Here’s a story about a young lady who wanted to spend five nights in a luxury Dublin hotel. As she says herself, it was to be for “an early Valentine’s Day weekend”. Nothing too unusual there.
Here’s the kicker, because of who she is, rising social media influencer Elle Darby, with 87,000 YouTube subscribers and 76,000 Instagram followers, wanted to stay for free. The request was bluntly and publicly denied by The White Moose Café on their Facebook page, in a response that was clearly written to get the baying masses whipped up into a frenzy. And in turn, Elle Darby posted a tearful YouTube video letting her fans know how hurt she was by the experience. This was soon picked up by the Independent.
But this is where things get interesting. In the short synopsis above, you’ve learnt that Elle Darby is a rising social influencer who is used to having free stays at luxury hotels, such is her influence. And that The White Moose Café is a luxury hotel in Dublin, with a significant Facebook following too.
Neither of these two parties are novices when it comes to social media. Were I more cynical, I’d think that this was planned, perhaps even some sort of PR stunt!
On the surface of it, this might just be an entitled young individual who hasn’t fully understood the work that goes into running a hotel. Equally the response might just be from a hotel owner fed up of those that haven’t put in years of hard work to achieve what they have, while still looking for handouts.
The reason this doesn’t quite add is up is, all savvy social influencers know they can’t simply expect to get items of real value given to them for free. Right?
