videos and how can they best use videos for social media?
Other platforms and how can you repurpose those videos that you might already have? 
Melissa Benhaim: So going off of what, you know, David was saying earlier about video, um, making sure that it is shot for social media. So, you know, going away from more of those marketing style images, but instead thinking about, um, you know, what are some of the, the creators that you follow yourself on social media, how are they, um, you know, putting content out there and thinking about.
Filming in that sort of way that is from the guest's perspective. Um, so I think that is one thing. And then can you repeat the second part of it? Sorry. Yeah. Yeah, 
Q&A: yeah, 
Melissa Benhaim: yeah. 
Steve Carran: Uh, how can you help repurpose what you videos you already have? 
Melissa Benhaim: Yes. So one key way is, you know, looking at horizontal and, and vertical video.
So if you have video that is already vertical shot that way, that's a great thing that you can use on, let's say Instagram or TikTok. Let's say you have horizontal video that maybe you can't use all of it. Um, can you, you know. Cut it and edit it in a way that maybe you can use it for, um, for a different post or maybe for YouTube or such.
And then the last thing I'll say, just on the note of video with working with content creators is making sure, um, if you want to have permission to use that video in your own marketing and advertising, making sure that that's in the contract because often, um, content creators will, you know, add an additional fee for that or such.
So making sure that everyone is on the same page about that from the start. 
Steve Carran: I agree. I think, I think videos for hotels are so powerful. Um, a that's how everybody's kind of, uh, taking in content these days is through these short format videos and seeing a hotel room speaks a thousand words compared to maybe that picture that you see when booking a room or seeing a video of the great meals that that hotel has instead of just seeing stagnant pictures.
So agree a hundred percent. Anybody else have anything to add on videos for hotels? 
Karla Cobreiro: I would also say to stay away from using like the wrong dimensions on platforms because consumers are much more aware of that than we think because Yes, because they consume so much content. Right? So when they come on Instagram, for example, and they see your typical, what, like nine by 16 horizontal, it's tiny.
It's not really giving like the effect that it needs to, they maybe can't call out that what? That that's what it is. But they, they can understand. That it's not a content that's gonna speak to them or, you know, encourage them to book. So stay away from using the wrong dimensions, the wrong type of content on the wrong platforms because the consumers catch onto that.
Steve Carran: Yes. And use a video or use a vertical format when we're doing Instagram, things like that. Otherwise it gets a little messy. David, what platforms We do video for Modern Hotelier. You're right. What platforms are you seeing as the most beneficial that hotels are using for video content? 
David M.: Well, I think first I have a question.
How many people in the audience actually work for a hotel? You raise your hand. Okay. How many people in the audience actually view video on their mobile or desktop? Right. So we're at the independent hotel show. We're in an industry that doesn't adopt new technology very easily. So what we're seeing and what we're trying to do is also educate hotels on how to use video.
So not only getting the video, but how to use it. There's platforms. Like hover where you can actually embed and make images that turn into little videos that pop up. So I think the biggest thing is us also just educating yourself on what, obviously we all know the social media platforms, but how can you leverage that video to drive the results to drive more direct bookings?
'cause at the end of the day, it's already tough enough. Being an independent hotel, you've got a lot of tools that you can leverage to drive more business. So, like I said, there's, there's hover, there's making sure that you have a TikTok page and you're actually, you know, that your audience, you're getting people to sign up.
You're, you know, presenting it at the front desk and letting them know. So for me, I think it's just this idea of looking at these new platforms, looking at ways to leverage that video on your website. And if you don't know, find out, talk to people. And the last thing I'll just add, which we haven't touched on, is.
There's some, obviously we have a, Steve and I have a podcast. There's some great podcast out there, so you can learn a lot from Other hoteliers are on podcasts that are telling you what's working for them and what they're doing. So we focus on technology companies and hoteliers, but once a week we have a Hotelier on our podcast.
