Meltwater Fellow · Brand & Reputation Monitoring
Katie Washington
Marketing Manager
Atrium Hospitality
About Katie
Marketing Manager, Atrium Hospitality
Katie Washington is a Marketing Manager at Atrium Hospitality with more than a decade of experience in marketing, brand strategy, and reputation management. She specializes in helping organizations understand, measure, and strengthen brand reputation by translating social listening, customer feedback, and reputation insights into strategic business decisions. Katie believes brand reputation is one of an organization's most valuable assets and is passionate about sharing practical, data-driven approaches that help marketers build trust, strengthen brand perception, and create better customer experiences.
Atrium x Meltwater
Brand & Reputation Monitoring Fellow
At Atrium Hospitality, we use Meltwater to monitor and strengthen the reputation of our corporate brand and a portfolio of more than 75 individual hotels. I rely on customized searches, dashboards, sentiment analysis, media alerts and spike detection to understand how Atrium and our properties are being discussed, identify emerging reputational issues and see where competitors are earning attention. These insights support our quarterly brand reputation recaps as well as property-specific brand strategy and positioning work.
When developing a strategy for an individual hotel, I create searches and dashboards around the property and its competitive set. We identify the positive themes already gaining traction and determine how to amplify them — whether that means doing more of what guests and audiences value, celebrating it through social content, recognizing employees, strengthening brand trust or developing a media pitch. We also select a recurring negative topic to address and examine competitor coverage for experiences, differentiators and story angles that may reveal an opportunity for our hotel. The goal is to move beyond simply collecting mentions and turn monitoring into practical decisions that improve the experience, strengthen reputation and create new opportunities for visibility.
Use Case
Brand & Reputation Monitoring
Industry
Hospitality
Portfolio
75+ Hotels
Fellow Since
July 2026
Meltwater Workflow
Turning brand monitoring into actionable reputation strategy
Business Goal
Use Meltwater to monitor reputation across our corporate brand and individual hotels, identify the themes and competitive activity shaping perception, and turn those insights into clear recommendations for property leaders and executives.
Step-by-Step Process
1
Start with consistent saved searches
I use separate Boolean searches for our corporate brand and executive team, individual hotels, and key competitors. For property analysis, I use the same basic search structure across hotels so results are more consistent and easier to compare month to month.
2
Review the Analyze dashboard for each of the 10 selected hotels
I look at mention volume, sentiment, and the content driving the conversation. If sentiment has changed, I open the underlying mentions rather than relying on the percentage alone. This helps me understand whether the change reflects a broader reputation trend or a smaller number of influential mentions.
3
Identify one positive theme to amplify
I look for something audiences are consistently responding well to and ask how the hotel can build on it. That might mean doing more of an experience guests already value, recognizing employees, creating social content around it, or developing a new PR story.
4
Identify one meaningful opportunity to improve
Rather than giving the hotel a long list of every negative mention, I focus on a recurring theme the team can realistically influence. This gives property leadership a clear place to start.
How to do it yourself
5
Review competitor coverage for context and opportunity
I look at what competitors are being mentioned for — not just how often they are mentioned. Experiences, partnerships, events, and media coverage can reveal an opportunity our hotel can pursue, a gap we can fill, or a story we may be able to pitch.
How to do it yourself
6
Turn the findings into three actions
For each property, I organize the recommendations into Amplify, Improve, and Pursue. Limiting the review to three clear takeaways keeps the analysis actionable rather than overwhelming the property with data.
Amplify
Improve
Pursue
7
Roll the broader reputation story up quarterly for executives
At the corporate level, I use Meltwater dashboards to review earned-media performance, sentiment, reach, share of voice, and competitive visibility. I send the dashboard to our Executive Committee with a brief summary structured around what happened, why it matters, and what happens next, so leaders do not have to interpret every metric themselves.
Final Output
Two connected deliverables: a monthly reputation and marketing strategy for 10 selected properties, with three prioritized actions for each hotel, and a quarterly corporate earned-media and reputation dashboard with an executive summary and recommended next steps.
Biggest Lesson Learned
A dashboard is not the final product. The value comes from interpreting what the data means and giving the person receiving it a clear action they can take. Property leaders and executives need different levels of detail, but both need to understand what matters and what should happen next.
Dashboard Example
See the workflow in action
Corporate reputation dashboard — live snapshot
A live snapshot of the dashboard behind this workflow. Open the report and enter the password below to explore how the data is structured.
View the dashboard
Password
opposite_nice_present_carefully
Best Practices
Strategic guidance I wish I'd had earlier
Practice 01
Start with the question, not the dashboard
When I build a dashboard for a hotel or brand, I do not start by adding every metric available. I start with what we need to learn or decide: What should we amplify? What needs to improve? Where is there an opportunity? Starting with the question keeps the monitoring focused and makes the final data much easier to act on.
Ready to build a dashboard with purpose?
