“Customers really wanted to be connected when at home…We selected TrueLook because of the company’s excellent customer service and competitive pricing. We could have standardized, premium cameras available for all our properties.” – Tara Berger, Social Media & Communications Coordinator, AMResorts
Background
AMResorts provides sales and marketing management services to exclusive resort properties in Mexico, Jamaica, Curaçao, and the Dominican Republic. The company manages more than 30 resorts under 5 distinct brands: Zoëtry Wellness & Spa Resorts; Secrets Resorts & Spas; Dreams Resorts & Spas; Now Resorts & Spas; and Sunscape Resorts & Spas. Each brand has its own unique theme, such as the ultra luxurious Zoëtry, adults-only Secrets, and family friendly Sunscape.
AMResorts makes a deliberate effort to cultivate online communities, especially through the use of social media. Each of AMResorts’ brands regularly communicates through blogs, YouTube, newsletters, Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook. Resort customers have proven very brand loyal, often returning time and time again. Partly due to this devotion, the brands have seen great web communities develop, with over 250,000 fans across Facebook alone.
Challenge
With such a thriving online presence, customers showed a desire to remain connected with the resorts. Customers showed a great interest in timely updates from the properties, and wanted to view current beach conditions as part of trip planning. This was especially true when storms pass by the oceanfront properties; customers are eager to check for beach conditions and damage. AMResorts began searching for new ways to keep customers updated and engaged with media from their properties.
Solution
In the Fall of 2010, AMResorts began looking into webcam systems to provide a live view from their properties. The camera system would need to be standardized and cost effective across all properties, while providing high quality images. TrueLook webcams were selected due to superior customer service, competitive pricing, and a premium product. The cameras were set up across 17 AMResorts properties, and made available on each property’s website.
Results
“The demand for webcams was driven through social media, as we began interacting more and more with our online community. Customers really wanted to be connected when at home. They wanted pictures, news, updates, and to see the beach conditions for themselves before taking their trip. We selected TrueLook because of the company’s excellent customer service and competitive pricing. We could have standardized, premium cameras available for all our properties.”
– Tara Berger, Social Media & Communications Coordinator
In 2011, the cameras delivered over 16.5 million images to web viewers. Customers use the webcams regularly to view live images from the exotic properties, and to plan their trips. The webcam views have significantly added to the resorts’ web traffic and user engagement.
AMResorts praises TrueLook’s built-in social sharing, which lets users share webcam images to Facebook and Twitter with ease. These sharing features have helped to organically spread interest in the resorts among each user’s social connections. The webcams also have built-in sharing via email with TrueLook’s patented LiveCard feature. This lets users quickly send a live image from the camera as an email postcard.
TrueLook’s weather widget has also proven important to customers, as they can see exactly how warm and sunny the location is. Simple click-and-drag controls let viewers zoom to specific details of the webcam image. Users can even add images from the webcam to an online photo album, and add their own comments.
In 2012, AMResorts purchased 6 additional camera systems to install at newly acquired properties. Each year, webcam traffic continues to grow as more and more web users visit the cameras to view the beautiful resorts.