Why go?

VisitBritain to lure more travellers through virtual link-up

Virtual walking tours of key UK cities are to be made available on the internet through a tie-up between VisitBritain and Google. The new Google Street View technology will feature 25 cities and towns in Britain and Northern Ireland.  Users of Google maps can use the Street View mapping to get an idea of the sights they can see when visiting Britain. They will be able to take a virtual walking tour of destinations such as London, Cardiff, Belfast and Edinburgh, and from Southampton to Aberdeen, Bristol to Norwich. VisitBritain has worked with Google to create a visual guide - called a maplet - directly in Street View which features sights in London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Birmingham, Cambridge, Leeds and Oxford. This maplet then links to VisitBritain's global website, visitbritain.com, where users can access some of its 1,000 destination guides. Each guide further helps them plan their trip with information about where to stay, shop and eat out, as well as the attractions, events and experiences. This year an extra five million people may consider a holiday in their own country, according to VisitBritain ahead of British Tourism Week next week. Meanwhile, international visitors can taken advantage of improved exchange rates on their trips. VisitBritain head of online marketing Justin Reid said: "We're very excited to be working with Google on the launch of Street View in the UK. The internet is an incredibly rich resource for raising awareness of destinations, driving travel to and around Britain. Street View is a real opportunity for us to showcase our destinations to millions worldwide. "Seeing some of our globally-renowned attractions – a mix of old and new – up close, could inspire many more people to visit our shores. "Our partnership with Google will also mean Street View explorers can find information about the different destinations and attractions, as well as value for money experiences, onwww.visitbritain.com." Google's geospatial technologist Ed Parsons said: "Street View has been hugely popular with our users in Europe and worldwide and we're thrilled it's now available in UK for so many great cities, enabling users to see street-level panoramas of major city roads and look up and print out useful driving directions."

Overzealous positioning

"Psychographic, attitudinal and lifestyle data is beginning to be incorporated" - CRM and Loyalty Special

Home » EyeforTravel News » Marketing » "Psychographic, attitudinal and lifestyle data is beginning to be incorporated" - CRM and Loyalty Special

Published: 23 Feb 2009

Investing in technology and research that explains when/where/why a particular consumer is likely to purchase is where the hospitality industry should go next.

This was recommended by a senior CRM executive from Starwood Hotels during one of EyeforTravel's conferences a couple of years ago. It was recommended as a way to go forward considering that as an industry hotels have a long way to go in talking to guests about the product, its attributes, locale, etc. in a way that each individual guest wishes to receive that information.

As a collaborative effort by industry participants it could be a valuable exercise, saysSandeep Govil, Director of Revenue Management and Science Analytics, Wyndham Hotel Group.

"Funding and governance of such an industry initiative will not be easy. As travel markets evolve and events shape local destination attractiveness this research has to be ongoing and industry databases would have to be created to maintain such information. Further, user guidelines have to be defined. Participants have to understand how to leverage such information in value creation. This information could aid the participants in development, database marketing, product and travel package development etc," elaborated Govil.

Govil highlighted that various views of such information are available in data warehouses maintained by individual players in the industry. Package sales across the providers' offerings also provide valuable information today to each player including suppliers and distribution networks. Some of these have reasonably large databases with millions of customers and transactions and can already provide a wealth of information based on fairly large and representative sample sizes.

"The key questions to be asked in trying to initiate an industry wide collaborative effort are to define how this information will be used to create value. We should answer that question first and assess what incremental benefit it will create for suppliers, distribution players and customers," Govil told EyeforTravel.com's Ritesh Gupta.

In the past the travel industry has worked hard to collect data on each guest that can be acted upon. For example, targeting messages to a specific guest type based on a set of factors. Do these segments reach beyond fairly common demographics and behaviour data?

Commenting on this, Govil said, "There has been significant progress made in leveraging these insights to execute marketing campaigns both direct/e-mail and traditional media based. Psychographic and attitudinal and lifestyle data is beginning to be incorporated at least on pilot basis to assess lift from these insights. Purpose of travel as well as the composition of the travel party is also being assessed and used. Destination preferences and season preferences are also being used."

"Also, a lot of convincing still needs to be done and hard returns documented so that such additional spend in information sourcing and execution can be justified," he added.

Execution of CRM and measuring loyalty

Experts feel there is a great opportunity in hotel programmes to increase customer loyalty. The missing links are less about the technology and more about their data capture capabilities, and their ability to provide a differentiated and relevant customer experience in a franchised network.

