chrisbrogan.com - Latest Comments in Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

Re: Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

summerfails — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 07:05:10 -0000

The thought of exotic travel is just absolutely exhilarating to me-it’s something I want my household to be able to do and take advantage of not just in retirement but now, my frugality is just a stepping stone to new adventures beyond a loathsome cubicle. Extensive travel is quite appealing because you get to immerse yourself in the culture. That being said the $140 fee per American citizen is insane, I wonder is this just levied on American citizens or all non South America mainland citizens, wow-that’s crazy. It’s much better to have too much than to be strapped for cash. Preliminary research is critical in even setting a budget. Thankfully the Internet makes a less burdensome task.
_______________________
Bangkok Hotels

Re: Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

one dollar cookware — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 03:14:06 -0000

I have been posting here for long, I did find this post really worth of publishing to another forums and share with other friends, well I do it on your permission, coz I think this will help several

Re: Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

cozmiuk — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:47:32 -0000

I stayed at the Roger Smith hotel in a two bedroom suite for 3 nights. The suite was large, with a king sized bed, a twin bed and it had a pull-out couch in a large living area. There was also a desk, a dining table and a kitchenette. With the three closets one of them as large as the kitchenette we had plenty of space for all of us to spread out, It was probably the most roomy of the hotels NY midtown since it is 5-6 blocks from the subway. The only downfall was that the steam from the bathroom would set off the smoke alarm.

Re: Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

prosourcecorp — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 09:55:28 -0000

I head this over the radio and it was cool.

Video Production Phoenix

Re: Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

Puppet_Micha — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 13:06:15 -0000

Now that's what I call great PR! Chapeau to them, and guess what, now I'm curious about it!
_______________________________
Melbourne Hotels

Re: Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

Club Penguin Cheats — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 22:09:50 -0000

Excellent way to use social media for social marketing. This works with big a listers. What about us beginners? ;-)

Re: Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

Payday Loans — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 20:52:47 -0000

Look forward to reading more from you in the future. Thanks.

Re: Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

Hoteles Punta Umbria — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:36:23 -0000

Too late ---

Re: Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

susice — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:43:25 -0000

I thought your blog post about finding a hotel in NYC was a good, real-life example of how to use social media to drive your business. Then, this Techipedia article comes out about the Roger Smith's conscious social media marketing strategy - nice to hear the story from the other side, too.

http://www.techipedia.com/2...

Re: Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

Hirochisung — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 02:27:33 -0000

I think it is all very interesting. If it is not very expensive with all the best because we're finding good locations. For the rest of the trip with our family.

Re: Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

Club Penguin Cheats — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 01:54:43 -0000

It only makes me more curious as to what other businesses will come up with in response to this. I suppose time will tell!

Re: Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

hotel-chiangmai — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 06:16:34 -0000

Thanks for the information, it's definitely a big plus for anyone to know!

Re: Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

coachpalmer — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 10:50:47 -0000

Great example of social media in action to create real value for the participants and generate revenue for a business.

Re: Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

bsimi — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 08:47:03 -0000

David, Frank & Chris,
I love this - this is what we need to learn and most importantly improve our efforts in regards to SM as a whole. We are ready for critism, more importantly we are ready to react when it comes.
I appreciate ALL the feedback and banter and thank you personally for being an important part of our learning curve.
Let's all keep this up and we will all succeed!
Bsimi

Re: Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

David Kinard — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 00:01:09 -0000

The other day I asked on Twitter what is the shelf-life of a social media conversation? Does the number or frequency of entries limit the exploration and depth of a topic? Well, I am pleased to see the depth of this conversation and the quality of responses -- well after the original post.

Kudos to Brian Simpson of Roger Smith for responding. I am really glad you did that as it reinforces your commitment to be a part of the social conversation. I also appreciated that Chris commented -- even if he did disagree with my original post. And, for the record, I stand corrected in that it appears the Roger Smith Hotel is indeed tracking the impact of its social media participation.

Indeed, in troubling economic times, I applaud the hotel for reaching out to a niche group and working to meet their needs. Hospitality is a fierce market to compete in, and servicing the unique needs of specific audiences is a great way to gain new business. I look forward to reading about the success of the hotel in the WSJ someday soon!

-- David Kinard

Re: Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

frank — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 22:48:05 -0000

Wow ... I love the sharing going on here. I can appreciate the variety of thoughts/comments especially between David, Chris and Brian.

Overall It looks to have been a great experience for Chris and brought some nice buzz to the hotel. Though i tend to agree with David on his 3rd point - i doubt I'd get the same treatment :) ... but I'm cool with that. @chrisbrogan has done a lot in the SM space and it makes total sense to extend this kind of services to folks like him who benefit from the experience and spread a good word about the hotel to the thousands of people who see his content.

All that said, it's also cool to see that this strategy is a way of life for the hotel. I would have never thought hotels were this into social media ... at least down to the personal level that this interaction has taken - not just broadcasting, but engaging people. Many props to Brian and the rest of the hotel staff!

