The travel industry’s appetite for new ventures or content platforms that can lend a new dimension to the whole travel planning experience continues to grow, and video is playing a bigger part than ever.

In early May, DoubleTree by Hilton introduced DTour, a YouTube channel created in collaboration with Google. According to the company, DTour is the first custom-built YouTube brand channel in the hotel industry. Users can also explore other travellers’ favourite photos, videos, tips and stories and so on to plan their next trip. It also features tips from the hotel team members.  

“We are currently living in the information age, and travellers love to see and know as much about a place as they can before they travel,” says John Greenleaf, global head, DoubleTree by Hilton.

The company believes that by amplifying video content through DTour, it can give travellers visual and audio insights into what they can expect when they travel. “Then all they have to do is stay with us and experience it themselves,” says Greenleaf.

EyeforTravel.com’s Ritesh Gupta talks to Greenleaf about the gap the team is trying to address with this new initiative and how it is being promoted.

EFT: What factors did you consider while planning this initiative with Google?

JL: Through research (From Google Traveller's Road to Decision study, 2012) we know that 70% of leisure travellers start their planning without knowing where they are going to go on their trip. With this insight, we knew we had the opportunity to step in and engage with consumers, share destination recommendations from the local market experts in our hotels and provide a platform for guests to come back and add their own experiences during or after their trips.

EFT: How does this interactive, user-generated travel community fit in with your social media strategy?

JL: We are a very social brand and believe that social media is simply an extension of our hotels. We have so much local market knowledge coming from our team members across our 340+ hotels around the world that we felt it was time to highlight them beyond the occasional Facebook share. On DTour, they are known as our DTour Guides.

Also with DTour we are able to give travellers a platform to explore destinations and share their experiences and recommendations with other potential travellers, all while leveraging content from multiple social platforms. This natural engagement and interaction is something we strive to achieve across all our social platforms.

EFT: How do you expect this brand building initiative to progress?  

JL: We really want DTour to become a go-to place for our guests and potential travellers when looking for inspiration for their next holiday. To build the initiative and keep it fresh, we will be celebrating new travel themes every two months. For example, this May and June we are celebrating travel that ‘Expands Your Horizons’ and teaches you something new. This July and August we will be celebrating travellers who ‘Feel The Sensation’ and take full advantage of the summer months. By refreshing these themes every two months for the next year, we hope to generate content for all travel types to explore and discover.

EFT: Is it a deliberate attempt to get closer to travellers while they are planning their trips?

JL: Yes, that is exactly what we are trying to do with DTour. Again, we know that 70% of leisure travellers are unsure of where they want to go. We want them to come to DTour and discover experiences they can enjoy across the globe. Then we hope they then consider us when booking their trip.

EFT: What sort of role does social networking play in the travel planning process at this point, and how do you intend to capitalise on this?

We have threaded social networking into all of our marketing efforts, whether it is rate sales, new products we are introducing, or new locations we are opening. We look to make everything we can shareable and engage our guests with interesting content that they can use when planning travel. And we don’t stop there. We are constantly keeping our ears open on our social channels for guests who are currently at one of our hotels or those who have recently stayed, engaging our guests throughout the full travel process.

EFT: How do you intend to popularise this channel?

We are pulling all of our marketing levers to get the word out about DTour. We’ve implemented a robust digital marketing campaign, a public relations campaign, and of course the ‘DTour of a Lifetime Contest (which ran until May 31). We are looking for six travellers ready for an adventure anywhere from two weeks to two months. These six ‘DTourists’ will be travelling through one of the six continents where DoubleTree by Hilton has hotels and providing content for DTour along the way.

We are also talking with guests while they are at our hotels, and leveraging not only our brand social media channels but also those of our hotels. We hope that the unique and easy to use nature of DTour will ignite some organic word of mouth with our guests and social communities.

EFT: Why did you choose to integrate all major social media networks in one place?

We wanted to make it as easy as possible for travellers to share their experiences. On DTour, a user can easily grab a photo from a Facebook Album or Instagram account or share a video they’ve loaded to YouTube in a few easy clicks. There’s no fussing with downloading videos, then uploading them again. This way, people can spend more time exploring travel experiences on the site.