And that goal is not just for us, it's so that the industry gets to learn what are these hotels doing, and most of them are independent. So whether it's our podcast or another podcast. It's never bad to beg, borrow, or steal. So look at what other people are doing and how they're leveraging the content to be more successful.
Steve Carran: And David, I have a follow-up question. Since we mainly focus on independent hotels and we vary in sizes from, you know, a few rooms to hundreds of rooms, how do those smaller hotels compete? And this is open for everybody. Um, how do those smaller hotels compete with these bigger hotels that might have 2, 3, 4 times the size of budget?
David M.: Well, I would just say that one, you know, and everyone's worried about technology and taking jobs. It's your people, the most important asset at your hotel doing the jobs. But if you don't have the budget to do high-end videography, you can still, iPhones are great, you can do some really good things.
Practice. You know, what you don't want people do is have your director of sales running through the hotel, taking video and just throwing it up and then you're like, oh my God, who put that video up there? So, you know, practice, if you don't have the budget. It's really not an excuse now 'cause we all have it in our pocket or in our hand right now where we've got video and you can get good at it.
You can learn how to edit, you can do things. So don't, I wouldn't let budget stay in your way. Anybody else? 
Karla Cobreiro: I would say that there's a lot of like learning that has to take place too, right? Because what might work for one property, one location, one destination, is not necessarily gonna always work for another.
So it's a lot of trial and error and consistency, I think is the most important thing, right? Commit to posting, creating whatever it is. If it's once a week, then once a week. Three times a week. Three times a week, and keep it going and try to figure out what it was about this piece of content that resonated, that worked.
So you can take that into other content that you're creating. 
Steve Carran: I love that. And I think one thing also is be authentic. Know who you are, know who your audience is. If you're a 90% leisure hotel, let's not be posting stuff for business travelers, right? So be authentic to yourself because that's one thing that we're seeing, you know, hotels need to do so.
Awesome, Jen. Yes. I wanna talk about the ripple effect that inclusion in newsletters can create. How can a single feature extend across channels, influence conversations, and even lead to a new opportunity for hotels and brands? 
Jennifer Glatt: Yeah, so my goal with the content is that it's, um, it inspires creativity and it's, and that inspiration can be linked to strategy.
So, you know, I, I really think that, um, indie hotels in particular are good about taking an idea. Um, and making it their own and running with it. Um, you know, I think that's one of the reasons that I love Indie hotels so much is because they can tell a story that a, a big brand just can't. Um, you know, whether it's it's tied to, you know, their local community or it's tied to, you know, the, the partners that they, um, that they work with for sourcing, you know, food for their kitchen or, you know, just something that makes you feel a part of.
Uh, the environment that you're in, not just, I could be in any room, in any hotel, in any city. Um, you know, so I really think that, um, that it can invite hoteliers to, um, to kind of figure out how could I take this idea and make it my own. 
Steve Carran: Absolutely. Absolutely. Well said. So Carla, we've kind of talked about the different platforms.
Everybody knows Instagram, TikTok. Are there any merging platforms that you're seeing that people might not be familiar with? 
Karla Cobreiro: Um, Substack is picking up a lot of steam, and it's great because it's a blog and it's on a website. But then it's got the e-newsletter component, and we already talked about why newsletters work and, and why they're a great place to be.
Um, but I mean, even in the travel journalism space, the lifestyle journalism space, the FMB journalism space, the journalists themselves are using it a lot. And we're talking they have five, six, 10,000 followers, subscribers on their substack, which means they're basically like a publication in their own right.
At this point, they're influencers, you know, on that platform. Um, and what I've seen happen is that we have, um, a, a journalist that talks about an upcoming press trip or that talks about a press trip they just came back from, or, you know, something about a specific property and other journalists that follow them.
See? And then they're reaching out to you about, you know, an opportunity, a press trip, a visit, whatever the case is. And I'll add to all of that to say that we know AI is a big factor. It's changing how people search, it's changing how people plan. Their travel and sub stocks are doing a very good job at getting picked up as sources.
