At one time or another, we have all found ourselves mindlessly scrolling on our phones, come across a beautiful picture of someone on a lavish vacation, lounging by a beautiful beach, or dining at an elegant restaurant and thought to ourselves, “I would do anything to be there right now”. It’s borderline painful to see other people on your dream vacation. For the one posting it, it’s a great feeling to know others are envious of your luxurious whereabouts. From the property's perspective, they’re proudly showing off and it feels like free publicity. But what makes the establishment worth showing off, or “Instagrammable”? Let’s look deeper into Instagram’s effect on how we travel, as well as examples of properties excelling in the art of Instagram-able service.
First, we must acknowledge that “Instagrammable service” isn’t specific to any one sector of hospitality. You can scroll on social media and find a trendy new restaurant you are dying to visit, just as easily as you can find a beautiful, aesthetically pleasing resort. Also, being such a new concept in our society, this one phenomenon has been given many different pseudonyms. These include Insta-travel, Social Media Tourism and Instagram Tourism. Whatever you chose to call it, its effects are undeniable. Insta-tourism has created a surge of visitors, business, jobs, income and overall has had an incredible effect on the industry. In fact, it has created the fastest growth the Travel Industry has ever seen - over 14%.
Let’s take a closer look at how some locations have used “Instagrammable service” to their advantage and reaped these incredible benefits themselves. Take, for example, The Garden Room at the St. Regis Atlanta. Serving up Contemporary American, Seafood and Elevated Bar food, their delicious dishes and beautiful beverages aren’t where the appeal of the restaurant ends – or even begins. The moment you walk into the restaurant you are transported into a gorgeous, enchanted garden dining experience. Every single detail of their ambience is true to their theme, and as close to the dictionary definition of Instagram-able as possible. From their gorgeous choice of furniture, abundance of greenery and flora, elegant details and décor, it could easily be at the top of any Instagram lover’s bucket list. Because of this, The Garden Room has gained over 33,000 Instagram followers and countless geo-tagged posts. This has earned them an enviable amount of clientele, including celebrities and social media influencers. Any property looking to boost their Instagram-able service should be sure to look to The Garden Room for inspiration.
Overall, the effects of Instagram and Social Media in general have had an undeniable effect on every aspect of society, and the way we travel is no exception. Different guests have different reasonings for deciding where to spend their time and money, but we must acknowledge for some, our “Instagram-ability” and social media presence is a key factor. It may even be the reason we stand out and take our business to new heights.