THE 14TH ANNUAL SHORTY AWARDS

The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media and digital. View this season's finalists!

Industry

See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Auto See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Beauty See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Business to Business See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Consumer Brand See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Education See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Entertainment See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Financial Services See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Fitness, Health, & Wellness
<br>See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Food & Beverage
See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Gaming See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Government & Politics See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Hospitality See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Insurance See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Live Events See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> News & Media See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Non-Profit See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Pets & Animals See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Pharma & Healthcare See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Real Estate See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Restaurants See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Retail & E-Commerce See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Social Activism See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Sports See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Technology See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Television See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Travel & Tourism See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Wine, Beer & Spirits

Strategy & Engagement

See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Brand Partnership See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Call to Action See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Community Management See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Creative Use of Technology See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> CTV/OTT See previous winners and honorees for Insights and Trends here.</a> <a href=https://shortyawards.com/17th/"https://shortyawards.com/category/16th/data-visualization">See previous winners and honorees for Data Visualization here.</a>"> Data & Insights See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Earned Media See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Event & Experiential See previous winners and honorees here.</a>""> Gamification See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Humor See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Innovative Media Buying Strategy See previous winners and honorees here.</a>""> Integration with Traditional Media See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Internal Communications See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> LGBTQ Community Engagement See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Micro-Influencer Strategy See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Multicultural Community Engagement See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Music & Dance See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> On a Shoestring See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Organic Promotion See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Paid & Amplification See previous winner and honorees here.</a>"> Physical and Digital Convergence See previous winner and honorees here.</a>"> Public Service Announcement See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Real Time Response See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> SEO & SEM See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Social Commerce See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Storytelling

W Hotels TikTok

Finalist in TikTok Presence

Objective

Luxury is no longer just about where you stay—it’s about where you belong. As TikTok reshapes the way consumers engage with brands, W Hotels saw an opportunity to innovate. The objective of our TikTok presence was to position W Hotels as a pioneer in luxury hospitality by tapping into the platform’s fast-moving, trend-driven ecosystem. Recognizing that the next generation of luxury travelers is highly active on TikTok, we set out to build a presence that wasn’t just aspirational but actively shaped brand perception. By leveraging platform-native storytelling and aligning with consumer sentiment, we sought to increase brand awareness, drive meaningful engagement, and solidify W Hotels as the most engaged luxury brand within Marriott International. Our goal wasn’t just to remain relevant—we aimed to grow relevance, ensuring W Hotels leads the conversation in a digital-first era.

Strategy

W Hotels' TikTok strategy centered on targeting active consumer sentiment and joining platform-specific conversations. The content was rooted in real-time responses to trends, challenges, and dialogue to keep the brand aligned with TikTok’s fast-evolving culture. Instead of relying on pre-planned campaigns, W Hotels implemented a process for creating timely content that resonated with the platform's users.

The team developed a collaborative structure involving stakeholders from brand, social media, content, public relations, and hotel teams. This included a dedicated monthly budget for opportunistic content, enabling swift responses to emerging trends and topics. Regular TikTok trend monitoring also drove video creation that aligned with user interests while maintaining the brand’s luxury identity. This systematic yet flexible approach allowed W Hotels to consistently produce impactful content.

By prioritizing agility, W Hotels is able to stay ahead of trends, foster a deeper audience connection, and build a dynamic, responsive TikTok presence.

Results

W Hotels became the most engaged luxury brand within Marriott International through its TikTok presence. The brand’s videos generated over 75 million impressions and 11 million engagements, with a focused view rate of nearly 19% (compared to a 9.16% benchmark across the Marriott portfolio). The channel delivered an average engagement rate of 14.6%, far exceeding industry norms, and a CPM of $4.36, the lowest among luxury brands. Shares and saves totaled over 65,000, depicting a powerful audience response to content.

Sentiment-driven content excelled, achieving 15x more shares, 2x more views, and 3x more reach than other videos. Audience comments such as "Give the social media team a raise,” “I claim this energy,” and "You’re so real for this," further demonstrated how the content sparked meaningful connection.

These results solidify W Hotels' ability to lead effectively in the luxury hospitality space on TikTok. 

Media

Entrant Company / Organization Name

W Hotels, Marriott International

Links

Entry Credits