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Archive Category: Web travel

Starwood ties up with Chinese location-based social mobile app

Starwood Hotels & Resorts has formed a partnership with Chinese location-based social mobile app, Jiepang, in order to offer Chinese Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) members check-in rewards.

China continues to be a major source of new loyalty travellers for Starwood as evidenced by the 71 percent jump in Chinese enrollment in SPG last year. The group says this initiative marks a new digital extension to its loyalty programme specifically designed for Chinese travellers.

Starwood is to provide a localised social networking platform tailored specifically to Chinese travellers. The partnership will pave way for hotels to engage with guests and reward SPG members for their geo-social behaviour, leveraging Starpoints as a form of social currency.

“SPG’s new partnership with Jiepang localises and redefines the `check-in’ for our Chinese SPG members, enabling rewarding experiences beyond their hotel stays,” said Janice Chan, director, Digital Distribution & Marketing, Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels & Resorts.

Now guests can earn Starpoints and Free Weekend Night Awards for Jiepang activity at over 200 Starwood hotels and resorts in Asia Pacific. From December 1, 2011 to January 31, 2012, SPG members can now earn bonus Starpoints by checking in via Jiepang with a confirmed reservation.

Every month, the SPG member with the greatest number of Jiepang check-ins across all Starwood hotels in Asia Pacific will be declared the SPG Mayor. In addition to status and special SPG perks, the Mayor will be interviewed and featured within the specials landing page and will also be asked to contribute travel tips to the SPG Jiepang tips page, www.jiepang.com/spg.

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Facebook acquires Gowalla: report

Facebook has reportedly acquired Gowalla, according to a CNNMoney report. The report attributed the development to “a source close to Gowalla” and mentioned that most of Gowalla’s employees will move to Facebook’s offices in Palo Alto. The team will work on Facebook’s Timeline feature.

In September this year, Gowalla revamped its offering into a social tourist guide. The company, which began as a check-in app, chose to push check-ins to a secondary function of its service. Gowalla decided to allow users to create “stories” around their experiences, grouping together photos and comments from different users who are interacting at the same location.

The company believes there is a huge opportunity for the travel industry to inspire people to tell better stories and share them in real-time with their friends and followers.

Opportunity for the travel industry

In an interview with EyeforTravel’s Ritesh Gupta just before the revamp, Andy Ellwood, Director of Business Development, Gowalla, said, “Each piece of digital content that is created tells a story. Each time I use Gowalla (or any other service) to associated myself with a place, I am including that location as a part of the narrative I am sharing with my network. It is the most honest look at how someone really lives their life. I can tweet, like, blog, and +1 things from my couch. But to share real experiences around the places that I go, I have to actually go. This is a huge opportunity for the travel industry to inspire people to tell better stories and share them in real-time with their friends and followers.”

“From day one, Gowalla has set out to answer the question "What if you could use your mobile phone as a passport?" Being able to share, discover, and record the places that you go and the things that you experience have always been core to our company. As we’ve grown in users and use cases, we've found a lot of value in being able to share those stories across additional services as well,” said Ellwood.

“The real currency that all of social media and the digital web trades in is social validation. The real core of why people share is because they are wanting to include others in their story and invite them along. There are so many discounts, deals, and coupons out there that it is no longer a competitive advantage. Flip open any service these days and there is some way for you to buy one and get one free. But what Gowalla is striving to do, and what I think you will see more of in the future, is create real meaningful experiences that have stand alone value whether or not you got 10 percent off.”

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UK’s CAA seeks advise on Thomas Cook’s financial problems: report

The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority has reportedly hired US turnaround and restructuring firm Alvarez & Marsal to advise it over Thomas Cook.

According to a report filed by the Sunday Telegraph, the Authority has taken this decision over concerns surrounding the tour operator’s ability to pay a customer- protection bond and fulfill its obligations on aircraft safety should the financial strength of the company worsen.

Late last month Thomas Cook Group reached agreement with its banking group to provide it with a new facility that significantly improves the “robustness” of the group’s financial position. The group’s banks, led by Barclays, HSBC, RBS and UniCredit, agreed to provide a new £200m facility available until 30 April 2013, which replaces the £100m short-term facility finalised in October. In addition, they agreed on a further relaxation of the financial covenants under the existing facilities.

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Thomas Cook Signature targets youth/budget traveller market

Thomas Cook Signature has partnered with YHA Australia to offer budget accommodation throughout its UK’s high street travel retail network.

With this move, the company is targeting youth/budget traveller market for the first time.

The pact allow Thomas Cook, Co-op and Going Places agents to tap into this growing market, which was previously only the realm of youth/budget travel specialists, highlighted the companies. It was also mentioned that over 128,000 British backpackers visit Australia each year, each staying an average 68 nights and spending $7,660 AUD per trip making this the highest yielding segment, spending nearly twice as much as the average international traveller.

Mandy Monk, YHA Australia’s marketing manager for Europe, said the budget and backpacker segment is continuing to grow and despite common misconceptions these travellers have disposable income, a strong propensity to travel and are generally less effected by issues such as the Global financial crisis, making them an ideal target group in these more difficult times.

