How Culinary Experiences can help Hotels generate new Social Trends
Social Food Porn has today become an explosion of food-focused media and Social Media and farm-to-table movement among large travel brands, and the introduction of high-profile events celebrating local cuisine.
Travelers are sharing millions of Food and Beverage themed photos daily on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Flickr. These increases travel consumers’ awareness of different cuisines and cultures, and it fuels their desire to experience them.
Food is a fundamental part of the human experience—but today, it has become multimillion-dollar entertainment. The past three years have seen 27 million American culinary leisure travelers, and 88 percent of hospitality destinations consider food tourism a major part of their branding.
To learn more, my friends at Software Advice surveyed a random sample of U.S. travelers who have stayed in a hotel within the last year. This report shows how hoteliers can help create and promote food- and drink-related activities to attract this segment of travelers.
F&B Travel Segment
- A combined 91% of hotel guests says food is at least “moderately important” to them while traveling.
- A combined 66% of millennials use social media to post about food “very often” while traveling.
- Popular food trends can attract guests, with 31% interested in the farm-to-table movement and 26% in food trucks.
- Travelers utilize social experiences to try different food, such as food festivals (24%), wine tastings (19%) or brewery tours (18%).
Social Media has today created a delicious culinary mashup that can help Hotels enhance customer experience.
Local food trucks utilize Facebook and Twitter very efficient to attract customers.
Millennials Are Most Likely to Share Food Photos on Social Media
Gaining followers and mentions for a hotel’s Twitter, Facebook or Instagram account is an important part of marketing today, but the direct benefits can be tricky to discern.
Software Advice asked respondents how often they take and share photos or food experiences on social media while traveling. Breaking down these responses by age, we find that younger age groups are the most frequent sharers; of those who say they share food-related social media posts “very often,” 45 percent are between the ages of 26 and 35. Another 21 percent are 18- to 25-years-old.
Travelers Who Post Food-Related Social Media Posts Very Often, by Age
What’s more, encouraging guests to share food photos can lead to increased bookings. A University of Florida and Clemson University study showed that more than 54 percent of respondents would be motivated to go to a destination based on pictures of food.
During culinary events, such as a food festival or cooking class, Wolf says, hotels can take advantage of guests’ desire to share on social media by using it to drive a contest. (For instance, the hotel might encourage cooking class participants to snap photos of their completed creation, post it on Instagram with a unique hashtag and award the user with the most attractive dish with a discount for a return stay.
With this, the hotel’s social media feed will have fresh photos from real guests. This is uniquely beneficial, as 92 percent of consumers worldwide trust the word of mouth over any other type of advertising. Thus, a slew of consumer-generated content on a hotel’s social account can potentially drive more bookings.
F&B with Social Media
Hospitality companies know food is important to travelers and our findings back this up. The following tips can help increase interest from culinary travelers to increase bookings:
Create offerings centered on popular food trends. Leverage interest in top food trends, such as farm-to-table cuisine and food trucks. Contact local professionals to build a garden, start a locally sourced menu and schedule food truck days throughout the year. Promote these undertakings on social media and the hotel website to attract new and former guests.
Build special packages and offer discounts for favored activities. For specific events, host guests’ favorite activities: food festivals, wine tastings, and local brewery offerings. Use hotel management software to create a special package during the event and offer a discount on bookings to draw guests.
Encourage social media engagement during events. Create and promote custom hashtags that boost your hotel’s online presence, and motivate new travelers to book to experience the activities. Younger travelers are especially likely to engage this way.
Offer comprehensive information about food activities at check-in. Leave marketing materials in rooms and lobbies for guests. A website builder can also be used to create a landing page, while CRM and marketing automation software can help automatically notify travelers by email.
Whatever the activity, it should be focused on the unique ingredients and dishes of the hotel’s surrounding area, and be promoted through a variety of channels to reach the most potential guests.
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Software Advice – help people find the right software for their organization. Having researched over 1000 systems they can identify the best solution for each buyer.
About the author
Are Morch is the founder and owner of Are Morch – Hotel Marketing Coach. Get more from Are on Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Pinterest | Instagram| Podcast