I will definitely think of this hotel the next time im in NYC so the strategy Brian and his hotel are taking seems to be working very well :)

---
http://twitter.com/franswaa

Re: Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

bsimi — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 19:41:53 -0000

Dear David K.,
From a purely financial standpoint, I couldn't agree more about 'making money' at this rate. We need to promote, advertise and expose our business to as many people as possible. We are choosing to extend bloggers a discount because it is a market segment that we want to embrace. Social Media at The Roger Smith Hotel is a life-style not a new method of 'bait n' switch'. We were a sponsor at Twestivalnyc, our in-house video team Panman Productions was involved with all the live-streaming for SMWNYC, another blogger - Lisa deBruin @winedivergirl, was also here over the weekend and had similar compliments towards our hotel, the service and the wonderful staff/family we have.
As the Director of F&B and resident SM assistant to Adam, my goal is to make everyone a 'VIP' (3 of the worst letters in hospitality) If you come and spend 10 minutes in our bar having a coffee or a week here filming and blogging our commitment to you is making your moments turn into memories.
Thank you for your insight ~ just remember, here at The Roger Smith Hotel every guest is very important.
p.s. As a side note we have booked 11 events since last week all from people exposed to the hotel through direct SM efforts.
Stay social, stay real, stay connected.

Re: Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

chrisbrogan — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 13:12:09 -0000

Hi David--

C.C. Chapman booked the very next day, so they got a sale they weren't going to get. Further, judging by the comments and those in Twitter, they'll get more sales the next time someone comes through.

Cutting a rate is typical in hotels for bloggers or otherwise. Not sure you're following the dynamics, but the hotel business is choking right now. Not enough people are traveling, and they're not staying as long when they do.

The benefit that Roger Smith gains from targeting bloggers and media makers specifically was played out right here on my blog by what I did next: I talked about it. Further, I showed you a video so you could make your own decisions.

The point, David, is that should someone who read this post be booking something in New York City in the coming months, they'll at least consider the Roger Smith. Do you think with hundreds of options that it's a small feat? Not me.

So, we might beg to differ, but I see this as a great marketing move.

Re: Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

David Kinard — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 23:49:20 -0000

Chris --

Here's an unpopular thought (and one I'd love to hear from about from Adam Wallace) -- although you had a great experience, told others about it, and the comments to your post are overwhelmingly positive -- I see a startling lack of awareness of the bottom line profitability all this love generated.

Truly, I think that this was a great example of how social media connects people and can be used to generate buzz, but:

1) Did the hotel make any money from your stay? I can only imagine that the free upgrade, the discounted room, and the bought drinks cost more than the mere $125 you paid. (I have two blog posts on how to measure marketing like this -- you can read Metric Monday posts at http://www.davidkinard.com).

2) Was there any mechanism put into place that will allow the Roger Smith Hotel to see if their generosity and social media efforts will pay off? How is this scalable across the hospitality vertical in a profitable and measureable way?

3) What expectations were created by your experience that are likely not to be repeated by the non-celebrity blogger? When the guy with a blog readership of 250 shows up, will he get a free upgrade or did you just get the VIP treatment because you're a VIP?

I think if anything, they gained in loyalty from you, and I applaud that Adam Wallace acted in a manner that sought to delight the customer. For sure you had a great brand experience. But at the end of the day, unless they are treating all their guests this same way, that brand experience is likley yours alone to appreciate. The social media link here is that we got to vicariously enjoy it through you -- and seeing how the vast majority of people who read your post are NOT likely to go to New York and stay at this hotel, our brand experience was with you, not the Roger Smith Hotel.

My humble opinion...

-- David Kinard

Re: Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

Moto — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:53:39 -0000

I seconnd Krista's comment; come to Park City this spring, and we'll match that rate for a slopeside condo. Just bring your skis (and video cam).

Re: Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

Krista Parry — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:06:26 -0000

Thanks for the timely post. I've been trying to help my PR committee understand why bloggers are media, with even more reach. This post will help me greatly! Would love to have you in Park City, UT.

Re: Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

chrisbrogan — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:04:18 -0000

@Joe - it was a Flip Mino. I love mine. It's my second Flip camera. Will use them always.

Re: Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

Rachel Burkot — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 09:16:58 -0000

Wow, I think people underestimate the value in giving something away for less than it's worth with the expectation of a bigger payoff in the long run. This has a lot to do with incentive and can be transferred easily to any marketing strategy. By giving you a suite that was worth a lot more than $125 for the night, they probably more than made up for that in the business generated by you talking about the room and sharing it on your blog. And it makes them seem generous, like they are giving something up, while they are actually gaining from it. It's a great image for them and great for business. More people should use strategies like that.

Re: Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

ExploreMyBlog — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 04:56:59 -0000

That's great $125, I would really appreciate if i get same for me also next time when i visit to New York, i would prefer Roger Smith Hotel.

Re: Cafe Shaped Business – The Roger Smith Hotel

seosoeasy — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 04:49:00 -0000

Wonderful posts and i had valuable time by watching your video.Thanks a lot.