W Hotels entered TikTok with a clear ambition: to build a presence that reflects the brand’s bold, playful, culturally fluent identity–not through polished advertising, but through the platform’s native language of humor, lo-fi authenticity, and creator-first storytelling. TikTok became the space where W Hotels could express the personality behind the luxury: irreverent, sharp, stylish, and deeply plugged into cultural conversation.
The goals were threefold:
This meant moving away from high-production assets and leaning into TikTok-native storytelling: creator POV, comedic timing, quick transitions, trend-driven edits, and on-the-ground lo-fi coverage that felt real, fast, and unfiltered.
The objective was not simply to appear on TikTok, but to become a brand that belongs on TikTok–participating in culture rather than interrupting it, and building a dynamic presence that moves at the speed of digital conversation.
1. A Platform-Native, High-Agility Creative System: W Hotels designed a TikTok content system rooted in the platform’s behavioral insights–prioritizing speed, authenticity, and real-time adaptability over traditional campaign cycles. This approach ensured the brand showed up in ways that felt culturally aligned while still reinforcing W’s modern luxury positioning.
Instead of relying solely on polished hero assets, W Hotels built a creative framework that emphasized:
This system was not about being “lo-fi,” but about being strategically native, intentionally adopting the formats, timing, and creative language that drive discovery and engagement on TikTok.
By building a structured framework that embraced platform behavior, W Hotels was able to move at TikTok speed while maintaining a clear, consistent brand point of view. This approach elevated TikTok from a channel into a real-time cultural engine for the brand.
2. Scaling Content Through Global Toolkits: To sustain volume, W Hotels activated hotels across the world through TikTok toolkits: shot lists, editing references, audio recommendations, and creative “plug-and-play” formats. This enabled a 300% increase in content publishing YoY and helped properties move at platform speed while keeping tone consistent.
Hotels like W Hollywood, W Koh Samui, W New York - Union Square, and W Costa Rica became TikTok engines, producing “day in the life” reels, cheeky room moments, bar POVs, nightlife edits, and creator-led hotel walkthroughs.
3. Creator Partnerships as the Heartbeat of TikTok: W Hotels collaborated with creators including Ken Eurich, Benton McClintock, Kitty Lever, and dozens more, who brought humor, personality, and on-camera charisma. These creators didn’t just post about W Hotels; they captured it. Their posts mirrored their natural tone, allowing W Hotels to integrate into travel, comedy, fashion, and nightlife communities on the platform.
Creators were also leveraged during cultural moments like SXSW, W PRESENTS Tour stops, and the W New York - Union Square reopening to extend real-time storytelling far beyond brand-owned channels.
4. Event Programming Reimagined for TikTok: W PRESENTS performances, design previews, premieres, and destination moments were crafted around the question: “How would this moment live on TikTok?”
This resulted in quick POV edits, snappy event recaps, humorous behind-the-scenes snippets, creative transitions, and creator reactions–all designed for shareability over polish.
5. A Humor-Forward Brand Voice: TikTok became the home for W Hotels’ playful tone. Formats like Cheeky Text were reinterpreted for TikTok, enabling the brand to speak with personality, flirtation, wit, and self-awareness, differentiating W from every other luxury hotel on the feed.
Together, this strategy built one of hospitality’s strongest TikTok presences: culturally fluent, creator-led, and unapologetically fun.
TikTok became one of W Hotels’ strongest engines of cultural relevance and top-of-funnel brand energy.
Across owned and earned content, W Hotels achieved:
Creators contributed significantly to performance. With over 160 creator partners representing a combined 50M+ followers, creator-led content generated 258K+ engagements organically and extended visibility across fashion, nightlife, travel, and queer culture communities. Whitelisting further multiplied reach, ensuring creator and brand content worked in tandem.
TikTok also had material brand impact. Brand lift studies showed:
Operationally, the platform helped drive a 300% increase in content publishing YoY, fueled by TikTok toolkits and global content alignment. TikTok also played a critical role in major launches–including W Hollywood and W New York - Union Square, where fast-turn event edits, creator POVs, and humor-forward storytelling drove multi-day engagement and post-event momentum.
Together, these results demonstrate that TikTok became a cultural and creative engine for W Hotels, establishing the brand as one of the most relevant, personality-driven, and modern luxury players on the platform.
