(Published in TTG 26.04.12)

With competition fierce for the lates market, and online travel agents on the offensive, high street agents are being urged to take the fight for summer sales to the social networks. Matthew Parsons reports

It’s not often you see a technology company aiming to drive more sales back into high street shops, but this is one of Net Effect’s main goals this year, following the launch of latecards.co.uk in February.

The platform updates the traditional concept of displaying cards in shop windows, by providing the technology to let agents quickly post special deals to sites such as Twitter and Facebook in a consistent, professional-looking way.

“In the old days agents would put a sticker on the back of a brochure, then all of the pages had their details, now we’re giving them the tools to market themselves online,” says Kent Laws, co-founder of Net Effect. “And operators will be able to put these deals right under the noses of the agents’ customers.

With a background in advertising and marketing, working for the likes of Apple and Sky Television, and more recently Hebridean Island Cruises and Dukes Court Travel, Laws says he wanted to professionalise how offers were distributed.

Along with co-founder Steve Rushton, former director at Simply Travel, Laws says experience working for both agencies and operators allows the duo to “see things from both sides”.

“Nowadays, a lot of offers are sent out by operators via email,” he explains. “They carefully craft an email, writing about agent overrides, incentives and rates, and then send the message to their agency network.”

“But from an agent’s point of view, you’re getting lots of emails, from lots of operators. The emails are rarely opened, and even if it  is opened it’s then difficult to integrate the deal into your website.

“You can publish it via Twitter or Facebook but then the deals are unlikely to look consistent.”

How it works
Net Effect loads deals onto Latecards.co.uk (so far there are about 4,000) from a range of operators, which pay commission. Agents log in, and select the deal  – up to three per day – that they wish to promote.

If an agent requests product from a supplier that is not on Latecards, Net Effect contacts the operator to add them to its database.

A link is then sent to the agent’s Twitter account and their Facebook page updated. They can also print card or poster-sized materials for their shop window. Deal links are directed to the Latecards website, but branded with the agent’s logo, details and phone number.

Laws is also looking at a way to integrate the deals into agents’ own emailing systems, so that offers can be forwarded easily to their database.

There is a £150 joining fee and subscription cost of £49 per month to use Latecards, with special rates for consortia. Advantage members, for example, do not pay a sign-up fee, have the first six months free and then pay £35 per month.

The downside of such a billing system is that its reach to potential customers is only as large as the community it can build up. But it seems likely that Latecards is the first of many sites to reward travel companies that take social media seriously and engage with active and lapsed customers.

Knowing your community’s limits, and timing, is essential because no one likes to be spammed.

Measuring success may also prove difficult, because the purpose is to drive phone calls rather than actually sell via social media. Laws says 200 registered agents will be needed before research can get started – there are 70 – but even then return on investment statistics will be anecdotal due to third-party intervention.

For now, although some consortia offer similar in-house systems, Laws claims Latecards is unique. “In terms of making something really simple – it takes about three minutes – I don’t think there is anything else out there,” he says.

“We’re giving high street agents the chance to showcase high-value holidays, and get good commission. Only by doing so are they able to compete with online travel agents. Agents need to remind people why they exist in the first place.”

(Published in TTG 15.03.12)

Ebookers’ Rob Define tells Matthew Parsons how the company is striving for a ‘seamless experience’ to boost sales from on-the-go customers

It seems there is still much more work to be done in cracking the mobile market. The travel industry’s major online players have successfully migrated onto a range of mobile devices, but for ebookers, part of the Orbitz group, something is still lacking. In the eyes of Rob Define, ebookers’ director of product, the holy grail is the “seamless experience”.

Social success
When he joined the firm at the end of 2010, Define was surprised to find few people looking at the iPad and quickly set about building an app in collaboration with digital agency Fortune Cookie. The Explorer app generates guides for a destination by pulling in various content from social media, to see what people “are really saying”.

Its launch in May 2011 coincided with the hype surrounding the launch of Apple’s iPad 2. But now is the time to focus on the transactional side, says Define.

“The Explorer app is good at bringing in social media, but now we are focusing on the seamless experiences across all devices,” he explains.

“For example, it’s natural to do a bit of holiday research on your PC at work, then during the commute on your mobile phone, and then when you’re at home.”

Offering this continuity is “the next area” because speed is crucial to conversion, he adds. Users on any device must be able to have the chance to purchase a holiday in just three taps (excluding credit card entry).

