Foursquare for Hospitality

Apr 27, 10 | 1:58 am

By Teg Brar

Foursquare is the new social location aware platform that is fast gaining popularity. Only time will tell if it is the next Twitter, however I feel it can have huge implications for the hospitality industry. This shiny new creation of Dennis Crowley (of the dodgeball fame) and Naveen Selvadurai earned ‘darling status at South by Southwest in Austin this year, similar to Twitter in 2007. As the web goes mobile, location sharing applications are making a splash and there is no doubt that the future of the web lies in the palms of our hands. Here are some fundamental basics of Foursquare and its perceived value for hospitality businesses.

-Sign up for a free account at www.foursquare.com and use it with your mobile device

-Connect with your other friends who are using Foursquare.

-Check into different locations bars, cafes, night clubs, restaurants etc. Your GPS enabled mobile device automatically determines your location.

-Every time you check into a location you earn points. If you check into a particular location more than anyone else, you are awarded ‘mayor' status for that spot (sounds influential indeed). You hold this title until someone else frequents the location more often than you! This gaming aspect of the platform is why it's gaining exponential growth.

-When checked into a location, you can leave ‘shouts' for others to see. For example, great coffee at Caffé!  

So how can hospitality businesses take advantage?

-Cafes, restaurants and hotels can reward users for checking into their location using Foursquare. For example, 50% discount on coffee for users checked into a location.

-A separate weekly promotion to reward ‘mayors' every week. Free coffee! Think about it, this could really be an offshoot of your loyalty program...

-Establishments will gain popularity and generate more revenue when more people are checked in   

-Businesses can reap the benefits of ‘shouts' and ‘tips' from happy customers

-People might use this platform as a tool to see which of their friends have checked into a certain location or how busy a particular location is. This might even influence their decision to frequent a club or restaurant! So businesses have every reason to ensure that they stay in the game!

-Hospitality businesses can benefit from the robust information available about their customers and competition using this platform.

About the author

Teg Brar, MSc. is an innovative educator and mentor specializing in customer experience, marketing and hospitality. With several years of hospitality management experience in luxury hotels in the US, Canada, Australia & Switzerland, he has been teaching and consulting for the last seven years. He serves as a Mentor in the Leaders of Tomorrow Program at the Vancouver Board of Trade and is the founding Principal at Alpina International, Swiss Hospitality Training and eHospitality Training. He sits on the Education Committee of the Council on Hotel, Restaurant & Institutional Education and is a member of the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International. He authors Hospitality Basics, a blog about customer service experience and hospitality.  

Teg holds a Master of Science Degree from Johnson & Wales University, USA and a Diploma in Hospitality Management from the Institut Hotelier Cesar Ritz, Switzerland. He is the founding President of the Cesar Ritz Alumni Chapter in Canada.