Find Pikachu In Your Hotel Room
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of this craze: Pokémon GO.
It is not only sweeping the nation — it’s sweeping the world!
Almost 20 years old, the Nintendo brand of Pokémon has been rekindled. The new game, Pokémon GO, is simple… yet really complex. It syncs to real-world maps and allows users to actually walk around in the real world looking for Pokémon (Animal-like virtual creatures), PokéStops (kind of like refueling stations), and Gyms (to battle and get coins).
Nothing like it has ever been done before.
Well, except for Ingress, the game made by the same team a few years earlier. But that didn’t catch on. It would seem that superimposing cartoon critters in augmented reality really works wonders — Pokémon GO essentially turned an innovative flop into a global craze.
It is crazy awesome for the hotel industry, and here’s why!
First, or those of us that grew up in the 90s and early 00s, Pokémon was a craze. Nostalgia is a big factor in this newest rendition of the brand. The game itself appeals to those of us that grew up in that era and relies on targeting those that have the ability and the means to walk or travel around in order to play the game. (That means that ten-year-olds today won’t be able to play the game too addictively because they will need a parent to go out to find gyms and PokéStops.) It naturally targets an older demographic.
Second, in a little over a week, Pokémon GO has surpassed the number of daily active users of Twitter. I’ll pause and let that sink in for you.
Drop everything. Pokémon GO already has more active users than Twitter.
Third, it is likely that your hotel already has a PokéStop or Gym in it. If not, word on the street is you can request one here. If there isn’t one directly in the hotel, even the nearest one to you can help promote your business. Start promoting this! If you have a happy hour special, include a plug for the Pokémon GO players, saying they can sip on a beverage while reloading on pokéballs. Multi-functional drinking is best!
You can do this a few other ways. From gym tournaments with prizes that are given to gym leaders, to offering a discount to those that take pictures of Pokémon on the property, get creative and encourage your potential hotel guests that they’ve Gotta Catch ’em All!
This is one of those cases where it does pay to do what everyone else is doing.
If everyone is quickly on an app, harness that! Don’t go putting all of your Poké-eggs in one basket, but do explore some unique, small ways to incorporate it in your marketing plan.
We love to help hotels to thrive, by the way.
Enjoy, and happy hunting!
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