Is your hotel a digital playground?

Heard the buzz about Foursquare? Some experts are calling it the next big thing in social media. This innovative app blends the accessibility of Twitter with an engaging game-like mechanic. What’s more, it’s essentially business-driven, with ample marketing opportunities up for grabs.

So what is it?

Foursquare is a geocentric social network and game played primarily with mobile devices. Players, that is people who have downloaded the Foursquare app, visit venues around their cities and neighborhoods and tweet tips and tricks for future visitors. The tweet can be as simple as “@FillmorePub! Try the Fish & Chips!”. To encourage participation, players are rewarded points and badges for their accomplishments, whether for visiting a new venue, visiting several venues in a short period of time, or bringing along a friend.

There are currently more than 100 participating cities and thousands of venues that players can “check-in” to for points, badges and social networking opportunities. Venues include almost anywhere people like to congregate – cafes, restaurants, bars, parks, bowling alleys, clubs, concert halls – as well as any place a person might want peer advice, such as hotels, airports and offices.

Here’s where you come in

Your hotel can and should be one of those venues. Unbelievable as it may seem, the ability to earn points for visiting your hotel is all the reason some players need to choose you over the competition. If you and the hotel across the street are running similar rates and similar offerings, but only you participate in Foursquare, that can be differentiation enough for some guests.

Technically, players don’t have to stay at your hotel to earn the points, and you can’t force them to. They need only visit. However, you can still encourage business by joining the hundreds of venues throughout the world to offer Foursquare Specials. Create a discount just for Foursquare users, and the next time they’re in your area or browsing your area, they’ll be alerted of your deal. That’s called free advertising.

Keep it small. After all, there are over 160,000 players out there, so you’ll want your deal to be something you can afford. Offer a free drink with paid dinner, or free dessert. Offer a free gift. Or you can even provide a free room upgrade for the Mayor, which is the person who has the most points for a particular venue on a particular day.

To see how hundreds of businesses are already taking advantage of Foursquare Specials, read more.

A little tech talk

The full-featured Foursquare application is currently available for iPhones and Androids, with a Blackberry app promised for the near future. Even without the application, any mobile device with Web access can utilize Foursquare’s mobile site. At the very least, if you are unable to access the mobile Web on your device,           you can utilize an SMS shortcode and check-in by texting your update to 50500 (ex: @CrownPlazaTimesSquare! Super clean rooms!).

Here’s what the mobile Web site application looks like:

The Foursquare application is connected to Facebook and Twitter (because what isn’t?). Players can easily find their friends and either encourage them to join Foursquare or simply recommend an impromptu meet-up to check out a cool Foursquare Special. If that special is yours, say a free drink with paid dinner, then one person paying for dinner can easily become four. The extra revenue is yours, and you didn’t pay a dime in advertising.

Ready to join a growing social community and take advantage of the free marketing opportunities offered within? Adding your venue and detailing your special is just a quick form. Fill it out here or read more about Foursquare on the official Web site here.

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Categories: Tips for Hoteliers