In AI results. So the AI results, when you ask it, you know, what's the best family friendly hotel or whatever the case is, will pick up like some things that came up in Substack. And so it's extra powerful because now it's helping you in other ways as well. And I know AI is something that we're all thinking about and we're all trying to learn more about and, and get ahead of for our, our properties.
Steve Carran: And, and you brought up AI search. Can you break that down into a simpler terms for everybody here? 
Karla Cobreiro: So people used to go to Google, say like, you know, what are the best hotels on Miami Beach? Or like, where should I stay with my kids? I don't know, in Curaao. And now they're not necessarily going to Google anymore.
They're going to chat GPT, they're going to clo, they're going to a number of these, you know, um, ai, uh, engines, right? And so what happens is that these AI engines scrape the entire internet to very quickly, to give back an answer to the user, whatever that answer was. But it doesn't use. Um, your own content.
So it doesn't look at your website all the time. It doesn't look at your social media all the time. It doesn't read your newsletter. It reads that third party source, that third party validation, what others are saying about you to make those, you know, recommendations or to, to even tell somebody about your property.
And so PR is a little bit more important I think, now than like ever before because of that. You need the PR to be able to get into those results and, and be, you know, basically use PR to get the language that you want to come up in the search. Um, but it's shifting, so you need to be ahead of that because everybody isn't going to Google.
And one last thing. I know I'm like extending this, but I'm just so passionate about it. AI search is also changing when you go to Google. Because when you go to Google, it gives you a recap, and again, that's pulled from third party sources and things like that. So people make, don't even make it to your website sometimes, because that AI overview takes up like, you know, three quarters of their screen, they got their answer.
They don't need to click around, they've moved on. 
Steve Carran: So I have a question for you. I recently did this. I went on chat, GPT, and I searched for top independent hotels in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It gave me 10 and they were good hotels. I ended up choosing, not one of them, I found one on my own that I liked better.
How do hotels appear on chat, GPT And how do they get to a, a higher spot? 
Karla Cobreiro: Pr. Pr. 
Steve Carran: Anything besides pr? I know you said PR earlier. No, what I mean like 
Karla Cobreiro: mentions, right? Mentions in in Substack, mentions in third party websites, mentions in articles, awards that they've won. So it's like, what does the internet say about this property?
Right. So it could be like a journalist, it could be, you know, awards. It's a number of different ways, but what you have to keep in mind is that typically when you search for a company on Google, the first thing that comes up is their website and maybe their social media and all of the channels that they own.
Versus AI is all earned, not owned, well said. 
Melissa Benhaim: A great way to test that is, um, you can go and chat GPZ, for example, and ask, you know, what do you know about? And then put your hotel name in there and see what comes up and make sure that if, for example, you have an account with them to just make sure to do it in, you know, not logged in.
So that way it doesn't use any of your history or such, or past searches. Um, but that way you can get a sense of, you know, what is, if you were to search about that or do a search, like what you were saying, what's the kind of thing that would come up and if your hotel doesn't come up. You know, how can you take steps to help rectify that?
So look 
Karla Cobreiro: at who is coming up and what is showing up for them, and figure out how you can get that kind of credibility for yourself. Reverse engineer it. 
Steve Carran: No need to reinvent that wheel. Well said. All right. We have had some great conversation up here. I wanna open it up to the audience. Um, anybody have any questions for the whole panel or one specific person on the panel?
I am gonna get in the audience and give you guys a mic.
Q&A: Cool. Thank you. So, uh, my name's Alan. Hey everybody. I represent social media for five hotels in New York. Can you not hear me? Is this better? That's fine. Alright. I run social media for five hotels in New York. And my main question, when we are making content, can you give a suggestion on. What part of the booking journey we should be gearing that content towards?
Should we be really focusing on increasing awareness for the hotels or most more so pushing folks down into the funnel to get a transaction? And what suggestions can you give to do that? Did you hear? 
