The latest marketing news, launches and more from around the travel, tourism and hospitality industry in July 2013.
Wednesday 31 July 2013:
- British Airways has launched a promotion by name "VisitMum", a campaign targeted towards people travelling to India. The promotion highlights its flight service from twenty cities in the US to India, availability of Bollywood movie collections in inflight system, and its variety of meal options to choose from - Jain, Muslim, Hindu or vegan meals.
Thursday 25 July 2013:
- FlipKey deploys Book Now feature on 90,000+ vacation rental properties. After 85% of surveyed users requested the feature, the company has obliged. COO and co-founder Jeremiah Gall: "By expanding the 'Book Now' feature to over 90,000 properties, we're taking a major step towards simplifying the vacation rental shopping process."
Tuesday 23 July 2013:- Delta Airlines looks to FOOD & WINE Magazine to find the newest addition to their in-flight culinary team. "We have been very focused on culinary design and the manner in which we provide more than 110,000 sophisticated, tasty meals each day on our flights around the world. This opportunity allows us to try something truly unique," Joanne Smith, Delta's senior vice president – In-Flight Service said. The 4-part video series launches in October, where chefs Hugh Acheson, Linton Hopkins, Kelly English and George Mendes will compete to join a team that includes
Monday 22 July 2013:- Joachim Holte joins Wego as chief marketing officer. Holte will manage all demand generation and brand marketing activities worldwide including SEO, SEM, display, affiliate and partner marketing, PR, CRM and offline advertising. Prior to joining Wego, Holte was the executive general manager at Wotif Group in Australia, where Holte managed the product, marketing and online strategy.
- Anne Bologna joins TripAdvisor as vice president, brand strategy. Bologna will be responsible for the company's brand vision along with television and offline advertising. Bologna was previously the managing director at MDC Partners, New York.
- Prime Numbers Technology (PNT), the data analytics technology firm is expanding its Travel GPA product to not only be known for its benchmarking leadership, but also for the development of essential data solutions including analytics, benchmarking and various new streams of intelligence.
Tuesday 16 July 2013:- Visit Abu Dhabi is boosting its social media efforts with an Instagram channel as well as a 'Discover Abu Dhabi' Facebook application. The app will feature blog-style content and target users with content on future events and initiatives based on the posts they read. The tourism organisation already has 250,000 Facebook fans and 60,000 Twitter followers.
Monday 15 July 2013:- ReviewPro wins global account for social media monitoring with Kempinski Hotels. The deal covers the entire portfolio of 80 five star hotels in 30 countries and will allow the chain to "listen and respond" to guest feedback across multiple web channels.
- In a continued shift of travel loyalty, United Airlines and Marriott Hotels have linked up to offer cross-brand loyalty perks. "RewardsPlus"will give Marriott Rewards Platinum Elite members Premier Silver status in United's MileagePlus program. United Global Services, Premier 1K, Premier Platinum and Premier Gold will receive Marriott Rewards Gold Elite status, the second-highest tier in Marriott's program.
Sunday 14 July 2013:- Cruiseline.com launches digital magazine for cruise passengers. The title, known as Bon Voyage, is being overseen by Sherri Eisenberg (contributor to Conde Nast and other publications) and is aimed at both newbies to cruising as well as long-timers.
Monday 8 July 2013:- Thailand tourism board has launched a new website by name Thailand Super Quality that promotes luxury travel experiences. Users will be able to find luxury holiday packages in categories like dining, golf, spa, wellness and shopping.
Friday 5 July 2013:- ArrivalGuides wins two content contracts in the shape of MSN Arabia and Australian Lifestyle site. The Lifestyle deal sees AG power a world city guide section on the site and uses a dedicated API to feed in content. The InspireMe tool from AG is being used for the MSN Arabia site.
- HotelsCombined wins deal to run property search on Tour de France-focused Breakaway brand. The site, part of Gti Media, focuses on bringing information and tips for visitors to the annual French cycle race.
Tuesday 2 July 2013:- RateGain and Befighter Business Group have announced a strategic partnership to bring RateGain’s full range of hospitality technology solutions to hotels in Russia and Ukraine.
- Secret Escapes partners with Conde Nast Traveller to give readers luxury flash hotel sales. The white label version of Secret Escapes will sit within the travel guide brand and include hotel stays tailored exclusively for the site. In return, Conde Nast-approved hotels will now also sell on Secret Escapes.
- Iberia has completely revamped its website with loads of new features after conducting a survey on more than one million followers on Twitter and Facebook. Iberia learned that 85% of people travel to visit family or friends, or by cultural and entertainment options in the cities to be visited. Search for flights, bookings, and on-line check-in procedures are all faster and more intuitive. New features include: interest-based search engine, social seating, "Fly with Me" and "Fly and Friends" features.
Previous roundups:NB: Marketing image via Shutterstock.