Meliá launches TikTok channel in bid to engage with Gen Z

The hotel company is working with travel influencer Marcos Toscani to create content for the short-form platform

Meliá Hotels International is to launch a dedicated TikTok channel to showcase the luxury experience that its properties around the world offer.

The hospitality group has joined forces with content creator Marcos Toscani who has been named Meliá TikTok Luxury Expert. Toscani, who focuses exclusively on luxury hotels and has almost 400,000 followers on TikTok, has chosen properties including Gran Meliá Iguazu (Argentina), Paradisus Grand Cana (Dominican Republic) and ME Cabo (Mexico) to feature in the initial series of videos, with hotels in other destinations to be added in the near future.

Commenting on the announcement, Melia Hotels International head of global social media and brand PR Santiago García Solimei said: “After several years building up the positioning and recognition of our brands in the key social media, we are very proud to have taken a fundamental step to connect with a new generation of travellers with an innovative and immersive new channel. Through the critical eye of our TikTok Luxury Expert Marcos Toscani, a connoisseur of the world of luxury, our followers will be able to discover the most-select experiences in our hotel portfolio.” 

The short-form video platform, which rose in popularity during the pandemic, has one of the highest engagement rates and youngest user bases of all social media platforms, mainly attracting the Generation Z demographic (people currently aged about 10-25).

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Marcos Toscani added: “As a hotel expert, my goal has always been to experience and show first-hand the best luxury hotels in the world, and I’m very excited to start this partnership with Meliá, where I have already started to choose their most amazing hotels, suites and experiences.

“TikTok is the top emerging platform and is seeing surprising growth, and I’m really happy to be able to bring my point of view to a hotel chain that I admire and that is always one step ahead, this time in my new role as Meliá TikTok Luxury Expert.” 

With its debut on TikTok, Meliá has become one of the pioneering companies in the global hotel industry with a presence on the channel. Ahead of the launch, Meliá worked with several universities globablly through the World Tourism Organisation Student League to understand the motivations and expectations of this new audience to help shape its creative process and future content strategy.

For more information, follow @meliahotels