"Loyalty in the travel and hospitality industry is hard to measure and share of wallet type information is not readily available," says Govil.

Most customers determine suppliers and booking channels based on many factors contingent upon the circumstances around the specific travel.

"Data has shown that most of the valuable customers for one supplier are also valuable customers for other suppliers," shared Govil.

When it comes to executing CRM effectively, Natasa Christodoulidou, Ph.D. California State University – Dominguez Hills says the biggest challenge in the same is to indulge into the luxury market as much as possible. "For example, research shows us, that if you offer a customer $100 off a vacation package or $100 in gas money they would not be as thrilled, had you offered them a suite upgrade or a luxury dinner for two in an exclusive restaurant when they arrive at their destination."

Suppliers are discovering that there is a world of marketing potential in the rich store of redemption information that can be leveraged from a loyalty programme. This does not require access to information at the individual customer level, but does open up the ability to develop full customer profiles from aggregated data. This is an under-leveraged tool in retail to understand who is buying their product, and to market cross-sell and up-sell opportunities.

At the same, the biggest initiative taken by suppliers in CRM have been related to guest recognition.

Companies need to create value for the customer when asking for personal data. Allowing guests special access to services and/or functionality is one way to create value in exchange for information.

According to Natasa, the key to working on CRM data gathering approaches in a manner that engages the customer as little as possible while obtaining the information that makes the biggest impact on the goals as a service provider is simply personalisation.

"Many customer will gladly share some data if they feel that it will help the company to personalise the travel promotions to their needs," she says.

“The days of the simple online flight-booking engine are numbered”

Home » EyeforTravel News » Airlines » "The days of the simple online flight-booking engine are numbered"

Published: 24 Feb 2009

SITA has stated that with the rise of social networking over the Internet the days of the simple online flight-booking engine are numbered.

"Web 2.0 technologies will transform airline websites into travel planning portals that go far beyond date and location. By making it faster, easier and more cost-effective to provide real-time content from diverse sources, Web 2.0 technologies meet travellers' demands for greater information and personalisation," said Jim Peters, CTO, SITA, as the company marked its 60th anniversary with a look at how technology will change the face of air travel over the next five years.

"In the near future when a customer makes a booking, the airline website could extract the passenger's preferences from its frequent flyer programme, combine it with external content from travel web sites so that hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions can be overlaid on a Google map and the traveller can then take a virtual sight-seeing tour and be linked in with friends' travel plans."

SITA forecasts that mobile devices are about to have the same impact on the passenger journey as the jet engine did 50 years ago.

"Mobile phones are fast becoming access points to online services and over 90% of passengers carry them. Digitally-equipped passengers will access all their travel needs while on the move including purchasing airline tickets and checking-in. Mobile boarding passes could save the industry $500 million as we move towards paperless travel," said Peters.

Doing it right

Yelp Can Be Profitable by 2010 Even as Sales Slow, CEO Says 

By Joseph Galante

Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Yelp Inc., the Internet site where consumers read and write reviews of local businesses, will still be able to turn a profit even as advertising revenue growth slows, Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Stoppelman said.

Yelp's diverse group of local advertisers have shielded it from the economic slump and the site can still be profitable by late 2010, Stoppelman said yesterday in an interview.

"As we're trying to sell to high-end restaurants, that's become more difficult," Stoppelman said. "But as we're trying to sell to auto mechanics, that hasn't necessarily become more difficult because people still need to get their car fixed."

Yelp has Web sites for more than 20 U.S. cities and is expanding into the U.K. and Canada. Users rate local businesses on a five-star scale and post comments. The site competes with online directories such as IAC/InterActiveCorp's Citysearch, Zagat.com and YellowPages.com.

Restaurants account for about 30 percent of Yelp's advertising customers, Stoppelman said. Businesses can sponsor their pages and write back to users. They can also pay to be listed at the top of search results and highlight their favorite user review.

The East Bay Express, a weekly newspaper based in Emeryville, California, reported this week that of dozens of businesses it contacted over several months, six said Yelp salespeople had offered to remove negative reviews from the site if they bought ads.

The allegations are "demonstrably false," Stoppelman said yesterday. It's against company policy to offer such deals and no salesperson has the authority to pull reviews, he said.

BlackBerry Application

Yelp, which has developed an application for Apple Inc.'s iPhone, is working to create a similar program for Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry smart phone, Stoppelman said. That may be ready this year, he said.

