📌 Hospitality Highlights: 21st August 2023

Serving Fresh Marketing Developments, Trends, Buyer Behaviour & Strategic Intel

In this week's Hospitality Highlights Marketing Newsletter

• Instagram Launches Musical Carousels

• TikTok Publishes New Playbook for Travel Marketers

• YouTube Tests New Anti-adblocker Popup With Countdown Timer

• YouTube New and Returning Viewers Analytics

• Google Demand Gen Campaigns Beta Opens, Will Soon Replace Discovery Ads

• Google Launches New Transparency Center to Provide More Info on Platform Policies

• Musk Says X Will Address Shadowbanning ‘Soon’

• Luxury Sales Spike as Travellers Splurge on Private Experiences

• Wayaway Responds to Untapped Demand for Female-Led Travel Experiences

• WhatsApp Unveils a Screen-Sharing Feature for Video Calls

• #AskDawnGribble - What is it like to be a contestant on MasterChef?

☕ Grab a coffee, and let’s get started!

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Hospitality Highlights - Marketing News

🎶 Instagram Launches Musical Carousels

Instagram has introduced new features to enhance creativity and collaboration on the platform. Users can now add music to their photo carousels, bringing them to life and setting the mood. Instagram plans to expand its music library to more countries and has partnered with Spotify in Mexico and Brazil to feature popular Reels songs on a dedicated chart. 

The Collabs feature allows users to invite up to three friends to co-author feed posts, carousels, or reels, reaching a wider audience. Creators can use the Add Yours sticker to invite followers to participate in fun prompts and challenges, selecting their favourite submissions to highlight fan creativity. 

Exciting news for marketers who want to create more immersive experiences with music to suit the mood of their guests and diners. Experiment with Musical Carousels for special events like Couples Nights or Seasonal Specials.
http://askdawn.link/bXQ9hL 

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📖 TikTok Publishes New Playbook for Travel Marketers

TikTok has released a travel marketing playbook to help travel-related businesses tap into the growing interest in holidays on the platform. The playbook provides research notes, engagement trends, content consumption tips, campaign inspiration, case studies, ad type recommendations, and implementation guidance. 

TikTok reports that 96% of its users are interested in travel experiences, and 77% claim that the app has influenced their recent travel purchases. While access to the playbook requires an email address, it offers valuable insights for travel marketers.

Download the report here: http://askdawn.link/3UGVZi 

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⏳ YouTube Tests New Anti-adblocker Popup With Countdown Timer

YouTube is testing a new anti-adblocker popup with a countdown timer indicating when the following advertisement will play. The popup appears in the top right corner and shows non-paying viewers how much time they have before another ad begins. Users can choose to "Allow YouTube Ads" or "Try YouTube Premium." 

YouTube wants to convince non-paying viewers to sign up for its Premium service, which offers an ad-free experience, but some people have been resisting due to the increased cost of YouTube accounts. YouTube claims these measures aim to ensure fair compensation for its content creators.

By removing Ad Blockers, YouTube advertisers in the hospitality industry should see increased watch and engagement rates. http://askdawn.link/HuddZ6 

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📊 YouTube New and Returning Viewers Analytics

YouTube Analytics has recently introduced the ability to report on new and returning viewers. This previously inaccessible feature will help creators make informed, data-driven decisions and refine their channels for optimum engagement and retention.

By analysing viewer behaviours in relation to different video formats, creators can gain a deeper understanding of what compels viewers to return. This invaluable feedback mechanism will play a pivotal role in enhancing viewer retention and elevating the overall performance of their channels. http://askdawn.link/2vUQiu

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✨ Google Demand Gen Campaigns Beta Opens, Will Soon Replace Discovery Ads

Google Ads is preparing to replace its Discovery ads with a new campaign type called Demand Gen, powered by AI. The beta access for Demand Gen campaigns is now available. 

The new campaign combines image and video ads and can drive conversions, site visits, and actions across YouTube, Discover, and Gmail. Some key features of Demand Gen include different ad formats within one campaign, lookalike segments to find similar customers, and the ability to optimise for conversions or use value-based bidding strategies. 

Google Ads will roll out the Demand Gen campaigns to all advertisers in October 2023, with historical data carrying over. All Discovery campaigns are expected to be upgraded to Demand Gen by early 2024.