David M.: Yeah, I'll, I mean, I'll, I think you need it everywhere, but I think don't, don't discount the actual booking engine and when that guess is in the.
The, the, the process of picking their dates, what room type they want, things of that nature. So again, like I said, new technologies like hover. You could be in the booking path and you could actually put your mouse over a suite and actually see what that suite looks like, and that could influence you and actually booking.
So I think you need the ability for the guest to find it themselves, but don't always assume that they're gonna go to the bottom of the page, click on your Instagram, look at your stories or what have you. You're gonna wanna put that in places where you can actually, the guests don't have to look for it.
They, they, they see it. That's my 2 cents. 
Hillary Folkvord: And I always remind my marketing team, or influencers, influencers that we work with, our main goal is to get heads in beds and to get that direct booking. So how often can that link be put in front of people over and over again to make it so seamless, whether it's in a newsletter, you click here, whether it's on Instagram, click here in the story.
So just heads and beds is the goal. So how do we get people to the website? 
Jennifer Glatt: I think one other thing I would add to that is, um, is your brand voice on your booking page or does it just say double bed, here are all the amenities. Like, I don't, I don't wanna go to a booking page honestly, and have the personality stripped out of the entire thing.
So, you know, don't, don't leave your personality behind. Once you finally get people to the place that you really want them to be.
Q&A: Hi, my name Elaine. I'm, I'm working a hotel right on the beach, and I always mention we, we are on the beach and, uh, it is wrong. It is wrong to show the beach, to show the, around the hotel because I think the main point to stay in a hotel right on the beach is go to the beach and then I. I dunno if it's wrong to show around or just I have to show the hotel in, inside the hotel because I, I, I show the hotel, but also around the hotel.
David M.: Yeah. I think that's one of the biggest things that we find, especially with those unique independent hotels. The person that wants to stay there also wants to experience the unique local attractions, and sometimes hotels can't be. An all in one destination for that guest, they're gonna have to leave the property.
And hotels, a lot of times I think, forget that, and they don't really showcase what is near the hotel, whether it be restaurants, attractions, things of that nature. So again, going back to that education, what we've been trying to do at The Modern Hotelier is to try to get hotels like, Hey, you need to let people not only know what your personality is, but what's the personality of the neighborhood?
What are some hidden gem spot that you can go to? Because. That that's your guest and you want to treat them. Like if your family member was coming into town, like, Hey, I'm gonna take you to this great local restaurant, I'm gonna take you here. Show the beach, like you said. So I think hotels forget about what's outside of their doors sometimes, which is a mistake.
Karla Cobreiro: And I would also encourage you to like use the beach, right? Is there like a Sunset yoga? Sunrise yoga? And can you then make content around those experiences? Because again, you wanna sell them an experience, not just a room. You wanna sell them on the neighborhood, on the location, on, on the itinerary. You know, not just on, this is the bed and this is the bathroom, and.
Melissa Benhaim: I, I would think about those kind of experiences, like you're saying, you know, those kind of, um, beach adjacent experiences to not only appeal to the hotel guests, but also to the local community. I know on one of the panels this morning, I think it was, um, from the Caron that they were mentioning, you know.
60% of the revenue comes from the local community. And so think about the programming that you might put together. Um, that might not just appeal to your hotel guests, but also to locals, and know that it may take some time to build that up to, um, to attract the, the local community. And again, that's something that you can promote and talk about on social media and also use, um, influencers to spread the word too.
Steve Carran: Also, sunrises and sunsets. People love 'em. I love 'em.
Q&A: Um, hi, we, I have a property in Umbr, Italy, um, and going to Carla's, uh, point about how much, when guests look towards AI to look for their itinerary planning and their decision making of where they're going to stay, and you keep TA saying that. Third, um, third party content for pr. I've had, uh. Not poor experience with influencers, but how much of that is traditional pr as in publications compared to what amount of your budget do you think you should also invest in?
In, in, um, uh, uh, influencers? Influencers compared to traditional pr. 