On-the-go bookings
Last year, the percentage of ebookers’ transactions conducted via mobile devices doubled, echoing Google’s recent UK-based analysis showing 300% growth year-on-year of people searching “travel” from mobile platforms.

“We’re really looking at last-minute, whether that’s hotel, car or air,” Define says.“We’re meeting a whole new set of customer needs with the mobile platform. And we’ll double mobile transactions again in 2012 for hotels.”

Ebookers also offers “mobile-exclusive” deals, which he says are performing well.

“Hotels are coming to us more to sell their last-minute inventory. There’s a high uptake of offers, and for all types of hotels.”

Ebookers does not sell other agents’ deals but does offer “ebookers for agents” (ebookersforagents.com), a commission-based affiliate scheme, allowing other online travel agents to sell its product. Launched in the UK at the end of 2010, the scheme incorporates 100,000 hotels worldwide and commission rates of up to 12%.

First foray
With a strong ecommerce background (previous employers include Europcar, Expedia and johnlewis.com), Define is sure mobile is the way forward.

“Any travel company must launch a mobile website first; it has the widest reach, as it can be accessed from any phone. It really is good as the first foray into mobile booking.”

Apps, meanwhile, come later and are essential for building loyalty, says Define, adding that a larger percentage of repeat bookings come from apps.

He says it isn’t all about Apple either – with Google’s Android platform taking a greater share of bookings – although Apple users appear to be the bigger spenders.

In all, Apple’s iOS platform and Android provide 96% of visitors to the ebookers mobile website.

Simple strategy
When building an app, Define says it is crucial it is “the highest quality you can afford” and achieves five-star ratings in the reviews section of Apple’s app store. His other tips include using “lazy load” images – where images only load when you scroll to their location rather than sapping the bandwidth – and, of course, easy three-step booking.

As well as setting his sights on the seamless experience, Define has been tasked with developing Orbitz Worldwide’s HotelClub brand in the Asia-Pacific region, with a mobile platform launching soon. He also plans to work more on the Android platform. “We’re a multi-product OTA, so our goal is to have all our product on all of our platforms.”

(Published in TTG 22.03.12)

From iPads to digital windows, keeping up with in-store technology trends can help you break down barriers with younger clients and make your store a ‘cool’ place to be. Matthew Parsons reports

When Designer Travel’s Debra Hammond spoke at a local college earlier this month, she says the reaction when she introduced herself as a travel agent was “like I was swearing at them”. Not only did some students at Sussex Downs College believe agents in general “rip you off” because television adverts encourage you to book independently, but they seemed highly unlikely to walk into their local high street store.

It seems a challenge to entice younger travellers into high street agencies – most of which are “stuck in the 1970s, with their bank of desks barring agent from customer” according to one senior travel professional.

However, better use of technology and a more playful approach may help to solve what Hammond declares is a “negative attitude” among teenage and twenty-something travellers, and in turn reinvigorate sales on the high street – which is a cornerstone of TTG’s latest Trust in Travel Agents campaign: Backing our British high streets.

Play time

Virgin Holidays is one such company taking in-store technology seriously. At its High Street Kensington “Emporium”, which opened last December, an 80-inch screen displaying the words “Play with me” greets customers.

For Patrick Berrera (pictured bottom right), project manager at Virgin Holidays for the past four years, a shop must now be “a cool place to sit in” and a unique experience.

“It’s welcoming, and designed to entice people in. They’re curious, as there’s lots of theatre created with all of the screens,” he says. “When people walk in, the reaction is ‘wow’.”

The screens in question don’t just display offers, but let users browse destinations via iPads, or come to life using augmented-reality technology.

Customers are encouraged to pick up iPads and point at so-called digital windows to create an illusion – triggering a cruise ship to sail right by, or a snowboarder to dash past – or even to load brochures via QR codes.

“It all says to the customer: ‘come and talk to us when you’re ready’,” Berrera believes, adding that this soft-sell approach has been perfected by Apple in its stores.

“Travel can learn from Apple. You’re encouraged to play. Obviously they want you to buy something, but it doesn’t feel that way. If the experience is good, the customer will come back.

“Virgin is a customer-centric brand; we entertain the customer, and meet their needs,” he adds.

