Teen concierge program uses social networks to connect with young tourists

Marriott Australia's This City My Way scheme is a teen concierge program that uses social networks such as Instagram and Kik to guide young adults around the city they're visiting.

We recently wrote about 1888 Hotel, the venue that actively caters for adults obsessed with Instagram. Now Marriott Australia has introduced This City My Way, a teen concierge program that uses social networks such as Instagram and Kik to guide young adults around the city they’re visiting.

The initiative was created to provide information to those young travelers who are much more likely to head online to see what their peers are saying about the location they’re heading to. This City My Way has appointed five teens who act as a concierge for each of the brand’s hotels in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Each concierge updates their Instagram feed with photos of activities, restaurants and sightseeing opportunities they enjoy in their area. If tourists have questions they want to ask they can comment on the photos or connect directly with the relevant teen concierge on Kik, an instant messaging service similar to BlackBerry Messenger. The This Is My Way website also hosts blogs kept by each concierge and invites visitors to contribute to competitions.

The program uses social networks – rather than the traditional in-person concierge – as a less awkward, but more direct, way for teens to connect with someone their own age who knows about the city. Are there other positions teens could fill to help companies engage more meaningfully with their younger customer base?