Shangri-La Hotels boosts online presence

Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts has unveiled a revamped website that will allow travellers to experience the world’s most enchanting destinations even before their journeys begin. Enhanced features, which include sharing the best of the group’s photography, will help travellers get closer to their destinations. To commemorate the new site, Shangri-La will launch the “#LovingTheMoment” Instagram initiative to encourage everyone to share photos of their location. “After ten months in the making, we are proud to launch the new Shangri-La.com, which is just the beginning of an exciting line-up of digital and social initiatives that we will be rolling out in the coming year to create richer user experiences for our guests,” said Michael Leong, director of corporate digital marketing at Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts. “We hope the site will make it easier for our guests to explore destinations, make and manage bookings, connect and share through their social media communities, and allow travellers who have not yet stayed with us to have a beautiful entry into the world of Shangri-La.” From water views at Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa, Penang to a bird’s-eye view of Sydney Harbour at Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney, visitors will be taken on visual journeys that bring the hotel and destination experience to life through imagery of the setting, food, services and facilities. The images featured on the new website were carefully selected to illustrate the story of each hotel and reflect the romance of travel and Shangri-La’s heart-warming service. In addition, each individual property page now features a “Your Shangri-La Story” section, which transports travellers to the hotel and destination through a compelling narrative. To celebrate the sharing of the group’s best photography, Shangri-La is encouraging travellers to share photos that tell a story about cities they are in through the “#LovingTheMoment” Instagram initiative. During the initiative’s two themed phases, travellers will have the opportunity to share their photos that capture the places and food they have experienced. The new website features a user-friendly booking engine that was tested by Shangri-La.com users for four months to help ensure a more convenient confirmation process. With fewer steps and pages to complete a booking, it has never been easier for travellers to book their Shangri-La stay. For travellers who prefer to access Shangri-La.com while on the go, fully optimised mobile versions of the site have been created for iPhone, Android and Blackberry users. Now no matter how people connect to the website, they will have access to all the features that Shangri-La has to offer online. To make booking stays for frequent travellers easier and more convenient, Shangri-La will be launching a mobile application for iPhone and iPad users at the end of June. The application will allow travellers to find a Shangri-La hotel, book their stay, and access all the latest offers. It will also let members of Shangri-La’s guest recognition and reward programme Golden Circle manage their accounts with a few easy touches. Recognising that Shangri-La’s presence has moved beyond the boundaries of its own site and into the online communities of social media, the new website will integrate with popular social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Weibo, Kaixin and Youku. The integrations will not only enable greater connectivity for fans and followers to engage with the Shangri-La brands and share specific Shangri-La.com content with their own networks, but also expand the reach of the new website beyond its own pages. Members of Shangri-La’s guest recognition and reward programme, Golden Circle, will be pleased to learn that the Golden Circle website has also been revamped with increased functionality to allow them to be more hands-on when it comes to their stays.