Getting the layout right as well as the technology is key, advises Berrera, stressing that shops need to break down the barrier between agent and customer by sharing the view of a computer screen between them.

While it is still too early to ascertain whether the hi-tech investment has boosted sales, the store will carry on targeting “early adopters” (those in the 24 to early-30s age bracket) as Virgin Holidays claims the impact on customer satisfaction is worth the “heavy” costs.

External view

Lee Hunt, managing director of Deben Travel in Woodbridge, Suffolk, is taking a different approach, deciding to focus on the exterior of his store, conscious that many people just don’t have the time to walk into an agency.

Hunt has installed a digital window screen, with a 50-inch television displaying professional images, videos and offers. He uses Trailstream, which rents out the equipment from “a few hundred pounds per quarter”, and provides content for more than 2,000 properties. He also displays a large vinyl QR code.

He explains: “As we close at 5.30pm each day, people walking by on the way to the pub or restaurant can scan our QR code. Then, when they’re in the pub, they can look and see exactly what holidays are available. Or it’s saved on their phone for whenever they have a spare moment.”

However, he urges any company thinking of doing this to first ensure they have a “decent mobile website” full of up-to-date product.

In store, meanwhile, Deben Travel has more QR codes to direct people to different destinations, an idea taken from his time as regional manager for pharmacy chain Boots. Most product launches in a Boots store, such as shaving cream or shampoo, would feature QR codes in order to quickly direct people to the brand website.

He also believes busier agencies should arm their meet-and-greet staff with iPads. Not only is it a “good way to look a bit more modern”, but it helps with data capture as staff can take the details of anyone who enters immediately.

Hunt also thinks embracing new technology is a tactical plus for independents in the battle against larger companies such as Thomas Cook, which would likely need to “spend thousands” and take longer to roll out in-store technology.

The verdict

Virgin Holidays’ Berrera (pictured) says: “Technology is a cost-effective way to make an impression; you can’t deny that most people nowadays have a smartphone.”

But introducing new elements is not without risks. As well as financial investment, managers need to invest time in training staff, on how to introduce technology into the sales dialogue for example.

Agencies must also be wary of information overload – just because something is “new”, it does not mean it should be in a retail store.

Meanwhile, Virgin Holidays is working on a new iPad app designed for use in-store and out, in a bid to break down the boundaries even further. It’s all under wraps for now, but Berrera is set to speak about the “iPad concept” at an invite-only Apple business conference in April, alongside Blue Juice, the digital agency he worked with on the High Street Kensington store.

Whatever approach high street shops take next to attract the new generation of consumers, the hope is students will be swearing by rather than at travel agents next time Hammond visits her local college.

(Published in TTG 08.03.12)

After 30 years, Vertical Systems has updated its Tarsc software, adding a suite of new services called Intuiti and rebranding at the same time. Matthew Parsons reports

If you were at the recent Travel Technology Show, you may have noticed a large perspex container filled with lemons
at stand C33.

As far as displays go, it’s an unusual way to lure in other delegates – but one that worked well for Vertical Systems.

Its chief executive, Mike Russell, says there was some gentle ribbing over the choice of lemons, but it caught the eye of passers-by.

And at a show that some delegates complained was “subdued”, Vertical had queues at its stand to showcase Intuiti, its new cloud-based suite of travel technology products, on its laptops.

Vertical Systems, the technology arm of the Vertical Group (which includes brands such as Miss Ellies Travel, Bedbank.com and Holiday Experts), has been an established player in the travel technology field since 1982, due to its travel agent software Tarsc.

New portfolio
Tarsc remains — although it is now available web-based and called Intuiti Tarsc – and is joined by new products Intuiti Web (an online booking system and content management system); Intuiti Money (for foreign exchange); Intuiti CRM (a customer relationship management system); Intuiti Search (client-facing software, using XML feeds); Intuiti Stock (online inventory); and Intuiti CTI (a telephone system that recognises callers). They all integrate with Intuiti Tarsc, but can be bought separately.

One stand-out feature of the new suite for Abbey Thomas, key account manager at Vertical Systems, is Intuiti CTI. This telephone software system is able to recognise callers, and instantly integrates existing customers’ details into the main Intuiti CRM – or indeed any other CRM.

Another plus for the agent, Thomas says, is that the suite integrates so well that the user rarely needs to leave the system, and passenger details are carried over seamlessly to each product.

