Red Lion Hotels is creating hyper-local mobile and online experiences for its 44 hotels to make it easy for customers to access information about local restaurants and other attractions.

The hotel chain has partnered with TravelClick to create a dynamic interactive travel research and booking experience for guests. Each hotel property will have its own unique hyper-local online storefront with information tailored specifically to its region.

“Mobile and tablet specific solutions are key to the re-launch of Red Lion online,” said Pamela Scott, director of corporate communications at Red Lion Hotels, Spokane, WA.

“We are thrilled by the adoption rate of smartphone and tablet usage among Red Lion customers,” she said. “This group is increasingly becoming a significant percentage of our overall traffic, and the Red Lion team is addressing that need from design, multimedia and technological perspectives.  

“Most hotels ignore why people travel; many of the larger chains seem to have forgotten the joy of exploring a new town or city.  Red Lion will invigorate the online experience by offering the best of everything local, highlighting favorites, celebrating honest answers, hometown buzz and a real local smile.”

Collecting experiences
 The new mobile and Web platforms, which will be released in the fall, will be designed to give customers the inside scoop on local attractions with an online experience that fuses mobile, social media and interactive map technologies. 

Red Lion is combining TravelClick’s architecture and navigation expertise with its own local market and customer expertise to drive a richer engagements for its customers

Once the Web and mobile platforms have launched, TravelClick will serve as Red Lion’s agency of record in all matters impacting search engine optimization, pay-per-click (PPC) and display marketing.

Red Lion Hotels operates 44 hotels located in eight states and one Canadian province

“The goal is to make it clear that Red Lion isn’t the same as the other hotels on Main Street,” Ms. Scott said. “It doesn’t look the same, act the same or feel the same.

“Red Lion is just extending its renown for local knowledge and hospitality online,” she said.  “The new Red Lion online platform is for the traveler who collects experiences, is a little sick of cookie cutter hotels and understands that every trip ought to be a little different.  

“The traditions of each Red Lion town, from the West Coast and British Columbia throughout the Pacific Northwest, are being captured online by the hyperlocal creative strategy and represented at the hotel through a warm, personable staff that can’t wait to show off their home.”

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York