Karla Cobreiro: There's a recent study that MuckRack put out, um, which is one of the media monitoring platforms that we use a lot here in the us And uh, social media was actually a small portion of that. Of what AI is pulling Chap, GPT is pulling.
Granted, people are still scrolling on social media where I, I am talking about AI searches from the point of view of like replacing Google and replacing Bing or whatever it was that people were using. Um, so it's hard to say the split, but the majority, if you wanna show up on, uh. AI searches lean into like traditional outlets with very high credibility, very high traffic.
You know, the travel and leisures, the Conde Nast because those are the ones that are getting picked up the most because AI considers them legit, credible sources in what they say.
Q&A: High. Hi. Um, I am hearing the. We should be more aware of Reddit in terms of our industry and that it's definitely emerging more and I feel like we're not educated enough about it. So can any of you speak more about that? 
Melissa Benhaim: So Reddit is interesting because, um, it does come up a lot. Um, first in Google results when you search.
I know that like me personally, when I'm searching things, I end up usually just going to Reddit a lot because there are answers. The thing to be careful of is that the Reddit community is, um, very good at snuffing out anything that is promotional at all. So you wanna be careful, like you can establish a presence, let's say, um, as a brand on Reddit, but be careful about being promotional there.
Sometimes what's just helpful is going into the subreddits, let's say for a destination or for, um, you know, different topics. Seeing the kind of things that people are talking about. And then of course you can register as a user, but always have to disclose, um, you know, if you're gonna promote your hotel or brand or such, your association with it.
Karla Cobreiro: So I think it's a great place for dialogue, right? If somebody from the team wants to maybe address an issue or whatever the case is. But I agree that it's not a place where they want publicists. It's not a place where they want brands. It's not a place where they want promotions. So yes, be aware of it and yes, monitor it to understand what the conversations are and what the reviews are essentially that you're getting.
But tread carefully jumping in as a brand. 
Q&A: Hi guys. My name's Gia and um, I do brand strategy, a lot of graphic design and stuff for, um, different properties for my hotel management company. Um, a lot of times I have to work with leadership who have been thrust into being social media champions. Um. Against their will a lot of times.
Right. And um, in particular, I have a property in Paso Robles. That's amazing. Um, but the chef is a bit shy. Um, and a chef is such an important part of the brand story, especially for the f and b side. So any tips on how to maybe. Nurture some excitement or kind of help guide people into really creating those authentic storytelling moments for their properties when they're not naturally very excited about social.
David M.: I, I, I would say from our experience, uh, that's funny. 'cause usually our best interviews, our chefs, um, and I think sometimes when you. W what I've learned, because this is not what I've been doing that long of a time, is that when you interview somebody, it's more about them than you. And asking the questions and making them feel comfortable is what really is most important.
So we would ask, we'll ask like the chef outside of you, who's the best cook in your family? And that always leads that you see their, their eyes light up and they want to tell you a story about their mother or their grandmother or something. So I think it's a little bit coaching because most of the time it's just making that person feel comfortable.
And it's really tough when you just. You know, you stick a mic in front, in front of someone or you just start rolling or doing video. So I think it's, it's easing them into it. And like I tell people when they're starting out, even doing podcasts, like your first interview shouldn't be the first one that you air.
You almost need some practice. And so I would just. Yeah, my recommendation was I would interview that chef about things that have nothing to do with, not what are you using in this dish? Which, like, ask them questions like, what, what was your what? What's your, why are you passionate about cooking? What'd you get your influence from?
And that will just kinda loosen that person up, I think, and then you'll get the, the true, true personality them. 
Steve Carran: Yeah. And I agree. I'm gonna add on to this, David. Like when we really see chefs get excited, they're in their element, they're cooking. That's, that's where they're comfortable. They're not comfortable sitting in front of you with a in your face, right?
That's not where they want to be. But when you get them comfortable first, after that, then you interview them, they open up and they are absolutely incredible. So they're a natural element. I think we have time for one or two more questions. Anybody else? All right.