Coming from a travel agent background, Thomas says this is a tool she would have been grateful of in her homeworking days, when each operator, hotel or airline required details to be entered each time, as it saves time.

During my test run, the call from her mobile leads to her name and details being displayed. A booking is made – using Intuiti Search to find a hotel and flights – eliminating the need to visit other websites. Even links to review sites such as TripAdvisor are incorporated.

However, one glitch was that despite checking the “direct-flight only” box, the results returned indirect flights. She says tweaks are still being made.

Although prices have yet to be confirmed, Thomas says the more components you purchase, the better value. Purchase also comes with training, forums and a help desk. Thomas hopes to use Facebook to answer any questions (facebook.com/
verticalsystems).

As well as launching Intuiti, Vertical Systems also used the Travel Technology Show as an opportunity to relaunch the Vertical brand itself. Russell, who joined Vertical in 2009 and became chief executive in April 2011, says the time is right for Vertical Systems to shout about its technology.

“It’s been a couple of years since we had a stand here,” he says. “We’ve been developing our products and wanted to produce something that we think is suitable for agents – not something that was company-led.”

The launch has been “hugely successful” he adds. “Intuiti has been well received — people have been queueing up, and one potential customer didn’t believe it was a live demo as it performed so quickly.”

Vertical Systems has already taken orders from several “small and large companies”, and Russell says it is important travel companies refocus on selling holidays. “Social media is important, but you need to get to back to basics,” he says, warning that tough market conditions are here to stay: “Even after the recession, we’ve all still got a long struggle ahead. There will be consolidation in the industry.”

In the meantime, Vertical Systems is set to showcase Intuiti at its own roadshows this year, and will attend Abta regional meetings (it is an Abta travel industry partner).

(Published in TTG 23.02.12)

Our best website tester is my mother,” says Mark Attwell, managing director of holiday price comparison site dealchecker.co.uk – not that he’s advocating agents get in touch with her.

What he means is that people who don’t use your website on a daily basis are the best ones to test it because they move around it intuitively.

Dealchecker decided to redesign the “Real Deals” section of its website – a section that is promoted in a weekly email that goes out to
1.3 million people – on the back of feedback from its subscribers.

“Our editorial team writes the newsletter each week, and they receive feedback from the subscribers, which generates lots of the ideas,” explains Attwell, who joined last summer from comparethemarket.com.

With these kinds of subscriber numbers, even the smallest of changes has the potential to make a big impact on the company’s bottom line.

Altering alerts
The entire team (25 staff across sales, marketing, technology and editorial departments) got together to discuss ideas in October before embarking on a two-month testing period.

“It was a great team effort; you have to get a lot of people around, to get the ideas flowing,” says Attwell.

During a quiet November and December, six iterations of the Real Deals section were analysed.

The actual format of the email itself remained the same because you only have a “finite amount of words” with this type of media,
says Attwell.

With only one minor change taking place each week, he says the key was having a benchmark to measure any success against, such as emailing 50% of the subscribers the old design.

Dealchecker’s editor Alice Mariscotti-Wyatt says alterations were made to key holiday details, putting them into a more clearly defined list and with a destination image.

“The previous newsletter template was working – it just wasn’t optimised to its full potential, and didn’t communicate who the team were and the effort that goes into finding and selecting the deals,” she says.

“The thing that gave us the greatest benefit was the placement of the ‘call to action’ button. In all our tests this had a huge impact.

Previously the button was in a logical place at the end of the text, but below the fold. Now it’s bright orange, at the top of the page so readers know exactly how to progress with the booking as soon as the page opens.”

Subscribers are also now invited to rate the deals each week, and all social media links have been repositioned, in a bid to encourage greater audience participation.

The company also ran each new design through Google’s free website optimiser tool, and by December conversion rates were up 15% in good preparation for the peak January sales period.

Linking to partners
With partners ranging from Tui and British Airways to smaller niche operators, Dealchecker operates various financial models – some pay per booking made, others to appear on its email alert.

But Attwell reveals: “If our team spots a great deal, sometimes we will promote it and the company gets free traffic from us.

“We also help people along the way by designing banners for our partners, and we will also promote deals that can only be booked by phone,” he adds.

One unexpected outcome from the redesign process was that the success gave the team confidence to start redesigning its own homepage, starting next month.

With Attwell’s “little surefooted steps” approach you may not notice this at first glance, but no doubt mother would approve.