“We welcome the foresight shown by Thomas Cook Signature to tap into this lucrative segment through its independent agent partners,” said Monk.

Thomas Cook Signature’s 2012 brochure launches on 15 December.

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Direct mail most preferred for receipt of brand communications: study

A study in the US has indicated that despite direct mail’s reputation for being “old school” or expensive, it is the top choice of U.S. and Canadian consumers for the receipt of brand communications.

According to Epsilon Targeting’s 2011 Channel Preference Study, titled The Formula For Success: Preference and Trust, direct mail continues to deliver as consumers’ preferred means of receiving marketing messages from brands.

Suggestion

The study suggests that brands should use a variety of mediums to build relationships, starting with trusted channels like direct mail, then layering the message to re-enforce it through other channels.

Marketers need to understand which channels resonate most at various points in the consumer purchase cycle and incorporate a cross-channel strategy that leverages data and technology to communicate on a one-to-one basis

Findings

There has been 66 percent growth in U.S. consumers’ use of Facebook in the past year to research and review consumer product information. In response to an annual Epsilon Targeting survey of consumer channel preferences, 10 percent of U.S. respondents said they used Facebook for consumer product information, a jump from six percent in 2010. At the same time, roughly a third of U.S. and Canadian survey respondents (33 percent U.S. and 31 percent Canadian) said they don't find ads on social media sites useful.

Key findings:

• 26 percent of U.S. consumers and 30 percent of Canadians said direct mail is more trustworthy than email;
• 50 percent of U.S. consumers and 48 percent of Canadians said they pay more attention to postal mail than email;
• 60 percent of U.S. consumers and 64 percent of Canadians said they enjoy checking the mailbox for postal mail, highlighting an emotional connection;
• 30 percent of U.S. consumers said they’re receiving more mail that interests them compared to a year ago, and just 50 percent (down from 63 percent in 2010) said more information is sent to them in the mail -- indicating marketers are improving targeting efforts;
• The perception that reading email is faster declined among U.S. email account holders to 45 percent in 2011 (from 47 percent in 2010), suggesting clogged inboxes are draining time.

The 2011 Channel Preference Study also found:

• 37 percent of U.S. consumers and 29 percent of Canadians use TV daily to get consumer product information, down from 43 percent and 35 percent respectively in 2010;
• The least trustworthy channels are social media and blogs, achieving only six percent trust among U.S. consumers and 5 percent among Canadians;
• The number of U.S. respondents who said Internet use “is more anonymous” declined to eight percent in 2011 from 11 percent in 2010;
• Personally addressed mail is greatly preferred to unaddressed, with numbers in the insurance category showing a 31 percent to 5 percent gap;
• 34 percent of U.S. consumers who prefer email over mail cited “saving on paper” as the main reason, up strongly from 21 percent in 2010;
• In 2011, 39 percent of U.S. consumers claimed awareness of group deal web sites, lagging behind the 53 percent awareness level among Canadian counterparts.

The study is based on completed surveys from 2,226 U.S. consumers and 2,574 Canadian consumers.

Travel industry

Interestingly, another recent study indicated that digital content is a top priority for travel companies, with 83 percent reporting a planned increase in budget for 2012.

According to EyeforTravel’s Travel Distribution & Marketing Barometer – Edition 2 (released in October), looking towards the next quarter in the most recent data for both suppliers and intermediaries, the largest proportion of companies are increasing budgets for website design or re-‐design; 59 percent in the September barometer. Social media ranked at the top in February (from the first edition which was published in May this year), but in September a lower but still significant 57 percent are planning an increase. The investment area with the smallest proportion in September was group buying; 15 percent are planning an increase in the next three months and 22 percent are keeping their budgets the same.

As convergence between online and offline marketing continues, budget fluidity is also expected to increase. There’s no doubt that digital marketing has become an essential marketing tool – especially when paired with off-line. Global recession made this even more apparent as brands cut back off-line marketing budgets and had to do more with less.

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YouTube unveils new website design

YouTube has introduced a new homepage and “Channel” design in order to make it easier for viewers to find and watch content.

The company’s improved Channel design focuses on what matters most: helping users find great videos.

The team has incorporated feedback from the “Cosmic Panda” Channels and Watch experiment, for:

• A more streamlined and consistent design
• An easier way to find and view videos
• New, more flexible layouts for featured content

The homepage design has been updated to make it easier to find and watch videos. On the left side of the homepage users can create their own, personal, customisable YouTube Channel line-up. Sign-in, or create a YouTube account. They can browse recommended Channels; customise their homepage’s feed; even link their YouTube account to Google+ and Facebook to see what their friends are sharing. Users can switch between feeds by clicking on different Channels on the left.

“We are trying hard to marry the best of TV and the best of online,” YouTube vice president of product development Shishir Mehrotra said.

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Orbitz’s contest to let “fans” nominate favourite do-gooder on Facebook

Online travel company Orbitz has initiated its Gift It Forward Facebook contest, letting its Facebook fans to nominate others for the good things they've done.