As with other digital channels, we see the combination of video, imagery, and music to create immersive advertising. Restaurants and hotels should embrace this approach now to get ahead. http://askdawn.link/P8wopR

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🔍  Google Launches New Transparency Center to Provide More Info on Platform Policies

Google has launched an updated version of its Transparency Center to provide easier access to its policy and process documentation. The centre includes information on Google's platform rules, reporting and appeals, transparency reports, and more. 

Although the content is not new, the hub makes it easier to access the relevant information. Users can learn about the policy development process, enforcement and view policies by product and service. The centre also allows users to submit reports.

This will be useful for in-house marketing teams across the hospitality industry.
http://askdawn.link/36iZV3 

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❌ Musk Says X Will Address Shadowbanning ‘Soon’

Elon Musk has pledged to address the issue of "shadowbanning" on X. 

Shadowbanning suppresses a user's content to ensure it is not widely circulated or visible to the public without outright banning the user.

Shadowbanning has historically caused concerns among Twitter users unaware of the penalty imposed on their tweets. At the Viva Tech conference, Musk mentioned that X is working on a solution to inform users if their accounts have been affected by the platform's system. http://askdawn.link/2gh5AJ 

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💳 Luxury Sales Spike as Travellers Splurge on Private Experiences

Virtuoso Luxury Sales have surged as high-net-worth travellers prioritise exclusive experiences over price. Sales of exclusive experiences and yacht bookings have risen significantly. Luxury travellers are spending $10,000 to $50,000 per trip. 

Sales across all travel sectors are up 69% compared to 2019 and 36% compared to 2022, with cruise sales up 106%. Yacht bookings for 2023 are up 79%. Travellers value personalised recommendations and unique discoveries, particularly in Mexico, Hong Kong, Brazil, China, and Australia.  

Culinary experiences remain a key driver of luxury travel.
http://askdawn.link/Ee2gGO 

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👩‍🦰 Wayaway Responds to Untapped Demand for Female-Led Travel Experiences

WayAway, a travel metasearch website, has introduced a new feature called 'female traveller approved points of interest' in response to feedback from female users. Over 100 points of interest, including hotels owned by women and places with a female focus, have been included in the recent launch. WayAway plans to increase the number of inclusions to the low thousands by the end of the year. 

A survey revealed that 87% of respondents would choose a hotel labelled women-led, citing safety as the main advantage. WayAway aims to tap into the underserved market of female travellers while addressing safety concerns for solo female travellers.  

http://askdawn.link/Dr6N0a

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📱 WhatsApp Unveils a Screen-Sharing Feature for Video Calls

WhatsApp has introduced a new feature that allows users to share their screens during video calls. The beta testing phase is complete, and the feature is now being rolled out in stages across Android, iOS, and Windows desktop platforms. 

Meta aims to make WhatsApp the go-to platform for all types of meetings by offering enhanced video call features for free, accommodating up to 32 users simultaneously. Meta's financial strength is expected to drive WhatsApp's expansion in the market. 

Will WhatsApp replace Zoom? Let me know in the comments
http://askdawn.link/ay4E5j 

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#AskDawnGribble

Each week, I answer your question and provide expert tips and advice to help you stay ahead of your competition. This week’s question is a throwback - and is my most-viewed answer over on Quora: 

What is it like to be a contestant on MasterChef?

I’ve always loved cooking, and over the years, various friends and family members, particularly my husband, had encouraged me to apply for MasterChef; I laughed it off mostly but was grateful for their kindness.

That all changed in 2013; I volunteered to cook for a local group and was stunned at the positive feedback I’d received over the homemade food I cooked for them. With my confidence boosted, I checked the BBC website for the application process, and as luck would have it, the applications had just opened.

The first step was a written application; I decided to use this as an opportunity to tell my story and how I came to love cooking. I included stories from my childhood, how my Nan used to make Roast Dinners, how my indefatigable Home Economics teacher inspired me, and how my biggest goal was to make Gregg Wallace cry with a good pud!

A few weeks later, I received a telephone call from the production team; now, my nerves were on edge! Was I answering their questions correctly? Was I interesting enough? Luckily I had, and I was invited to attend an on-camera interview at a hotel in Bristol.

