Using Social Media and Publicity To Build AmericInn’s Brand as America’s Quietest Hotel

AmericInn, a chain of 220 mid-priced hotels across 22 U.S. markets from Connecticut to Texas, faced a marketing challenge: driving national brand awareness with the traveling public of exceptionally quiet rooms that feature AmericInn’s patented SoundGuard construction.

Media Relations/Publicity Differentiates AmericInn’s Brand
Maccabee Group partnered with ad agency Dalton Sherman to launch a PR campaign that positioned AmericInn as the “quiet hotel” brand. To bring to life the noise abatement steps taken by AmericInn, media kits contained a sample of the foam insulation used in the hotel’s SoundGuard construction process. A PR survey revealed that travelers who’ve stayed in competitors’ hotels had been bothered by the sounds of parties, power tools, snoring, TV sets, bathroom noises and, yes, passionate lovemaking. Media results were stunning: feature coverage for AmericInn in the New York Times, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal.

Launching Sleep Better America with Social Media Marketing
Maccabee Group has taken AmericInn’s marketing further – launching the chain’s new “Sleep Better America” campaign to educate consumers about how to get a better night’s sleep. Employing Dr. Chris Drake of the Henry Ford Sleep Center as its spokesperson, AmericInn’s “Sleep Better America” premiered at the Big Sleep Show in Chicago. Campaign components included:
  • Social media/interactive strategies such as live blogging from the Big Sleep Show floor and Twitter feeds to alert consumers of new blog posts. The online hub for the campaign is a sleep advice microsite, www.sleepbetteramerica.net, linked directly to AmericInn’s reservation site.
  • Trade show tactics involved inviting visitors to spin the “Wheel of Sleep” and win noise-cancelling headphones, sleep-inducing CDs, lavender-scented eyemasks and stress-relieving squeeze pillows -- drawing hundreds to the Sleep Better America booth.
  • Media coverage for AmericInn has ranged from TV interviews on Chicago’s NBC-TV affiliate to publicity in the 5,000,000-circulation Delta Airlines’ Sky inflight magazine.
What’s next for AmericInn’s campaign? Stay awake and find out. . . .






"When our hotel chain first approached Maccabee Group about publicizing our AmericInn SoundGuard construction with a viral PR idea, we dreamed about getting covered by one of three "high fruit" national media targets - the Wall Street Journal, New York Times or USA Today. Incredibly, Maccabee Group got AmericInn prominently featured in all three!"
- Arnold Angeloni
- Chief Executive Officer

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