The contest allows Orbitz Facebook fans to nominate a deserving neighbour, co-worker, family member, or friend for a luxury vacation to Mexico.

Gift It Forward is a great way for deserving people to be recognised for their actions, said Chris Orton, president of Orbitz.com.

Grand prize winners will be announced on or about December 22.

Contest

To nominate someone for “Gift It Forward”, one needs to visit the Orbitz Facebook page and complete a short form describing why the person nominated deserves to win.

After submitting the form, the nominator must inform the nominee that they need to “Gift It Forward” and nominate someone else for their entry to be valid. Orbitz will award six travel packages to the nominees and their nominators for all-inclusive luxury trips to Mexico. Orbitz will also award fans with pairs of round-trip airline tickets throughout the contest just for submitting a nomination.

Nominations are accepted now through December 9.

Orbitz will select 10 finalists based on a combination of relevance, quality, and creativity. Orbitz Facebook fans will then vote for their favourite story.

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Amadeus to help revenue managers dynamically monitor market trends

Amadeus has added a new feature in Market Pricing to its hotel Revenue Management solution. The Market Pricing component gives hoteliers an insight into competitor rates, sourced from the major web rate shoppers.

The new offering combines publicly available rate information from both major web rate shoppers and the Amadeus system enabling hotel revenue managers to have a holistic view of the market through the analysis of price trends, price fluctuations and benchmarks. The focus is on enabling hoteliers understand and react quickly to the complex factors that influence markets and customers’ behaviour, and respond rapidly to optimise the hotel inventory and rates.

According to Amadeus, Market Pricing is an industry-first competitor rate analysis tool, helping revenue managers to dynamically monitor market trends.

Key benefits:

• Provides users with a unique view of the marketplace to analyse both direct competitors and activity in the city destination.
• No other RM solution takes into account market demand and market pace in their price optimization.
• Extensive content: rates are imported from the major web rate shoppers.

“In this highly competitive industry, there is a growing demand for intelligence products that permit hoteliers to track market trends and react quickly,” said Jérôme Destors, director, Amadeus Hotel IT. “Using advanced forecasting models combined with detailed booking data and market trends, the Amadeus Revenue Management solution innovates with unique technology evolution giving hoteliers another competitive advantage to maximise their hotel revenue contribution.”

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Pennsylvania Tourism Office signs exclusive deal with Foursquare

The Pennsylvania Tourism Office has signed an exclusive deal with Foursquare that allows users to obtain “PA Lock & Keystone” badges by “checking-in” with their mobile devices at Pennsylvania restaurants, museums, retail shops, historic landmarks, state parks, wineries and other tourist attractions.

The Pennsylvania Tourism Office, under the state Department of Community and Economic Development, is dedicated to inspiring travel.

Last year, Pennsylvania became the first state to partner with Foursquare by populating the network with more than 200 state tourism attractions and creating four custom badges. Since the launch, and subsequent retirement of those four badges, visitPA has amassed nearly 90,000 followers and adds approximately 150 new followers daily. To date, over 67,800 Foursquare users have unlocked a PA badge providing tips and recommendations for travel locations and allowing users to earn rewards and discounts using their mobile devices.

According to Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary C. Alan Walker, Pennsylvania is the first and only state to create exclusive branded badges on Foursquare, leading to the attraction of thousands of followers to the state’s tourism website – visitpa.com.

“To keep the momentum going, we have partnered again with Foursquare to launch the new Lock & Keystone badge, and are working with our local tourism partners to market this new initiative,” said Walker.

The Pennsylvania Tourism Office is partnering with the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, Lycoming County Visitors Bureau, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, Bucks County Visitors Bureau, and Crawford County Convention and Visitors Bureau to promote the new Lock & Keystone badge.

To earn the new badge, users need to follow visitPA on Foursquare at www.Foursquare.com/visitPA.

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Venere.com launches mobile site

European online accommodation specialist Venere.com has launched its mobile site. The company has dedicated an entire section to Venere.com deals with seasonal promotions, 24-48 hour sales and destination specific offers with prices starting from €30.

The company highlighted that its focus is on improving customer services and hotel discoverability, and it also acknowledged that mobile as a channel is becoming a major source for booking last minute accommodation online.

The initial launch covers five languages: English, Italian, French, Spanish and Danish. The company says the site is optimised for the most common mobile devices.

“Hotel bookings are much easier and faster if you can rely on your mobile, said Spyros Assonitis, director global marketing at Venere.com. “For this reason, our next step will be the launch of the 'Hotel Near Me' feature and many others to allow customers to find accommodation while traveling.”

The site has been created by mobile platform firm Usablenet.

To celebrate the new mobile site, Venere.com has launched a contest that will allow users to win 40 free weekends across Europe and the Mediterranean.

Users can participate in the contest, titled Book Mobile and Win Trips to Europe and the Mediterranean, via the company’s site, www.facebook.com/venerecom or www.win-with-venere.com. Those who make a booking (till 23rd January, 2012 via m.venere.com) will be entered into a draw for 40 free weekend breaks.

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