(Published in TTG 02.02.12)

The Travel Technology Initiative and European Tour Operators Association have teamed up to provide what they claim is a ‘revolutionary’ hotel coding system. Matthew Parsons finds out more

In this age of dynamic packaging, travel sellers are faced with multiple feeds from different sources – each one using a different code for properties.

On top of that, agents need to contend with ever-growing numbers of hotels, and keep on top of changing brands and affiliations.

Is everyone talking about the same hotel? Will clients be checking into the Grand Hotel, or the Hotel Grande around the corner? Are the contact details up to date, or the geo-code (used by Google Maps) correct?

In a bid to end the confusion, the Travel Technology Initiative (TTI) has set up TTIcodes – a new electronic hotel ID scheme – to standardise the way hotels across the globe are identified, and put an end to the duplication of hotels in every travel company’s database.

Peter Dennis, chairman of the TTI, says it addresses the “nightmare faced by every travel company that takes several bed bank feeds”.

“TTIcodes will be important for agencies, operators, third-party aggregators and tourist boards,” he says.

The background
The project stemmed from a TTI forum on mapping in June 2009. Operators asked if there was a geo-coding standard for hotels, while agencies and bed banks asked if unique identifiers existed.

But it is a subject that has been discussed for a lot longer, says Dennis, whose career in the hotel sector spans 30 years. He has worked with chains such as Marriott, where he was part of the team responsible for placing properties on to GDSs.

He has also been part of the Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association, which since the 1980s has discussed hotel coding in the US.

Dennis left Marriott in 1997 to set up consultancyTime Communications Group, and in September 2010 became chairman of TTI.

Meet the host
Germany-based content distribution company Giata is managing the database. It was identified as the most suitable “technical partner” as it already houses a database of 200,000 properties, and works with companies such as Tui, Cook and Expedia. Because it works with 20,000 tourism-based companies, it continually maps properties.

However, some critics say such a standard should be open – and free, but Dennis says the cost  is justifiable.

“We needed a host that could manage lots of data, and with geo-coding experience,” he says. “TTI is a not-for-profit body, but there’s a cost to host the codes and a value to them.”

Going live
Following beta-testing with companies such as Holiday Taxis and Destinology, TTI launched the scheme on January 24.

Paul Richer, senior partner at consultancy Genesys, and a member of the TTIcodes Project Group, says there was a lot of enthusiasm at last week’s launch, with the likes of Multicom, Teletext Holidays, Tui, Kuoni, STA Travel, Dertour, Travel Counsellors, and On Holiday Group attending.

Richer admits that TTIcodes might be less relevant for smaller agencies, but adds that if an agent works with a supplier was using TTIcodes, the agent would know they were getting high quality data.

“They would use this service to de-duplicate their hotel availability display – and in the end help consumers get the right holiday, and instill confidence in that travel seller,” he says.

The future of its success depends on the larger players in the travel industry, and Dennis hopes they will embrace the scheme: “Travelport, Sabre, Amadeus each have a different code for each hotel, and I estimate there are about 120,000 hotels in those GDS databases.”

To promote the scheme, TTI will be demonstrating it at the Travel Technology Show at Earls Court, February 7-8, and at its own conferences and forums this year, which are open to non-TTI members.

Having been 30 years in the making, the TTI’s hopes must be high that uptake will be swift from the UK travel trade.

(Published in TTG 19.02.12)

Making your website bookable can really pay off – but there are pitfalls to avoid. Matthew Parsons speaks to Travelmaker in the Channel Islands, which recently took the plunge

For many travel agencies, a website with little more than their contact details and opening times does the trick – and in certain sectors, such as luxury, the selling process may be more about the personal touch.

But to access the growing generation of people who only do their travel booking, or any kind of shopping for that matter, on the web, it pays to offer customers the chance to book their holiday in the way they choose.

One such agency, The Co-operative Travelmaker in the Channel Islands, decided to take the online plunge in June last year, with its first-ever bookable site going live in December.

Why be bookable?
“It’s the convenience factor,” says Carl Winn, general travel manager. “People have hectic lifestyles now; being able to pop into a shop between 9am and 5.30pm is not always an option.”

Travelmaker’s main client-base is the 50-plus age group, and the agency, which has 18 staff across its two branches in Jersey and Guernsey, will continue to target them. However, it is hoped the website will attract new clients in the Channel Islands.

