The Socially Awkward Podcast | Strategic Marketing for the Hospitality Industry

Socially Awkward is the hotel marketing podcast for owners, GMs, and hospitality leaders who want marketing that actually drives business. Hosted by Calvin, the show brings together real hotel operations experience, revenue strategy, branding, social media, influencer marketing, and the ideas helping hotels stand out in a crowded market. Each episode features practical conversations on what works in hospitality marketing, how to connect marketing to ROI, and how hotels can turn attention into bookings. If you’re looking for sharper strategy, better storytelling, and smarter hotel marketing, you’re in the right place.

The Socially Awkward Podcast | Strategic Marketing for the Hospitality Industry is a business podcast hosted by 🎥Calvin Tilokee, with 20 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

🎥Calvin Tilokee hosts The Socially Awkward Podcast | Strategic Marketing for the Hospitality Industry, a business show with 20 episodes published.

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  Episode #18

  The Best of Socially Awkward: 5 Hospitality Marketing Pros | The Socially Awkward Podcast Ep. 18

  Sep 24, 202629 min

  Hospitality marketing best-of: Calvin Tilokee replays the strongest Socially Awkward moments on standing out, direct bookings and moving up. Susan Barry of Hive Marketing explains why no traveler books on thread count. Alex Husner and Annie Holcombe compare hotel and vacation rental marketing, Calvin Stovall walks through his ICONIC framework, and Dury Kim of InnVentures admits moving up takes politicking. You'll leave with a reason to make content that looks different from your comp set and a plan for turning OTA guests into direct bookers. A round of hotel pickup lines with Susan Barry closes it out. Thanks for tuning in to Socially Awkward, the hospitality marketing podcast where hotel operations meet modern marketing strategy. Hosted by Calvin, each episode features real conversations on hotel marketing, revenue, branding, social media, influencer strategy, and what actually drives results for hospitality brands. Book a 30-minute call with Calvin Learn more about Revpar Media Connect with Revpar Media Follow Revpar Media: LinkedIn Instagram YouTube Facebook ️ New episodes every 2nd and 4th Thursday at 6:00 AM EST on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. #HospitalityMarketing #HotelMarketing #DirectBookings #HospitalityCareers #SociallyAwkward Thanks for tuning in to Socially Awkward, the hospitality marketing podcast where hotel operations meet modern marketing strategy. Hosted by Calvin, each episode features real conversations on hotel marketing, revenue, branding, social media, influencer strategy, and what actually drives results for hospitality brands. Book a 30-minute call with Calvin Learn more about Revpar Media Connect with Revpar Media Follow Revpar Media: LinkedIn Instagram YouTube Facebook ️ New episodes every 2nd and 4th Thursday at 6:00 AM EST on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Produced by APodcastGeek

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  Episode #17

  Award Announcements Are Not Content: The Hotel Marketing Trap | The Socially Awkward Podcast Ep. 17

  Sep 10, 202613 min

  Hotel marketers and GMs: Calvin Tilokee of Revpar Media breaks down why every piece of content must pass one test, would an actual guest care? Award announcements, renovation reveals, and executive appointments are not finished content. Calvin shows how to turn each one into a story travelers actually care about. The episode ends with practical questions for content meetings, so GMs and commercial leaders can evaluate hotel marketing against audience behavior instead of personal taste. Thanks for tuning in to Socially Awkward, the hospitality marketing podcast where hotel operations meet modern marketing strategy. Hosted by Calvin, each episode features real conversations on hotel marketing, revenue, branding, social media, influencer strategy, and what actually drives results for hospitality brands. Book a 30-minute call with Calvin Learn more about Revpar Media Connect with Revpar Media Follow Revpar Media: LinkedIn Instagram YouTube Facebook ️ New episodes every 2nd and 4th Thursday at 6:00 AM EST on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Produced by APodcastGeek

