I’m a big user of social media. I use it to keep in touch with family and friends, share information for business purposes, build brands for my clients, etc. If you don’t follow me on Twitter (@406Northlane) please do! (Though, I can’t promise that I won’t offend you at some point 🙂 ) Also, have you checked out the 406Northlane Facebook page and “liked it”? I could keep plugging… but I digress…
I was recently on a business trip to San Francisco and I encountered the greatest use of social media I’d ever run across.
I was in town for a conference which was being held at the Westin St. Francis – www.westinstfrancis.com I was lucky enough to be staying at the same hotel which is always a treat cause you don’t have to worry about walking or taking a cab to and from the conference. When I got there, I checked in on Foursquare (which I shared with my Twitter account). Almost immediately I received a Twitter mention from the Westin’s Twitter account (@WestinStFr) thanking me for the check in and welcoming me to San Francisco. I have to say I’m not typically a fan of auto-tweets which this clearly is, but in this case I really didn’t mind. It was a brand reaching out to a user in the same manner in which they’d been contacted.
Later that evening after the day’s activities we headed to the Westin’s hotel bar for a drink. When I got arrived in the lobby, my co-worker had a Miller Lite waiting for me. (Gotta love a friend like that right?!?!) I checked in using my UnTappd ID, iuchewie if you want to follow/friend me there, which is once again tied to my Twitter account. If the mention from the Foursquare check in was a nice touch, what I found when I returned to my room at the end of the night was simply amazing…
At first glance, I figured this may be the hotel’s way to get me to purchase overpriced beer from the mini bar. Upon further inspection, I realized this was something really special. In addition to the two iced Miller Lites and pretzels that were laid before me, there was a personalized note from the hotel’s marketing coordinator Danielle Perez, as well as a business card from the desk manager Zach Stephens. WOW.
As I said before, I’m a regular user of social media, and for something to really get my attention like this I thought was really special. My next Instagram / Twitter message said it all:
“Hands down, THE single best use of social media I’ve ever encountered. MAD props to the Westin. Please share!!!”
The Morning After
I did have one question / concern about this experience. Actually concern is too strong a word. Curiosity would be a better description.
How did the Westin link my UnTappd checkin (user iuchewie) which was shared via Twitter (user 406Northlane) and Foursquare (user 406Northlane) with a guest in their hotel which was registered using a corporate credit card under my real name? As far as I know there are no links between those social media accounts an my name (by design 🙂 )
I had Danielle’s name, but I didn’t have her email address. So… I once again turned to social media. I sent the Westin a Twitter message and asked if they’d put me in contact with her. They obliged and I sent her a note asking the above question. Her response showed once again that the Westin is willing to go the extra mile for their guests:
“Hi Greg,
It’s is great to hear such positive feedback! We do our best to provide personal and instinctive service here at the Westin St. Francis and social media helps us do that.
…
To answer your question about how I found you, I saw your name was Greg on your blog. Then I simply searched our registered guests for a Greg from Cleveland. Luckily, there was only one so I assumed it was you.”
Once again, I say WOW. Danielle certainly didn’t need to go to this level to please a guest, but I have to say it certainly made an impact on me. After all, I tweeted it, put it on Facebook, shared it on Instagram and now I’m writing a post about it. And isn’t that what social media is all about? To those that think this may be a little creepy or an “invasion of privacy” I’ll simply say this… When I share these things on Twitter, Foursquare, etc. I’m ASSUMING people are seeing it. Otherwise why would I be sharing it? If someone like Danielle is going to go that extra mile and use that information to engage her user then I say “BRAVO!”
After such a phenomenal social media experience, I had to give one last goodbye. I tweeted this in conjunction with a final Foursquare checkin:
“Thanks for a great trip Westin! (@ The Westin St. Francis San Francisco on Union Square w/ 6 others) 4sq.com/XVoQgr“
To which I received this follow up tweet…
“@406Northlane We’re sad to see you go & hope you can return to San Francisco again soon!”
I’m not sure when exactly I’ll be returning to “The City By The Bay” but I can assure you that when I return I’ll be staying at the Westin St. Francis. Special thanks again to the social media team at the Westin St. Francis and especially to Ms. Perez.