Another factor is that a bookable section “reinforces your credentials as a serious travel agency”, Winn adds.

However, beware of launching a new website with promises of huge web-only deals, as this could alienate existing customers. Winn says customers must always come first: “We have the convenience of being online, but also have local representation. If there’s a problem with an online booking, customers know we’re down the road if they need some help.”

The first steps
World Travel Market was the ideal starting point to set about researching bookable platforms, Winn says. “We went there in November 2010 and spoke to a few technology companies, and kept in touch with them afterwards. But in the end we chose Comtec, as it already supplied our back office systems.”

Travelmaker was already using Travelcat, Comtec’s B2B agency management system, and opted to add the B2C platform TravelConnect to make its travelmaker.co.uk site bookable. “The deciding factor was the ease of integration,” Winn says.

Once the supplier has been picked, next came the design, with training and support carried out by teleconferencing. The agency gave Comtec brand guidelines and a client profile to work to, and suggested other sites that they did and did not like.

“In June, we started work on the look and feel of the website, such as colours, fonts and graphics, and then built it up as we went along.
We then set up the XML feeds, with Comtec putting us in touch with some of the suppliers.”

The website in December offered beach holidays in Europe, with Winn wanting to take things slowly as the team got used to it. Next, it will add extras, such as the Galileo GDS, car hire, and no-frills flights that can be taken to and from the Channel Islands. The bolt-ons all come as part of the package.

Despite the extra functionality, computer expertise isn’t essential.

One of the most important aspects of creating a bookable site is imagination – creating a look that will evoke the right holiday experience and entice potential customers to get clicking.

“You pick it up as you go along,” Winn says. “It went over my head at times, but you get there,” he adds.

Three days before the handover in December, a representative from Comtec visited the Travelmaker offices to further train staff on the content management system.

What’s the cost?
Winn says the cost was similar to that of employing a full-time consultant. However, it is important to factor in extra resources to update the site, whether it is admin or adding XML feeds.

Travelmaker will also be allocating resources to social media to promote the website. “It’s going to form a massive part of our campaign,”

Winn says. “We’ll start with getting likes on our Facebook page (facebook.com/cooptravelmaker), and ask people what they are interested in, then sign them up to our newsletter.”

Another way of using technology to get even closer to customers comes in the form of QR codes – images that are scanned by smartphones, which then link to a specific website. The agency, as part of the Channel Islands Co-operative Society, will be placing QR codes in various Co-operative stores, with the added benefit of being able to track where the website visitor arrivals are coming from.

So has the new website been worth the investment? “It’s a bit too early to tell if it’s a success, but we’re really pleased with the outcome,” says Winn. “We are being cautious for year one, and in year two hopefully it will have paid for itself.”

(Published in TTG 16.02.12)

A new partnership between Google Maps and thetrainline.com could help agents earn more commission from rail travel. Matthew Parsons reports

Packed commuter trains crawling along tracks after a light dusting of snow may not bring to mind a golden age of travel, but there’s no denying the appeal of travel by rail, and many are still switching for a range of reasons.

As well as speed (set to improve further once the government’s HS2 project is complete), there are rising petrol costs and the public’s desire to be greener to consider, not to mention tighter corporate policies on business travel.

One rail operator keen to work with more agents is thetrainline.com, which unites most of the UK’s major rail operators, such as First Great Western and Virgin Trains, into a single bookable website and began working with the travel trade in 2003.

“Our business travel side is quite well established now. It’s maturing, and moving away from the call centre to self-booking tools,” says Adrian Watts, sales and distribution director.

The company currently works with the likes of Hogg Robinson, Carlson Wagonlit, Egencia and American Express, as well as domestic tour operators, and is eager to work with leisure agents whatever their size.

Tools for agents
The trainline.com pays around 3% commission to agents for bookings, and offers three tools that agents can embed into their websites: TOTI (track over the internet) – a professional call centre reservation tool; a self-booking tool; and an API that provides content.

Although the company charges for the technology costs, partnerships director Omid Golshan argues that agents “don’t need any hardware” as passengers pick up their tickets on the day of departure, and there’s no licence involved.

“It’s an easy win for agents to work with us,” he adds.

For a lower outlay, smaller agencies can take the affiliate option.