My instructions were to bring a pre-cooked dish you prepared and cooked at home. The interview location had no heating facilities, so I was asked to remember that the dish would be eaten cold. At this point, I was extremely excited and desperately wanted to show off my range of skills. I settled on creating a trio of soups that I could take with me in thermos flasks so that they would remain hot, apart from the Gazpacho! I arrived at the hotel with my Chicken Consomme, traditional Pea & Ham soup, quirky serving dishes, and freshly baked soda bread.

The interviewers were amazing and put me at ease straight away, they loved that I had brought them a hot dish (my home was 100 miles from the hotel), and I left the interview feeling very positive, though slightly nervous that I may have said the wrong thing!

Less than two weeks after the interview, my mobile rang - it was a London number! My heart started beating wildly, I knew that they would only contact me if I’d made it through to the show. I had! I remember bouncing on the sofa after getting the news - but I had to keep my involvement a secret - the most exciting thing that had happened to me, and I couldn’t tell a soul!

I spent the next few weeks preparing for the show, working out which dishes to make and practising them over and over, I studied cookbooks and techniques, committed classic French recipes to memory and worried endlessly if I’d look OK on camera.

When the time arrived, I hopped on the train to London, staying at a hotel the night before filming started. In the morning, as I waited in the hotel lobby, I tried to work out who my fellow contestants were - who was wearing flat shoes?

After a few minutes, the producers arrived, and the others waiting and I were quickly introduced, and then walked around to the studio location. Seeing the MasterChef logo on the brick wall and knowing this was the area where the ‘contestants enter’ shot was filmed was surreal! After a few takes, we were ushered into the studio and showed around the kitchen; it was much bigger than it looked on the television.

The filming days were long as we had interviews between the challenges, and the production teams needed time to reset the kitchen. As a result, the contestants and I had time to bond, and bond we did; we were all in an unfamiliar yet familiar location, facing the same pressures in a unique set of circumstances.

The pressure in the kitchen is phenomenal, from getting used to blisteringly hot ovens to exceptionally sharp knives and frying pans with heavy thick bases that seemed to take an age to heat up - and my concept of time changed completely! It seemed to race past at record pace; no sooner had John Torode announced, “Let’s Cook!” it seemed that Gregg was saying, “1 minute left.”

Having your dishes judged by professionals was a nerve-wracking experience, at home if you need a few extra minutes to finish off a dish, you have that luxury, but in this environment, there was no such luck - (and ultimately, being a few minutes late with a dish lead to my exit from the competition - of course back then I didn’t know I had ADHD, and had no medication to help me focus.)

Waiting for the results was the worst part as we were filmed in ‘quiet contemplation’ while the studio was prepared, the nerves and tension ramped up with every single second - my friends told me afterwards that they never realised what the pressure was like until they saw how terrified I looked on screen!

My signature dish (a Devon Squab pie) split the judges, Gregg didn’t like it at all - but John said he loved it, I felt so happy I would cry! After a long first day, it was time for the first set of contestants to be eliminated, I prepared myself to leave, but when my name wasn’t called, I was completely shocked! I didn’t sleep at all that night when we returned to the hotel; soon and after what seemed an age, it was time for Day 2.

Our challenge for Day 2 was to cook 2 dishes for previous champions, I had chosen to make Venison with a Wild Blueberry sauce (known as Whortleberries in Devon)  and a Chocolate Orange Fondant with a Cardamom Creme Anglais. 

My nerves got to me, and I missed my timing on the first dish - I had felt so stressed out, but then the realisation hit me - this would be my last day in the competition, and I was OK with that, I’d had a wonderful time, but the pressure was intense - all I wanted to do was nail the Chocolate Fondant, and I could leave with my head held high.

Luckily the fondant turned out perfectly, with all of the guest judges praising the dish - of course, I had no idea how it had turned out until a few months later when the episode aired! Only then did I realise how close I’d been to making it through to the finals.

My MasterChef experience was a rollercoaster of emotions, I’m so very glad and lucky to have taken part. These days I express my love of food and hospitality in my kitchen at home - and of course - across the digital ecosystem.

(That’s me in the front wearing black) 

Got a Question? Simply comment on this newsletter or social media with #AskDawnGribble

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Still to Come in August 

• Instagram Strategy - Part 3: Community Management 

• Campaign Plan: Christmas

• Why Customers Are Turning on AirBnb

• Hospitality Leaders Personal Brand Strategy

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That’s a wrap for the week! 

Please don't hesitate to contact me with any feedback or suggestions for future topics. Here's to Your Success 🥂