Florida’s newest central coast hotel launched into a new market with the help of Flip.to— marketing growth platform built for travel
January 29, 2019 — Orlando, FL — Hard Rock Hotel Daytona Beach has switched on an entirely new approach to travel marketing with Flip.to, the advocacy marketing platform for hotels and travel brands.
Flip.to lets guests share their Hard Rock experience worldwide, debuting the property to a massive audience by opening up an entirely new marketing channel. The platform closes the loop on these conversations sparked, delivering authentic, personal conversations to inspire & win over new travelers for the hotel.
For Hard Rock Hotel Daytona Beach, that’s made a measurable impact for their business, earning nearly 100,000 in monthly reach, and tens of thousands of dollars in direct revenue so far.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: NEWLY OPENED HARD ROCK TAPS FLIP.TO
Opening its doors to guests in March of 2018, Hard Rock International brought modern luxury to the Daytona Beach market in partnership with Summit Hospitality Management, who invested $40 million into the 200-room beachfront property. It’s since set the bar for an entirely new level of guest experience in Daytona, earning its AAA 4-Diamond status just five months after hosting travelers for the first time.
Beyond the hotel’s extensive renovation, raising awareness and attracting travelers for this new Hard Rock experience was a critical piece of a successful launch. That charge was lead by industry-leader and years-long user of Flip.to, Susan Keaveney, Hard Rock Hotel Daytona Beach’s inaugural Director of Marketing.
Hard Rock Hotel Daytona Beach — 918 N Atlantic Ave, Daytona Beach, FL 32118 https://www.hardrockhotels.com/daytona-beach
SETTING THE STAGE FOR SUCCESS
Keaveney joined her post in October of 2017—just six short months prior to the hotel’s opening. She quickly aimed to drive demand for the newly minted property that was soon to be at the top of its market.
Knowing the proven results of the platform and its ability to net immediate impact, Keaveney saw Flip.to as the a perfect fit to start inspiring travelers. With this in mind, Keaveney launched the platform in April of 2018 to start powering growth for their property and top her goals.
“As a new concept to the area, we were on a strict timeline and budget to increase the visibility for this unique Hard Rock experience with the right travelers—everyone from families seeking one-of-a-kind vacations, to those dialing-it-up at one of our events. This meant promoting the authentic spirit that defines the brand to a wide audience that was still highly targeted.
Switching on Flip.to helped tackle this goal by letting travelers share their Hard Rock experience to family & friends globally. This made for an incredibly receptive audience excited to hear about our property, and we saw impact from the first traveler who shared. With the platform we’re easily translating these efforts into business impact, tracking success at every stage down the funnel down to travelers earned.”
With Flip.to, Hard Rock Hotel Daytona Beach are reaching a new audience of nearly one hundred thousand organically each and every month, totalling more than 860,000 in reach, so far.
This drove more than 52,000 unique site visits and 5,000+ opted-in, warm leads for travelers interested in a trip to the Hard Rock in just the first 9 months, a remarkable 2.7X better than the industry benchmark for paid search, and a testament to the receptive warmth of the audience and quality demographic.
Add to that tens of thousands of dollars in directly booked room revenue, and the platform has made a lasting impression for Hard Rock Hotel Daytona Beach.
HARD ROCK STILL SHINES ON THE PLATFORM
With 9 months on the platform, Keaveney and the Hard Rock Hotel team are looking ahead to even more growth on the platform. Together with Flip.to they’re crafting rich experiences to put the newest member of the Hard Rock International brand at the center of every traveler’s journey.
Flip.to President, Ed St. Onge, who’s worked with Keaveney spanning her many roles as a veteran in travel, had this to add:
“Hard Rock Hotel Daytona Beach provides experiences guests won’t soon forget, and are excited to share on. Flip.to has been key in tapping into what’s well known as an influential factor in choosing travel: recommendations from friends & family. And the impact of the platform extends even far beyond that, with quality that’s simply unmatched.
It’s shown time and again to drive the warmest traffic with higher conversion. And beyond reach, these audiences are being nurtured down to a buying decision, helping the hotel build long-term traveler relationships that net out better in every way.”
Now part of the portfolio for the Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG) as of December, 2018, Hard Rock Hotel Daytona Beach’s goal is to continue to accelerating. In addition to building a wealth of traveler relationships, the property plans to continue enhancing its marketing strategy side-by-side with the platform. Keaveney added on Flip.to:
“I was an early adopter of the Flip.to platform, and now have been a customer spanning its growth at multiple properties I’ve marketed. As the landscape evolved, so too has the platform, bringing solves to the table that truly set out to make travel better for everyone, business and traveler included.
Flip.to will continue to be a part of my marketing strategy and an extension of my team at the Hard Rock Hotel Daytona Beach.”
Stories and experiences shared by recent travelers to the Hard Rock Hotel Daytona Beach. See more at: https://hardrockhotels.stories.travel
GETTING STARTED
Embodying the essence of the Hard Rock brand—a kinetic spirit that's ageless and electric—panoramic ocean views and legendary amenities are what awaits travelers to the Hard Rock Hotel Daytona Beach. To see the authentic experiences being shared firsthand, visit https://hardrockhotels.stories.travel/gallery, or reserve your stay today at https://www.hardrockhotels.com/daytona-beach.
To get started with Flip.to for hotels, the advocacy platform for that reaches, converts and inspires and entirely new global audience every day, take a tour, or see other hotels shining on the platform, here: https://www.flip.to/customers/hotels.
