Marisa Cannon reports on why Ibis has decided to employ Instagram “sitters” to post content on the behalf of guests during their stays at hotels across Switzerland.
Holidays are meant for kicking back and enjoying your new surroundings sans stress – especially that which comes with maintaining a thriving social media presence.
Here to allay the strain is French hotel chain Accorhotels with its new “social media sitting” service, available as one of its room packages now at 17 Ibis properties across Zurich and Geneva.
The “Relax, We Post” service (which includes an overnight stay and breakfast) asks guests to hand over their Instagram logins to a team of vetted influencers who will post photos, upload Instagram stories and respond to comments for the duration of the guest’s stay. And it only costs from £70 (a mere nothing for the volume of “likes” you are sure to get.)
Among Ibis’s ten partner Instagram sitters are local radio DJ Sylwina (55k followers), Cristina Gheiceanu (149k followers) and Sara Leutenegger (108k followers) who appeared on Germany’s Next Top Model TV show.
With the advantage of local knowledge, they promise to home in on the city’s hotspots and create posts based on the guest’s personal interests, with all-important hashtags plus their own sign off #postedbysocialmediasitter. It’s a great idea but sadly Relax, We Post is only part of a short-term trial ending on December 2, 2018, however, if it is popular it might become a permanent feature.
Philippe Alanou, senior vice-president of operations at Accorhotels Central Europe, says: “We pay close attention to current trends and make constant updates to the services at our hotels, ensuring we are able to offer our guests a range of modern, innovative ideas to make their everyday lives easier.”
In the summer, the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess hotel in Arizona hired its own Instagram concierge to take photos of guests, advise on backdrops and locations, and hand out photography tip sheets.
Last year, Globetrender reported on the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, which launched its own “Instagram butler” service, on hand to capture guests’ holiday antics and offering advice on the resort’s most photogenic spots.