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Inside the international airport — surrounded by ticket counters, airline
gates, sundries shops, and other services for incoming and outgoing
passengers — a fully furnished hotel room took up space. Passersby
were enticed to come in for a look, perhaps to watch a “guest” settle in
to some desk work or a “housekeeper” make the bed. Many tried on the
3-D glasses and took a virtual tour of hotels and resort properties owned
and operated by in the Brazilian states of Rio Grande do
Sul, Santa Catarina, and Bahia.
During the months of June and July (the height of winter vacation in
Brazil) 2015, Plaza Hotéis operated this innovative marketing promotion
in the Porto Alegre International Airport. Rather than convey its message
via a brochure or website, the company built a full-scale model of a
Plaza Hotéis unit and provided the 3-D glasses to create a virtual
resort experience for the thousands of travelers passing through the
airport each day.
Reaching the Next Generation
This is all part of the company’s strategy to evolve and attract a new
generation of customers. With nearly 60 years of hotel history in Brazil,
it may be time to appeal to the younger travelers that Roberto Rotter,
Plaza Hotéis’ director, believes are the vacation ownership buyers of
the future. “We are looking to reach the new generation of consumers,
and to achieve that, we need to try new ways of marketing and selling.”
The airport exercise certainly fit the bill. And it proved effective.
“We are very satisfied with the results,” says Carlos Schmidt, the com-
pany’s superintendent director. In an airport that counts 30,000 people
per day passing through its terminal, he says they had a steady flow of
curious travelers who stopped to check out the unusual feature. A sig-
nificant number took cell-phone pictures, texting them to friends, and
posting them on websites. And the event generated 10,000 leads —
including prospects for the Plaza Vacation Club — and more. “We also
drew people looking for business partnerships and investment oppor-
tunities,” says Rotter.
In addition to tangible results the company sought, the most
important goal is also the hardest to measure: creating the message
that the company is changing. “In my point of view, this pushed the
company to a new level,” says Rotter. “We wanted to reposition our
image. We needed to show that the company is evolving with the
changing market dynamics.”
Embracing Change
Change is something Plaza Hotéis has been experiencing in spades
since it launched the Plaza Vacation Club a little more than a year
ago. “It’s important to share that we are very happy with the results of
our vacation club,” Schmidt reports. “The clients are very satisfied.”
The company is in the process of implementing a new CRM program
and expanding its loyalty program to better serve its members.
The Plaza Vacation Club sales efforts are further enhanced with
the sales team’s use of the according to
Rotter and Schmidt. All the centers are equipped with multiple large-
screen TVs, and there’s an iPad at every table, so that the salespeople
can utilize Interval HD, the Exchange Tracker, and The Globe in their
efforts. “This makes a big difference for the consumers. They really
perceive that it’s a value, and the tools make it easier to explain how
everything works.”
“We’ve worked a lot with the team in helping them to get up to
date,” says Fernando Martinelli, director of
resort sales and service, Brazil. “They needed something that could
bring in this youngest generation.”
With resources such as the STK and innovative promotions like the
airport model, Plaza Hotéis should be poised to achieve its goal of
modernizing its image and appealing to new markets. Says Rotter,
“We want people to think of us as not just a legend company, but a
future company.”
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RESORTDEVELOPER.COM vacation industry review
JANUARY – MARCH 2016
PLAZA HOTÉIS
A full-scale model of a Plaza Hotéis unit —
complete with “guest”— attracted the attention of
travelers passing through Brazil’s Porto Alegre airport.
Plaza Hotéis turns to innovative marketing at a
Brazil airport to boost its strong start in the
vacation ownership realm.
An
Established
Company
Meets the
Future