Social media data is key to produce profitable travel products

62% of travel product developers say social media and in particular Facebook is a vital source of data when building new products

Early findings for a report to be delivered this November indicate that social media is no longer just for marketing and customer service. Well over half the travel companies surveyed so far show that data gathered from social media is vital to assess and forecast demand for new travel products.

37% say that Facebook is the best network for product development but with Twitter performing so badly in the survey it does indicate that more focussed social communities are also proving highly valuable. As well as the free data from social media sites, Google is another incredibly useful data source with over 21% rating data from Google is vital for their product development.

The travel industry spends millions on data procurement and analysis each year and the survey reveals the industry needs guidance over which sources of data are truly valuable. 28% of those polled say it is lack of knowledge on the data sources that is holding their product development back.

The full report findings will be delivered at the Product Development Strategies for the Travel Industry Conference taking place in London the week before the World Travel Market in London.

Over 100 top route planners, product developers, purchasers and investors will attend to debate what strategies are best for delivering long lasting profitable products and particularly focus on the evolving sources of data and data management that the industry is starting to integrate into the product development process.

Stelios row sees EasyJet deputy chairman step down

EasyJet deputy chairman Sir David Michels, tipped as a potential new chairman of Thomas Cook Group, has stepped down from the board of the budget airline.

Former senior British Airways executive Charles Gurassa replaces him as deputy chairman. 

At the same time, former First Choice Holidays group finance director Andy Martin is joining the board as a non-executive director alongside former KPMG European chief financial officer Adele Anderson.

Sir David has previously indicated that he would leave at the end of the year but has left with immediate effect.

He was subject to criticism from easyJet founder and the airline’s largest shareholder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou over a bonus given to former chief executive Andy Harrison and an order for 145 new aircraft ahead of a profits warning in January.

Commenting on today's announcement, easyGroup head Sir Stelios said: “The unwillingness of Michels and the rest of this board to put this matter to a shareholder vote proves that they have lost all legitimacy to run this company as they no longer enjoy the trust of the majority of the shareholders.

“We will announce further steps to protect shareholder value next week.” EasyJet said Sir David had stepped down “in order to avoid the unnecessary costs and distraction of the EGM requested by easyGroup Holdings”.

The airline added: “As this removes the sole purpose of the easyGroup Holdings request, no EGM will be called, allowing the board and management to remain wholly focussed on running the business through the summer peak.

“Charles Gurassa will become deputy chairman and senior independent director with immediate effect.” Sven Boinet is also leaving easyJet board at the end of September at the end of his three year term.

EasyJet chairman Sir Michael Rake said: “I would like to personally thank David Michels for his major contribution to the company over the last six years as a director, deputy chairman and for six months as interim chairman and for his support to me as chairman. I would also like to thank Sven Boinet for his very important contribution to the company.

“I am very pleased to welcome Andy Martin and Adele Anderson to the Board. Their experience will strengthen the Board's capabilities in the area of risk and financial management.”

The World Travel Market

World Travel Market (WTM), the leading global event for the travel industry, has launched a free mobile app, available to download to all major smartphones.

The app is the perfect accessory for all World Travel Market participants before, during, and after the event, helping exhibitors to plan their time at WTM 2011.

The app includes a number of features including"

• The ability to register
• Real-time news
• Twitter feeds
• Videos
• An array of photos from the exhibition floor
• Exhibitor and seminar listing
• Receipt of bespoke information from WTM based on your particular area of interest
• Bespoke personal event planner and route finder

The app, which was designed by GenieMobile, is available to download free of charge to all iPhones from the APP Store, from the Android Market, and from the WTM website (www.wtmlondon.com/app) for Blackberry and Windows smartphones or from this QR code.

It can be updated prior to arriving at WTM to get the most up-to-date information without incurring extra roaming charges.

World Travel Market Exhibition Director Simon Press said: “The WTM app is a great initiative, which will improve all our participants’ experience at WTM, by increasing the ability to plan before WTM 2011 and maximize everybody’s time while attending the event.”

“The app enables our audience to know everything about WTM at the touch of a button. It will allow visitors and exhibitors to interact with WTM from their mobile phones and encourage increased connections between exhibitors and visitors adding to the overall exhibition experience.”