Yelp was founded by Stoppelman and Russel Simmons with a $1 million investment from Max Levchin, who co-founded EBay Inc.'s PayPal unit, where Stoppelman was vice president of engineering.

Yelp has raised $31 million in funding and was valued at $215 million after a $15 million investment last year by DAG Ventures, Stoppelman said. Bessemer Venture Partners and Benchmark Capital also own part of the company.

Even amid the economic slump, Yelp hasn't cut jobs. Stoppelman said the company has no plans to seek further investment.

"We feel we can get to profitability on current cash," he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Joseph Galante in San Francisco atjgalante3@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: February 20, 2009 00:01 EST

Fly me to the moon

Travelzoo's Fly.com Launches Yet Another Travel Search Aggregator

Posted at Techcrunch: 15 Feb 2009 05:00 PM PST

Publicly traded travel site Travelzoo has launched the beta version of its new comprehensive airfare search engine, Fly.com. At first glance, Fly.com is a Kayak-look alike (except that Fly.com searches are limited to airfares only). The two sites offer virtually the same search options, except that Fly.com's price comparison sites are limited to Priceline and Hotwire, whereas Kayak offers comparison searches on Priceline, Hotwire, Expedia, Travelocity and Airfare.com

What differentiates Fly.com from Kayak is the way in which a user can see the listed flight information. Fly.com includes a summary view, where each airline's lowest and highest prices is listed. The user can then click on the airline to see the flight times and ranges. Also, the user can see the economy, business and first-class prices in one search. And Fly.com's results include "Why Me?" boxes, which inform travelers about amenities on a specific route or airline. For example, a "Why Me?" box attached to Virgin Airlines informs the user about Virgin's in-flight entertainment options. While some of these may be innovative, it's doubtful that these differentiators will be enough to drive people away from a more comprehensive site, like Kayak, where a user can also search for rental cars, hotels and package vacations. That said, Fly.com does seem to have at least a few advantages - for one the site lists American Airlines flight options, whereas the airline company ditched its listings on Kayak. Update: American actuallyreturned to Kayak in October.

Travelzoo created buzz around its $1.8 million purchase of the domain "Fly.com" in January. Undoubtedly, Fly.com is a highly desirable domain name, but history has dictated that success does not necessarily correlate with a good name (just take a look at the Pets.com fiasco). Hopefully, Fly.com can figure out a way to truly stand out in the sea of travel search engines.

a digital list of their accomplishments

Diddit: A Social To-Do List For Your Life

Posted: 11 Feb 2009 06:00 PM PST

Diddit, a new site launching today to the public, is looking to help you check off all the things you've done with your life, and discover new things that you'd like to do. The site allows users to browse through thousands of activities in categories ranging from the bars you've visited to "Bizarre Retro Candies" you've eaten at one time or another. To coincide with the launch, Ludic Labs, the company behind Diddt, has also announced that it has closed a $5 million funding round led by Accel Partners with KPG Ventures also participating.

At first glance, the site seems a little pointless - I don't particularly care if my friends know that I've eaten Pop Rocks during my lifetime or that I've visited AT&T park (though I should note that I had similar thoughts when I first discovered Twitter). But after exploring the site a little more thoroughly, I can see why it might become very addictive.

For one, it's a great place to look if you're trying to think of things to do during a day trip or a night out on the town. Interested in California's Gold Rush? Check out the list of historic museums, parks, and landmarks that focus on just that. Want to experience Polynesian culture in the San Francisco Bay Area? They've got a list for that too.

But the site isn't just focused on destinations - it has sections for just about everything you could have experienced, including books, movies, games, and foods. If you've discovered a new author you're interested in, there's a decent chance you'll be able to find a collection of their best works, along with reviews from other users.

Every item in a list - be it a book or an amusement park - has its own profile, which offers a listing of user reviews, ratings, and other essential information (the profiles are very similar to those seen on Yelp). And while today is the site's first official unveiling, it has quietly built up a user-base of 10,000 who have shared 750,000 items, so there's plenty to read about.

Diddit shares many features in common with a number of other sites (for example, Yelp offers a huge library of user reviews and lists, as does Amazon). But its broad scope and already-thriving community may help it get a foothold, especially if it can acquire dedicated users who genuinely care about building up a list of their accomplishments (diddits) and To-Dos (wannados).