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  Episode #16

  The Hidden Cost of Ignoring Hotel Social Media Channels Today

  Aug 27, 202614 min

  Calvin Tilokee, hospitality marketer and former hotel revenue management professional, explains why hotels need to stop treating social media as a posting task and start building it as a strategic channel for visibility, trust, and demand. He breaks down the warning signs of a checkbox approach, from generic content and unclear goals to weak measurement and social teams disconnected from revenue, sales, and operations. Calvin explores why “social media didn’t drive bookings” is often the wrong diagnosis, showing how strategy, content quality, budget, measurement, the booking path, and unrealistic expectations can all affect performance. He also explains which metrics matter beyond likes and followers, how competitors build an advantage through consistency, and why even modest-budget hotels can win by understanding their guests, creating focused content pillars, and connecting content to real business needs. For hotel owners, GMs, and commercial leaders planning to invest more seriously in social media, Calvin lays out a practical first 90 days covering diagnosis, positioning, content foundations, execution, reporting, and learning. The goal is a repeatable system aligned with commercial priorities that builds stronger positioning, better creative, and measurable momentum over time. Thanks for tuning in to Socially Awkward, the hospitality marketing podcast where hotel operations meet modern marketing strategy. Hosted by Calvin, each episode features real conversations on hotel marketing, revenue, branding, social media, influencer strategy, and what actually drives results for hospitality brands. Book a 30-minute call with Calvin Learn more about Revpar Media Connect with Revpar Media Follow Revpar Media: LinkedIn Instagram YouTube Facebook ️ New episodes every 2nd and 4th Thursday at 6:00 AM EST on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Produced by APodcastGeek

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  Episode #15

  The Biggest Social Media Mistake Hotels Keep Making | The Socially Awkward Podcast Ep. 15

  Aug 13, 202612 min

  Hotels often decide social media “doesn’t work” after testing the weakest possible version of it, and Calvin Tilokee argues that the real problem is rarely the channel itself, but the lack of strategy, investment, ownership, and connection to commercial goals. Calvin breaks down why simply paying someone to post is not the same as hotel social media marketing, from reactive content and unclear audiences to broken booking paths and underfunded creative. He also explains how hotel leaders planning for 2027 can connect social media strategy to demand periods, corporate travel, local events, packages, revenue priorities, and the questions guests are asking before they book. For hotel owners, GMs, revenue leaders, and hospitality marketers, the bigger lesson is that social media should not operate as a separate creative task or an expensive feed to maintain. When content strategy is built around what the property needs to sell, who it needs to reach, and what will make that audience more confident about booking, social becomes part of the hotel’s demand strategy rather than another box to tick. Connect with Calvin: LinkedIn RevPar Media Instagram Thanks for tuning in to Socially Awkward, the hospitality marketing podcast where hotel operations meet modern marketing strategy. Hosted by Calvin, each episode features real conversations on hotel marketing, revenue, branding, social media, influencer strategy, and what actually drives results for hospitality brands. Book a 30-minute call with Calvin Learn more about Revpar Media Connect with Revpar Media Follow Revpar Media: LinkedIn Instagram YouTube Facebook ️ New episodes every 2nd and 4th Thursday at 6:00 AM EST on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Produced by APodcastGeek

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  Episode #14

  Why Hotel Social Media Fails (You're Selling the Wrong Thing!) | The Socially Awkward Podcast Ep. 14

  Jul 23, 202626 min

  Hotel social media strategy for owners and GMs who want content that actually drives bookings starts with one question: why does this feature matter to my guest right now? Calvin Tilokee, host and founder at Revpar Media, built his approach around a simple truth that most hotel marketers miss — guests do not book a bed, they book the reason that bed solves a specific problem in their trip. He turned a laundry room post into a top performer at an Orlando hotel near Disney, grew a stagnant NYC account from 200 followers in a year to 300 in two weeks through a single data-driven influencer partnership, and shows commercial leaders how to find the unspoken guest question hiding inside every ordinary feature. Calvin walks through two specific non-luxury hotel case studies in this episode. For a historic New York City property, Revpar Media stopped promoting rooms and instead built content around proximity to landmarks: 20 minutes on foot to Times Square, Madison Square Garden directly across the street, and Penn Station 10 minutes away. That framework targeted first-time visitors to the city, the majority of the property's actual audience. For the Orlando branded hotel, a short laundry room tour, featuring on-property machines comparable to home units, gave family travelers headed to Disney the confidence that spills and dirty clothes were a solved problem, not a trip stressor. The audit Calvin recommends takes minutes inside Facebook Business Manager: pull your audience by country, city, age range, and gender before you decide on tone, format, or content partners. Knowing your breakdown tells you which influencer profile to approach, what activities your guests will actually care about, and whether your current feed is talking past the people already following you. Authentic staff stories, real service moments, and user-generated content tagged during guest stays fill that gap far more reliably than stock footage or AI-generated images, because today's travelers have been cross-checking polished brand pages against review sites long enough to spot the difference immediately. Connect with Calvin Tilokee: LinkedIn Instagram Thanks for tuning in to Socially Awkward, the hospitality marketing podcast where hotel operations meet modern marketing strategy. Hosted by Calvin, each episode features real conversations on hotel marketing, revenue, branding, social media, influencer strategy, and what actually drives results for hospitality brands. Book a 30-minute call with Calvin Learn more about Revpar Media Connect with Revpar Media Follow Revpar Media: LinkedIn Instagram YouTube Facebook ️ New episodes every 2nd and 4th Thursday at 6:00 AM EST on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Produced by APodcastGeek

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