“If agents already have a front-end system, and want to use the TOTI system, then all we do is give them a URL, open up a firewall, and they can be up and running within 10 days,” says Watts.

“It’s useful if they are trying to switch their customers away from driving, or want to promote train travel to Heathrow, for example,” he adds.

On the map
Thetrainline.com’s latest project with Google Maps underpins the operator’s drive to make booking as easy as possible.
This innovation was first conceived two years ago, but only launched

on January 19 this year after developers from both sides spent six months merging the two technologies.

“We do a lot of business with Google anyway. There were development costs, but it’s not a commercial agreement,” says Golshan.

Anyone using Google Maps can click on “Get directions” on the left of the screen to find the best route from point A to B. Currently the default options is via car – it’s a similar method to the AA Route Planner.

Now a train icon has been added to the right of the car icon, allowing the user to plan their route via train – with live times – and most importantly each station on the highlighted journey now comes with a link to thetrainline.com. Further down the line, click-throughs may be traceable back to a travel agent – enabling them to earn 3% on each booking.

This addition would provide a useful tool for any agents wanting to embed the highly popular Google Maps into their website.

Ed Parsons, Google UK’s geospatial technologist, says the tie-up with the trainline.com – adding public transport station and schedule information – is a part of Google Maps’ mission “to provide a wide range of relevant local information for the whole of Britain”.

One downside is the slightly hidden location of the train icon, and Golshan admits there is scope for more education. “When we went live there was a high level of interest and excitement, with thousands of tweets. It is a lot more successful than we imagined,” he says.

“But I think Google will now do more to educate people about it.”

Another negative is that the user expects thetrainline.com’s window to provide the itinerary for their desired journey – but instead they are asked to type in their details again. “This is on the cards, and we’ll have to work more closely with Google,” says Golshan.

(Published in TTG 15.12.11)

The Fiesta Hotel Group has found an innovative way to harness the power of guests’ holiday snaps on Facebook. Matthew Parsons finds out how clubbers in Ibiza are raving about their hotel stay

There’s no denying the influence of Facebook – especially in light of its recent valuation of $10 billion ahead of its IPO, planned for April of 2012.

Most travel companies have a presence on the social networking website in a bid to boost marketing and loyalty, and grow online sales. But earlier this year one hotel decided to bring about a more physical connection between its guests and Facebook.

In July, Fiesta Hotel Group’s Ushuaia Ibiza Beach Hotel (formerly Playa d’en Bossa) became the first hotel in the world to add “Facebook pillars” around the property, allowing guests to post status updates to their friends back home, and, in the hotel’s words, “make their friends jealous”.

Behind this fun way to allow guests to share their experiences lies a serious approach to data capture, paving the way for highly targeted campaigns.

Installing these pillars was inspired by two unlikely events – a Renault car show in France, and a Coca Cola event in Israel.

These events saw delegates given cards that contained chips with RFID (radio frequency identification) technology, allowing their movements, and engagement, to be tracked.

Fiesta approached the Dutch company that provided these cards, and together with Facebook set about transforming Ushuaia into a Facebook-connected hotel.

It’s all in the wrist
“Our guests are in the 20-30 age bracket – they are into social media. We asked: ‘How can they share their experience?’” says Alfonso Jimenez, marketing director of Fiesta Hotel Group.

It was not practical to provide hotel guests with cards, he says, so instead the hotel decided to place the RFID chips in wristbands, given to guests at check-in, and non-guests arriving to see concerts.

There are seven Facebook pillars: three with cameras (in the beach, stage and lobby areas) and another four for text-only status updates.

Once someone first swipes their wristband, they are asked to enter their Facebook name and password; from then on the pillars “remember” that person.

A pillar can also allow up to six people to sign in at any one time, so for a group photo each guest swipes in, and the same picture is updated to each person’s wall area on their Facebook page.

The hotel puts on four concerts a week, with each one attracting between 4,000 and 7,000 people, so the social media marketing potential is huge.

Numbers game
After just two months, Jimenez says he was happy with the results: 70,000 “Likes”, 6,600 Facebook status updates and 6,000 shared pictures had been generated.

These numbers represent a growing number of fans, and following this data capture, Fiesta was able to swiftly launch a campaign.
“In September, we offered a 15% discount to our Facebook fans. This led to an extra €30-40,000 in revenue for us,” Jimenez says.