World Travel Market estrena aplicación para móviles

World Travel Market estrena este año una aplicación para smartphones, gratuita, diseñada para que los participantes puedan planificar mejor su tiempo en la feria turística de Londres, según informa la organización.

Entre otras funciones, la aplicación permite el registro en la feria, ofrece noticias, tweets relacionados con la WTM, lista de expositores, programa de seminarios, eventos filtrados por intereses, planificador de rutas, etc.

La aplicación, diseñada por GenieMobile, se puede descargar en la App Store para iPhones así como en Android Market, o bien a través de la website de la WTM para dispositivos Blackberry y Windows smartphones.
La organización sugiere descargar y actualizar la aplicación y sus contenidos antes de viajar a Londres, a fin de evitar costes de roaming.
La WTM se celebrará en el recinto ferial Excel de Londres del 7 al 10 de noviembre y el registro online ya está abierto.

Travel shoppers react badly to Facebook Like buttons

Asking consumers to 'Like' a page during the search and booking process may not be the best approach, according to a new usability study. Participants strongly disliked the buttons and stated they “really hate the pushy appearance of a company asking for an endorsement.”

Social media can work very well on travel sites, but much depends on the context. For example, Hyatt links to its YouTube channel so users can see videos of hotel rooms and facilities before they book.

The addition of reviews from sites like TripAdvisor can also be incredibly useful for consumers, and makes perfect sense for travel firms, as users are just going to head there anyway.

However, the context is all important, and asking consumers to 'Like' a page during the search and booking process may not be the best approach.

According to the report:

Participants strongly disliked the buttons and stated they “really hate the pushy appearance of a company asking for an endorsement” or “begging” a user to ‘Like’ their company or brand without any benefit to the user.

A better solution would be to include 'like' buttons in follow up emails or surveys. If customers have enjoyed their journey or the hotel, then they will be predisposed to hitting the button.

Get the full story at Econsultancy

Facebook pushes privacy with sweeping redesign

Facebook is poised to roll out a sweeping new redesign that places a significantly stronger emphasis on user privacy. The new features will begin to appear for the web app’s users on Thursday, with mobile application updates coming in the weeks ahead.

The wide-ranging redesign is aimed at giving users more visibility into what they’re sharing and with whom. “The goal is to have every single person who uses Facebook be able to answer the question of: Who is able to see this thing I’m sharing right now?” Facebook VP of product Christopher Cox said. The general theme behind all the new features is that they bring privacy controls into the Facebook experience itself, whereas before they had largely been hidden several clicks into Facebook’s settings menus.

The following article lists a few of the most interesting changes.

Get the full story at GigaOM

Viajes Holidaysinspain.com S.A sign agreement with Tranquilico.com

Viajes HolidaysinSpain.com S.A have signed to take up Health & Safety services from Tranquilico.com.

Sue Matthews from the Commercial team  says " We were looking for ways to improve on our current due diligence system as the expanded portfolio we are now offering to Travel Agencies through our B2B brand Webhotels.org  now features a large number of popular hotels across mainland Spain, the Balearics and the Canary Islands. 

We provide a good range of selected hotel accommodation to Travel Agencies of various nationalities by XML Connection or via our agent only portal. 

The e-pass technology operated by tranquilico.com ideally suits our needs and is an extremely cost effective solution for us"

Guias Destino + Hotel

Este verano Viajes HolidaysinSpain.com,S.A. con la tecnologia “obehotel” lanzo www.torremolinoshotels.com el primero de sus nuevas páginas web:

• con dominios que contienen “hotel + destino turístico”.
• cubriendo los destinos turísticos más importantes de España.
• especializadas en comercialización de alojamientos turísticos.
• preparadas para la máxima visibilidad en las redes sociales.
• con las últimas innovaciones de diseño y usabilidad para el usuario final.
• combinando la oferta hotelera con actividades y ofertas de ocio del destino.

Es una pagina mas, pero con valor añadido ... 

 
Aparte de incorporar el nombre del destino en el nombre dominio de la página, trabajamos con el modelo de comisión, ofrecemos la posibilidad de hacer ofertas y paquetes con oferta extrahotelera del destino, y la extranet puede convertirse en una plataforma para conectar via XML con otras online.