Learn what insights to add to your dashboard that will really move the needle
Practice 02
Know what "normal" looks like before you measure success
When we brought PR in-house, we had no clear way to measure reputation success. It felt like we were reacting to whatever happened rather than working toward a defined goal. Establishing our normal mention volume, sentiment, share of voice, and recurring themes gave us a baseline. From there, we could set meaningful goals, measure progress, and become more proactive at improving brand reputation.
Ready to establish your baseline?
Learn how to analyze your brand's impact across news and social by creating a Unified Dashboard
Practice 03
Don't just celebrate positive mentions, learn from them
One of the biggest shifts in how I use monitoring was realizing that positive mentions are more than good news for a recap. They show you what people already value about your brand. Look for themes you can repeat, strengthen or talk about more — whether that means improving an experience, recognizing employees, creating social content or finding a new PR story.
Ready to see the bigger picture?
Learn how to analyze customer sentiment at the brand level, not just one post at a time
Practice 04
Look beyond competitor volume to find opportunities
I am more interested in what a competitor is being mentioned for than if they have more mentions. Their coverage can reveal an experience people want, a story the media is responding to, or a gap your brand can fill. The goal is not to copy competitors; it is to understand the market well enough to recognize an opportunity when it appears.
Let's look beyond the numbers.
Learn how to compare competitor coverage and identify emerging trends with our Competitive Benchmarking Playbook
Practice 05
Don't wait for a scheduled report to tell you something needs attention
Quarterly dashboards help me understand long-term reputation trends, but they cannot replace daily awareness. I use mention alerts to keep a pulse on our corporate brand and individual hotels so I can quickly review unusual coverage, understand the context and share it with the right people. The goal is not to react to every mention but to recognize what needs attention now and what can wait for the next report.
Ready to put this into practice?
Follow our step-by-step Help Center guide to creating a Monitor Stream in your account
Practice 06
Explain what the data means, don't just present it
Most executives do not need another sentiment chart. They need to understand what people are saying, why it matters to the business, and what they should do with that information. I structure reputation reviews around three clear takeaways: what to amplify, what to improve, and what opportunity to pursue. That translation is what turns monitoring data into something leaders can actually use.
Help your leadership focus on what matters most.
Learn how to identify and monitor reputational risk in Meltwater
Tips & Tricks
Quick wins, shortcuts, and "wait, you can do that?" moments
Tip 01 MY FAVORITE
Use Mira's Studio or AI Search Assistant when you are not sure where to start
When I first began building our brand reputation program, I relied heavily on Mira Studio and the AI Search Assistant to help structure Boolean searches and analyze content. Mira's Prompt Library includes ready-made frameworks for brand monitoring, media coverage, sentiment and competitive intelligence while the AI Search Assistant can help with creating a Boolean search. Bonus tip: save the Mira prompts you use most often to Favorites so they are easy to find the next time you need them.
Where to use it: Mira Studio > Prompt Library or Explore > AI Search Assistant
Tip 02
Name searches so you know exactly what they are monitoring
A consistent naming system becomes essential when you are managing multiple brands, locations and monitoring goals. I include the brand or business unit, the purpose of the search and the type of monitoring in each name — for example, "Brand Name | Ongoing Reputation Monitoring" or "Brand Name | Reputation Risk | Daily Alert."
Where to use it: Explore, saved searches, dashboards and alerts
Tip 03
Create spike-detection alerts for your competitors
A sudden increase in competitor mentions may signal a new campaign, partnership, announcement, experience or reputational issue. Catching that activity early can help you identify a story angle, market shift or opportunity before it appears in a scheduled report.
Where to use it: Alerts and spike-detection settings
Tip 04
Separate campaign tracking from ongoing reputation monitoring
A campaign, announcement or major event can temporarily increase mentions and affect sentiment, making it harder to understand overall brand health. I keep campaign measurement and ongoing reputation monitoring in separate saved searches, then review them together when I need the full picture.
Where to use it: Explore > Saved Searches and Analyze dashboards
Tip 05
Duplicate a dashboard before adapting it for a new audience
Before changing a dashboard for a different report, stakeholder group or strategy project, create a copy. This protects the original setup and gives you room to adjust the story without rebuilding the dashboard later.
Where to use it: Analyze > Dashboard > Duplicate
Tip 06
Review the mentions behind the sentiment score
When sentiment changes, I always look at the content driving the shift. One widely syndicated article or a small number of high-reach mentions can noticeably affect the percentage without representing a broader change in reputation.
Where to use it: Analyze dashboards and underlying mention results
Tip 07
Pair every dashboard with a three-part executive summary
When I share a reputation or earned-media dashboard, I summarize it as: what happened, why it matters and what happens next. This gives stakeholders the context they need without requiring them to interpret every chart or understand how sentiment, reach or share of voice are calculated.
Where to use it: Analyze dashboards, Report Builder, email recaps and presentations
Tip 08
Use the same structure when comparing competitors
Keep the date range, source types, geographic filters and query structure consistent across every competitor. Otherwise, a difference in how the searches were built can look like a meaningful difference in reputation or share of voice.
Where to use it: Explore and Analyze
Tip 09
Test the search before building a dashboard around it
Before I save a Boolean search, I review the results for missing name variations, recurring false positives and unrelated topics that need to be excluded. A few minutes of testing can prevent inaccurate reporting later.