“As well as filling rooms, there are commercial opportunities the technology opens for us. We can update the pillars so guests’ messages will also promote a particular DJ, artist or band. We are also selling merchandise.”

Paying off
The hotel spent €23 million on Playa d’en Bossa’s makeover, including the Facebook pillars and extra touches such as streaming TV and audio in the rooms, and special DJ suites – and believes the investment was worth it. Room rates may have risen from €75-80 to €150 per night after the refurb, but for its first season the 230-room hotel was at 85% occupancy.

In the current economic climate, Jimenez says social media marketing is important as hotels need to have that direct link with guests.

However, he acknowledges the trade plays a major role in sales. About 89% of sales come from the trade, and 65% from the British market.

He adds there is also a ripe opportunity for a niche music/clubbing operator to work with Fiesta.

Meanwhile, the hotel group is predicting its model will be copied around the world, and particularly in the travel industry.

“We worked on this with Facebook. It’s a crossover into the holiday experience for them, and they’re now using us as a case study,” Jimenez says.

(Published in TTG 08.12.11)

Travelzoo’s app has been downloaded by 200,000 people in just four months. David Ambrose tells Matthew Parsons how it was devised, and why it can help agents improve their own mobile websites

I  know an ungodly amount about thumbs,” admits David Ambrose. Travelzoo’s new business development director describes at length the “one-thumb” aspect of the company’s new iPhone app.

The average pixel size of a thumb (44 if you’re interested) is just one gem he shares about mobile technology, and he says there’s much agents can learn from how Travelzoo’s app was developed.

But he also warns business-owners they must be careful of getting caught up in app-mania.

There’s little point in designing an app for the sake of it – and it’s important to remember that smartphones, well, they can still actually be used to talk to people.

Travelzoo discovered this, among other key findings, when developing its own app – launched in the  US only at the end of July, and internationally at the end of September.

So far, there have been 200,000 downloads.

Some might regard Travelzoo as a bit of a latecomer to the app party, but Ambrose says now is exactly the right time to get onboard.

Citing new results from Google that show a staggering 300% growth year-on-year of people searching “travel” from mobile devices in the UK (more than in the US), he says there is a “new wave”.

“It feels like when the first website was published. It feels like a green field in front of you,” he adds.

Building blocks
When developing its new iPhone app, Ambrose says it was key to strip out a lot of content, look at design, and focus on location.

For an app, or any mobile website, he says content is king, and simplicity is always key.

“If your mobile website has 20 pictures, what am I supposed to be looking at?” Ambrose says. “There’s a lot of people trying to book on a mobile site nowadays, and they don’t want to wait.”

“At Travelzoo, we’ve removed a lot of the content. We asked ourselves, what’s useful when you’re travelling?”

As a result, the app has a complete cycle, available in five sections, ranging from planning a trip to when you land – the app automatically detects which country you are in.

When it comes to design, Ambrose says the customer needs to be able to buy with just one push of the thumb: “The mouse no longer exist. It’s about digits.”

He says the Travelzoo app also makes it easy to book on the partner’s website, or call the travel agent directly, as it taps into the phone function. This ability to call is also paramount to any mobile website, and phone numbers must be visible.

Location, meanwhile, is key because “people are also spontaneous”.

“About 10% of traffic to Travelzoo comes from mobile devices. The idea of the ‘on the go’ traveller is really interesting,” he says, with the app now tapping into Travelzoo advertisers that are geographically close to the user.

The location feature comes as little surprise, as Ambrose was the founder of Scoop St – a Groupon-style website aimed at restaurants in New York, which he sold to Groupon-rival Buywithme.com in the summer for $5 million.

Where agents fit in
The model is performance driven, and right now, Ambrose says travel is “powerful for us”.

He urges agents to get in touch, as Travelzoo’s new Getaways feature, could be a win-win situation, with Travelzoo able to drive customers to agents.

While Travelzoo is not a design helpline, Ambrose says the company does look at its travel agent partners’ websites, as he wants to ensure advertisers’ mobile websites are “a delightful consumer experience”.

The company emphasises contact numbers, encouraging subscribers to call agents, as well as soon being able to offer the chance to make a booking direct with the app with one push of the thumb.

Whatever the approach to mobile, Ambrose says agents should now think of a strategy.

“The UK travel industry must understand that the online storefront analogy is here to stay.

“This is a reality check,” he adds.