Q&A: Hi, this is Jane with il. Uh, so I have a question about storytelling. So I'm a architectural designer, and a few months ago we were bid for a project. It's a, um, a clubhouse in, um, in one of the Caribbean island. So that's like. Not much. Uh, you know, like local culture over there. It is. Um, it's empty. It's a new construction.
It's a building a, they're building basically a cool destination. They're waiting, we're waiting for that, um, clubhouse. So they want something, you know, not, they want something for people who, uh, don't want to get wet. So not for swimming. So just people, um, who just, uh, stay on, you know, stay on the land in the building.
So once the, um. Uh, building to be like very sophisticated. And we did it. But they, uh, when we were presenting the project, they asked a question about, um, okay, what's the difference between your clubhouse here versus, um, you know, clubhouse a country club in, uh, like Palm Beach. So we were stuck at the moment and we.
Didn't answer the question very well, so I was just wondering, okay. How would you tackle into, you know, um, answering the question, uh, uh, what's to, you know, fund the, um, uh, difference between, um, the, uh, the property and experience happening in that location?
David M.: So I, I think is the question more about how do you, when you, you're saying you don't really have a story, but you're trying to tell a story about the property 'cause it was a new build. Is that kind? Yeah, I mean, I think. There's, there's gotta be a story there. So I think it's asking more questions. There's gotta be a reason why that location, why that property is built, the way it's built.
So it can be difficult to, I think, when there's not history, but you sort of have to start that history at some point. And part of that is just kind of embracing why that property's even there. So, I dunno if that answers your question, but I think a little bit more could be the owners, it could be, you know, 'cause everybody who opens or builds a hotel has a reason why they do it.
But they just do it 'cause they think it's gonna be cool and fun or good.
Q&A: They were testing our design capacity, so we didn't have the luxury to actually, you know, have a dialogue a lot with the owner about, uh, you know, getting the feedback. So like in blind, uh, to like, um, developing the concept for like two weeks and we have to present. So we didn't have the luxury to, um, get feedback on that one.
Karla Cobreiro: So then I would say, what makes that property different from any other place that they could book? Why would they book that place? 
Q&A: Uh, that's something we trying to create. 
Karla Cobreiro: Yeah, yeah, 
Q&A: yeah, 
Karla Cobreiro: yeah. So what is it? What is, what is that, what is that feeling? What is that occasion? What is it that makes this property different from the one next to it or down the street or whatever, you know, the competitor is, because that's gonna be the story.
And media, or, or people love the first, the only, you know, um, superlatives like that. So try to think of the property in that lens and in that light. Because otherwise, you know, you're just selling again, a room and a a bathroom and what is, what is the experience that you're selling? 
Jennifer Glatt: Right. And I think too, um, on websites, when you go and look at a hotel, the, one of the first things that I look for is the story.
You know, what is it that, like Carla was saying, what is, what is the experience that you, that you wanna share with people? I, I always, in every interview I've ever done with any Hotelier, they all have great stories. You know that they, they come into it for myriad reasons. What is it that this particular Hotelier is bringing, you know, to, to the table?
Wh why, why does he or she want to share this with other people? What is it about, you know, like David was saying, the location, what is it about how the building was designed or redesigned or, you know, that there's, there's gotta be, if, if there's not a story there, you create one is my 2 cents. 
Steve Carran: Yeah.
Awesome. Well, thank you so much. Let's hear it from our panel. They rocked it.
All right, and thank you everybody for attending. If you wanna ask them any questions, they'll be available after the panel, but have a great rest of day one. You made it to the end of The Modern Hotelier. Thanks for watching or listening. The Modern Hotelier is produced by Modern Hotelier Media. Make sure to like and subscribe if you're listening on YouTube or subscribe wherever you get your podcast.
If you know a good guest. Sponsor or have media needs, feel free to reach out to us at hello at The Modern Hotelier dot com. Thanks and have a great day.