Where to use it: Explore
Favorite Boolean Searches
Go-to queries that consistently deliver — adapt for your own brand
(("Atrium Hospitality" OR ("Atrium" NEAR/3 ("Hospitality" OR "Property Management")) OR ("Rob Mangiarelli" NEAR "CEO")) OR ((Atrium) NEAR/15 ("Rob Mangiarelli" OR "Anneliesse Cooper" OR "Kimberly Furlong" OR "John Pflaum" OR "Mike Panzer" OR "Michael Panzer" OR "Patrick Outz")) OR ((CEO OR CFO OR SVP OR President) NEAR ("Rob Mangiarelli" OR "Anneliesse Cooper" OR "Kimberly Furlong" OR "John Pflaum" OR "Mike Panzer" OR "Michael Panzer" OR "Patrick Outz"))) NOT ("Theater" OR from:"AtriumHospitality" OR from:"Atrium Hospitality" OR from:"hotelsatrium")
"Davidson Hospitality Group" OR ("Davidson" NEAR ("hospitality group" OR "hospitality management")) OR "Davidson Hospitality" OR (("Thom Geshay" OR "Steve Margol" OR "Crystal Beasley" OR "Jason C. Rabidoux" OR "Jason Reader" OR "Harris White" OR "Steve Contos" OR "Paul Eckert" OR "Nicoholas Gregory") NEAR "Davidson")
("Chateau on the Lake Resort Spa & Convention Center" OR "Chateau on the Lake Resort" OR "Chateau on the Lake" OR "Chateau on the Lake Branson" OR "#ChateauOnTheLake" OR "chateauonthelake.com" OR ("Chateau" NEAR/5 ("Branson" OR "Table Rock Lake" OR "Missouri" OR "Ozarks"))) NOT ("job" OR "jobs" OR "career" OR "careers" OR "hiring" OR "real estate" OR "for sale" OR "apartment" OR "condo" OR from:"[Hotel's owned social handle]")
("Embassy Suites" NEAR (("Albuquerque" OR "St. Louis St. Charles" OR "Raleigh Durham" OR "Charlotte Concord" OR "Greensboro Airport" OR "Dallas Frisco Hotel" OR "Norman Hotel" OR "Greenville Golf Resort" OR "Tampa USF" OR "Nashville South Cool Springs" OR "Kansas City" OR "Des Moines" OR "San Marcos" OR "Montgomery Hotel" OR "Charleston" OR "Hot Springs" OR "East Peoria Riverfront" OR "Nashville SE Murfreesboro" OR "Charleston Airport" OR "Lexington/UK Coldstream" OR "Portland Airport" OR "Grapevine DFW" OR "Omaha Downtown Old Market" OR "Huntsville" OR "Northwest Arkansas" OR "Loveland Conference Center" OR "Omaha La Vista" OR "Lincoln" OR "Little Rock" OR "Hampton") NEAR (hotel OR "convention center" OR "conference center" OR "resort" OR "by Hilton")))
OR ("Tucson Marriott University Park" OR "Bloomington-Normal Marriott" OR ("Houston Marriott South" NEAR/10 "Hobby Airport"))
OR (("Renaissance Phoenix Glendale" OR "Renaissance Tulsa" OR "Renaissance Dallas Richardson") NEAR "hotel")
OR ("Chateau on the Lake Resort Spa & Convention Center" OR "Capitol Plaza Hotel and Convention Center" OR "University Plaza Hotel & Convention Center")
OR (("Courtyard" NEAR/2 "Marriott") NEAR ("Fort Smith" OR "Omaha La Vista" OR "Springfield Airport" OR "Oklahoma City" OR "Dallas Allen" OR "Allen Event Center"))
OR ("Residence Inn by Marriott" NEAR ("Joplin" OR "Kansas City Airport" OR "Springfield" OR "Oklahoma City" OR "Bricktown" OR "Charleston Airport"))
OR ("Holiday Inn" NEAR ("Springdale" OR "Fayetteville" OR "Sacramento Downtown" OR ("University Plaza" NEAR/2 "Bowling Green") OR "Portland Airport"))
OR ("Hilton Fort Collins" OR "Hilton Long Beach" OR "Hilton Charlotte Airport")
OR (("Hampton Inn & Suites" OR "Hampton Inn and Suites") NEAR ("Springdale" OR "Sacramento-Elk Grove" OR "Dallas Mesquite"))
OR (("Homewood Suites" NEAR "Hilton") NEAR ("Kansas City Airport" OR "Greensboro"))
OR (("SpringHill Suites" NEAR "Marriott") NEAR "Modesto")
OR (("Ramada by Wyndham" NEAR "Reno Hotel") OR "Wyndham Grand Oklahoma City")
OR ("Sheraton" NEAR ("Sioux Falls" OR "West Des Moines" OR "Norfolk Waterside"))
OR ("Westin Southfield Detroit")
OR (("DoubleTree" NEAR "Hilton") NEAR "Stamford")
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