Presented by Allison Sitch, Ritz-Carlton Hotels at the SMEI Social Media Road Show, Baltimore, MD on September 26, 2009

1. One Brand, One Vision, One Voice

2. The Ritz-Carlton A Legendary Luxury Brand …..in the growing world of New Media

3. The Iconic Ritz-Carlton Brand Image Comfortable Sophisticated Distinctive Prestigious Welcoming Trusted Timeless Service Above and Beyond Makes Me Feel Special Source: Luxury Hotel Brand Image Tracker, Burke, Inc., First Half 2008.

4. What do you do with an iconic brand in this space?

5. A Changing Consumer Landscape Today’s affluent consumers break all stereotypes

6. Today’s Luxury Consumers Want… …more valuable time …authenticity …to leave a legacy …it their way …to tell better stories …to be themselves …to create richer, more unique experiences …to connect with loved ones …to feel cared for and about …intuitive, personalized service

7. Responding to a Changing Communication Landscape

8. The Ritz-Carlton Film Series “The Delay” “Last Night” “Heads or Tails”

9. Major Newspapers Pick Up Short Film Evolution

10. Time to change our way of thinking… How we communicate with readers in print is very different from how we communicate with them online. 9

13. “Always design a thing by considering it in its next-larger context-a chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment, an environment in a city plan.” - Frank Lloyd Wright Seeing The Big Picture

14. The Digital Map

15. 1. Social Networking: Facebook

16. Twitter 5 Ritz-Carlton tweeps Each Twitter feed set up with individual identities Most popular is RC President @simonfcooper who writes his own un-scripted!

17. Twitter

18. Twitter Everyone has a different Twitter strategy: Journalistic device Marketing weapon Customer-service tool We use Twitter to: Drive traffic to www.ritzcarlton.com Get current and potential guests to interact and comment on things we are doing Change the way the travel blogosphere perceives The Ritz-Carlton “we are not your Grandfathers Ritz-Carlton” Watch what the rest of travel industry is doing

19. 2. Social Media Outreach

20. What are the benefits? Online content is timely: enables us to get messages out into market that would take much longer to do in print

21. What are the benefits? People trust individual human beings opinions - not the “big bad” corporate entity

22. We can solicit input so people will feel they’re part of the decision-making process and helped create the end result.

23. What’s next for us? We have just selected a social media agency to start working with us Twitter accounts will also be launched in German, Russian, Arabic and Chinese in the new year Each hotel in the portfolio will have independent social media plans in 2010

24. . An application that continually updates ski conditions in the area. Providing real-time information on trail closures, snow conditions, and lift wait times and can also incorporate alerts and comments from other skiers. Official condition updates can also be posted to Twitter and they can also be synchronized with television & radio, distributing up-to-date skiing information. The natural cross-pollination between Twitter and Facebook users will aid in the organic distribution of ski information.

25. The Ritz-Carlton, Central Park, New York We are creating an interactive microsite for this hotel that offers guests additional information on local culture, activities, and attractions. Additionally, we will enable guests to submit their own relevant media and recommendations for exciting, but possibly lesser-know New York attractions, dining, and entertainment. The user-generated content will come from the core social networking channels: Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr.

26. Maintaining the Mystique

27. Consumer Communication

28. Corporate Social Responsibility Meaningful Meetings Give Back Getaways VolunTeaming

29. To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often. Winston Churchill