Lodging Interactive, a leading interactive agency servicing the hospitality industry, today announced the introduction of its CoMMingle Social Media Marketing Agency operating division. Through a dedicated team of social media experts and proprietary technologies, CoMMingle offers a focused approach towards hospitality social media marketing.

"It is becoming increasingly important for hoteliers to build their hotel brands and to increase the level of interaction with consumers who frequent the major social media sites," stated DJ Vallauri, Founder & President of Lodging Interactive, the parent company of CoMMingle. "Hotels must be positioned to be 'seen' at the time when consumers are thinking about and considering travel plans, right before they start their travel search and planning activities."

While the demographic profiles of the millions of social media site users are a clear match for most hotels and resorts, the challenges faced by most properties are the lack of availability of staff, the increasing time commitments needed and the multitude of skill sets required to effectively participate in social media marketing. These challenges continue to hamper the hospitality industry's ability to implement effective social marketing strategies required to manage guest reviews, measure results, build and communicate with prospective guests through blogging and the growing number of social media sites.

CoMMingle offers hotels a suite of social media marketing services on an a-la-carte basis as well as a fully managed all-inclusive solution. CoMMingle agency services include:

  • Chatter Guard -- Online reputation management & monitoring services
  • HuBBub Social Marketing Platform -- Pro-active social media marketing tool & blogging
  • Twitter Marketing Program -- Pro-active twitter marketing program
  • CoMMingle -- Fully outsourced turn-key social media marketing program

CoMMingle will create custom blogs, hotel profiles and pages on the top social media network websites Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, to name a few. Dedicated CoMMingle Social Media Managers provide ongoing posting and management on behalf of the hotel to ensure the consumer experience is always fresh and relevant.

"Social media is all about building relationships, building trust, building an online reputation and then building your online business. The online social media building process is all about word of mouse," said Richard Walsh, Lodging Interactive's Vice President of Business Development. "This 'word of mouse' refers to how your social presence and relations will proliferate from one consumer to another creating a network of prospective guests who refer to your online information, and exchange this information with others online."

As the provider of Chatter Guard, the hospitality industry's first social media monitoring service, Lodging Interactive has leveraged this experience and success to bring its new CoMMingle Social Media Marketing Agency operating division forward. CoMMingle provides a strong operational infrastructure, experienced personnel, along with operational intelligence and methodologies it has gained over the past years in providing hospitality social marketing services.

"Our goal with the new CoMMingle division is to ensure our hotel clients' social participation is productive and that they don't get left behind while their competitors move ahead with effective social media marketing initiatives," added Mr. Vallauri.

About Lodging Interactive | Lodging Interactive, headquartered in Parsippany, NJ, is a leading provider of Internet Marketing Services to the hospitality, spa and restaurant industries. The company provides a portfolio of effective hotel internet marketing servicesto hundreds of hotels, resorts, timeshares, spas and restaurants. Clients include branded hotels from nearly every major brand as well as prestigious, landmark independent hotels.

Through its CoMMingle Social Media Marketing Agency operating division, the Company offers hospitality focused and fully managed outsourced hotel social media marketing.

Lodging Interactive is a proud member of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) and a supporter of the Hotel Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI). For more information contact Richard Walsh, Vice President of Business Development at [email protected] or at 877-291-4411. The company's website is located at www.LodgingInteractive.com.

About Lodging Interactive

Since its founding in 2001, Lodging Interactive has provided digital marketing services to hotels worldwide, including select service, full-service, and luxury properties.

The Company's social media marketing and guest reviews response division, CoMMingle:Engage, serves a range of hospitality businesses, including hotels, restaurants, spas, and management companies.

Additionally, the Company provides subscription-based website development and digital marketing services. The subscription-based service is based on a 'pay-as-you-go' model and requires little upfront investment on the part of the hotel.

The Company continues to innovate by introducing supportive services that enhance its primary business lines. Recently, it launched Commingle360 and Social Media Amplified, custom landing page services aimed at driving direct bookings through social media content posts.

Lodging Interactive has received numerous awards, including the HSMAI Adrian Award and accolades from the International Academy of Visual Arts, Interactive Media Awards, Horizon Interactive Awards, Web Marketing Association, Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts, and Travel Weekly's Magellan Awards.

For more information, email [email protected], call 877-291-4411 ext. 704, or visit the company's website.

Richard Walsh
Vice President, Business Development
877-291-4411