Music Company Expands Event-Marketing Efforts Via Partnership With Starwood Hotels

Live Nation Aspires to Be One-Stop Shop for Sponsors

by Andrew Hampp Published: February 05, 2009

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- The NFL, MLB and Live Nation? The world's largest concert promoter wants to be mentioned in the same breath as any sports league when marketers plot their event sponsorships.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts will be the official hotel partner for select Live Nation venues.

In recent months, the music company has been quickly consolidating its properties to provide sponsors the largest possible audiences at concerts, on the web and, now, in hotels, through a new partnership with Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

Starwood, a hospitality group that includes the Westin, Sheraton and W Hotels, will be the official hotel partner for select Live Nation venues, including the House of Blues clubs, offering Starwood preferred-guest members special ticket offers, premium seats and exclusive artist experiences. Live Nation will also encourage its artists to stay in Starwood hotels while they're in town. (Note to fans: Stalking your favorite singer just got easier.)

Merger talks with Ticketmaster
Starwood will sponsor a special "Where to Stay" feature on LiveNation.com, the company's newly revamped ticketing site, originally designed to compete with Ticketmaster but now the subject of possible-merger talks.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Feb. 4 that executives at Live Nation and Ticketmaster were close to reaching a merger agreement that would give Live Nation control of ticketing for all Ticketmaster concerts, or 70% of the concert-ticket market, according to analyst estimates. Live Nation executives declined to comment.

A merger would face increased scrutiny under the Obama administration, given Ticketmaster's existing ownership of nearly three-quarters of the concert market. The combined corporation, to be called Live Nation Ticketmaster, received a neutral review from Benjamin Mogil, a media analyst at Thomas Weisel Partners in San Francisco, who called the deal "positive" for Live Nation.

Growing sponsorship branch
Live Nation's corporate mantra states that artists used to use their tours to promote albums, but now they use their albums to promote their tours. That's where the company's growing sponsorship branch comes in.

Russell Wallach, Live Nation's president of North American Alliances, told Ad Age the day before the merger rumors circulated that Live Nation's goal is to become the one-stop shop for event-marketing dollars. "I look at every league and believe no one can replicate the model we have in owning tickets, relationship with artists, owning venues and our digital assets combined," he said.

In the past year, that positioning has started to pay off for Live Nation, which saw a 12.5% year-over-year increase in sponsorship dollars to $74.8 million during the third quarter of 2008. Total attendance during that quarter was also up 5.7% to 17.5 million people, a sign that the looming recession had little effect on the summer concert season.

Anchoring Live Nation's summer sponsorships was Burger King, which teamed up with Live Nation for the Jonas Brothers tour to promote the launch of its apple fries. Not only did the fast feeder sponsor on-site product sampling, exclusive content and online tie-ins, it also produced a viral video halfway through the tour's run that has since generated more than 1 million hits on YouTube.

Multiyear, multimillion-dollar deal
A similar formula will be applied to the Starwood partnership, which Gretchen Kloke, the hotel company's senior director-global loyalty marketing, described as a multiyear, multimillion-dollar deal. "Live Nation opens up the doors for us to get in front of millions of concertgoers in their venues and websites," she said.

Starwood will also be able to track any new revenue that comes into its hotels on a market-specific basis as a direct result of its Live Nation partnership, the key metric the marketer will use to determine the new deal's success. "The biggest thing for us is how our members will respond to the offerings we provide," Ms. Kloke said.

Live Nation is showing no signs of slowing its expansion: It also announced a new partnership with CBS Radio this week. Under the new pact, both companies will jointly produce live concerts and experiential events at CBS Radio stations and markets, giving CBS a crack at the growing number of marketers that advertise at Live Nation events. Live Nation's sponsors grew to 770 in the third quarter of last year from 719 in the same period in 2007.

"For many years we have enjoyed a very successful relationship with Live Nation, helping us grow our radio shows across the country into some of the biggest events of the year," CBS Radio CEO Dan Mason said in a statement. "With their national platform of venues and their team of talented promoters and marketers, we feel we will be able to expand the breadth of radio shows we offer on-site, on-air and online in a substantive way over the course of this agreement."

Venture into music distribution
Up next for Live Nation is its first venture into music distribution. It has successfully wooed artists such as Shakira, Madonna and Nickelback out of their major-label recording contracts into "360 deals," which give Live Nation the rights to everything from the artist's merchandise to tickets to new albums. Mr. Wallach said he expects to announce the first album to be distributed by Live Nation in the coming months, and he is already speaking with package-goods marketers to sponsor the new kind of album launch.

"We want to see how we can distribute music globally, selling music in locations from Maine to India," he said.