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Fed up with non-influential influencers

Not all influencers are created equal.

(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

That was the heart of a Twitter thread posted Wednesday by luxury brand social media influencer Tiffany Dowd in which she called out what she says is a “resentment and negative attitude” brewing between hoteliers and the illegitimate influencers who seek them out.

Dowd, who is founder and resident of Luxe Social Media and has some 77,000 Twitter followers herself, isn’t the first to identify this tension. Just last month, a twitter post from Dublin hotel owner Paul Stenson went viral after he cheekily lashed out at video blogger Elle Darby after she requested a free night stay in exchange for publicity to her 80,000 followers.  

Within Dowd’s tweets, she emphasized that now, more often than not, an “agent” representing the influencer does the reaching out, direct messaging the hotel’s Instagram account in an attempt to lend the influencer legitimacy.  

HOTELS spoke with Dowd, who is also a global travel writer, about what she’s seeing and hearing from hoteliers who interact with influencers (both good and bad) on a regular basis. 

HOTELS: When you talk about the “agent” thing: who is that? A PR person doing double duty or just a random friend of said influencer?

Tiffany Dowd: There are now companies set up to create collaborations between influencers and brands. It is becoming more common now that people are having someone act as their manager to contact the hotels on their behalf to give an appearance of importance and influence.

H: What’s the bigger picture issue here? Like you said in your thread, micro influencers (who have real followings) can really make a difference if partnered with smartly. How should hoteliers be approaching this potential opportunity without getting hoodwinked?

TD: Work with experienced travel bloggers and hotel experts who have a trusted following that has been built over time. Vet all influencer requests through your social media agencies and public relations teams. Do not be lured in to work with influencers who boast large followings as you do not know how they acquired their followers. Be wary of people who boast millions of followers and follow the same amount on Twitter, for example. Be suspicious of someone who has a large following and very few posts. These are the types of things social media agencies evaluate as they sift through these requests.

On the upside, micro-influencers can have a positive impact for businesses who want to target authentic and niche audiences. Again, it’s not about the number of followers. It’s about return on influence, and smaller bloggers can have big impact.

H: Why are we seeing such a buildup of tension between hoteliers and influencers now, when influencers have been at this game for at least the past five years? 

TD: Hoteliers are getting tired of the number of requests that are coming through daily from so-called influencers who have no real ROI and do not have an authentic representation of their followers. The word influencer alone has become an exhausted term in the travel industry. Just because someone can buy large amounts of followers, create a blog and has a desire to travel for free doesn’t make one an influencer. 

H: What are your biggest takeaways on this from talking with people in the industry?

TD: Hotels needs to understand that it’s okay to say no to requests. Legitimately, there are great influencers who can have a real impact on their business because they have earned the reputation as being a trusted source. Luxury travel brands need to work with these types of people that are aligned with their brand.

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