You poor poor hoteliers, location services sure are moving at break-neck speeds these days.
Just when you start to get the hang of Foursquare, along comes Facebook Places to start the learning process all over again.
Never fear, here are some really simple tips to set you on the path to check-in bliss! Seriously, they’re super easy.
Claim your property
Your hotel should be on Facebook Places already, but if not you can add it very easily. There are huge benefits to claiming your property, like the option to add your contact number, website, address and a third party review site:
Keep in mind, the claim process is actually official - you will need to submit a scanned copy of a utility bill or possibly perform a verbal verification over the phone. Sounds like a bit of a hassle, but this is totally worth it.
To start the claim process, search for your property in the Facebook search box and select it. On the left-hand side of the page, click link: “Is this your business?”
Encourage staff to check-in
In a post for hotels using Foursquare, I said it was beneficial for hotels to ask their staff NOT to check in.
This advice was based on the gaming element of Foursquare; hotel staff clearly have the ability to check in more often than guests, meaning that your paying customers don’t have a chance at becoming mayor.
For the uninitiated, the coveted mayor title is what keeps Foursquare users coming back - the user with the most check-ins becomes the venue's mayor, etc.
With Facebook Places, however, there are no badges or mayorship’s to be won, this is purely a social tool, a way to meet up with friends and see what others are up to.
Every time your guests or staff check-in, you get visibility across their social network. For hotels that have bars or restaurants that attract local patrons, this little bit of extra brand awareness will help give you an edge when trying to pack in the paying customers.
To see this in action, watch a video Facebook put together:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfX_ZQag1BM
Leverage Graph API
Okay, this one isn’t as simple as claiming your property, but for those willing to jump in the deep end with Places, Graph API could give you a leg-up over the competition.
According to Facebook’s developer blog, the API currently allows developers to:
- Give people the ability to see which of their friends have already been to the place they are visiting
- Create a conference application that makes it easy for attendees to find colleagues and connect with them
- Create an event application that enables attendees to see where their friends are at a concert or live event
But this is only the start, Facebook has hinted at more functionality to come in the near future. To read more about the Graph API, click here.
Deals
Although still in it’s infancy, deals will become more important as the use of Places grows. Similar to Foursquare specials, Facebook deals will allow users to unlock discounts on check-in. Harrahs in Las Vegas is one of the first hotels to do this.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ-rTseVwes
That’s it, two really simple tips, and a couple that are a bit more advanced but still worth the effort.
Claiming your property and encouraging check-ins should be easy wins for anyone with a physical address, while Deals and the Graph API are huge opportunities for those willing to put in some extra effort.