Posts Tagged ‘Tourism Marketing’

Indian Wells Wins W3 Award for Interactive Sweepstakes

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

HeBS today announced receipt of three W3 Silver Awards for outstanding achievement in Web 2.0 and website development.  The W3 awards are sanctioned and judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts, consisting of top-tier professionals from media, advertising and marketing firms.  The 2009 awards were chosen from a pool of 3,000 entries from top companies and agencies worldwide.

W3 Silver Award Winners:

“These awards show how important an innovative, interactive campaign and a creative website are to a hotel’s marketing and distribution efforts,” said Max Starkov, president and CEO of HeBS. “The award winners, our client hoteliers, understand the competitive advantages of a comprehensive, well executed Direct Online Channel strategy. A powerful web presence enables them to reach out directly to their customers, resulting in increased revenues and above-industry average ROIs.”

The hotel website has become the first point of contact with past, present and future customers. In the case of hotel websites not developed according to industry’s best practices, this is often the last point of contact with the customer. Hotel websites can no longer exist as mere online brochures and transactional mechanisms; they have to be at least as engaging and interactive as social media networks and the blogosphere. Sites must now provide a range of Web 2.0 features and functionalities such as sweepstakes, contests, photo sharing, blogs, quizzes, interactive games and event calendars.  With interactive campaigns, such as Indian Wells’ 30 Day Free Room Giveaway Sweepstakes, hotel websites must intrigue users by allowing them to interact with the destination or brand.

The above W3 Award winners understand it is no longer sufficient to have just any hotel website. Today’s online travel consumers demand that a hotel website have honest and truthful content, rich media, and interactive features and functionalities that guarantee an impeccable user experience every time.

The W3 Awards honor superior creativity on the web and recognize the individuals behind award-winning web sites, web advertising and web marketing programs.  W3 is the first major web competition to be accessible to a wide range of agencies from the major agencies to the smaller firms.

About HeBS
Hospitality eBusiness Strategies (HeBS), the industry’s leading Internet marketing strategy consulting firm for the hospitality verticals, is based in New York City (www.hospitalityebusiness.com). HeBS has pioneered many of the “best practices” in hotel Internet marketing and direct online distribution. The firm specializes in helping hoteliers build their direct Internet marketing and distribution strategies, boost the hotel Internet marketing presence, establish interactive relationships with customers, and significantly increase direct online bookings and ROIs. A diverse client portfolio of over 500 top tier major hotel brands, luxury and boutique hotel companies, hotel management and representation companies, franchisees and independents, resorts and casinos and CVBs has sought and successfully taken advantage of HeBS’ firm hospitality Internet marketing expertise. Contact HeBS consultants at (212) 688-2731 or info@hospitalityebusiness.com.

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Posted in Travel, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Indian Wells Hotels Earn 2010 AAA Four Diamond Awards

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

Visit http://au.sys-con.com/node/1141364 for complete article and list of hotels.

Indian Wells, California Resorts to make list:  Hyatt Grand Champions Resort, Villas, and Spa, Miramonte Resort & Spa and Renaissance Esmeralda Resort and Spa

LOS ANGELES, CA — (Marketwire) — 10/13/09 — Sixty-six Southern California hotels and 32 restaurants have earned the 2010 AAA Four Diamond Award, the Automobile Club of Southern California announced today. Six locations appear for the first time on the 2010 list, including the SLS Hotel and the Montage in Beverly Hills; two in Rancho Mirage; one in Pismo Beach and one in San Diego County.

The coveted rating plaque featuring a design of four raised simulated diamonds and the AAA Four Diamond Award logo are presented to hotel and restaurant general managers and executive chefs to recognize the award-winning properties, which rank among the top 3.4 percent of more than 2,600 Southern California hotels, motels, and restaurants inspected by the Auto Club, the nation’s largest AAA affiliate.

“North America’s AAA Diamond Rating System is a long-time trusted method of rating lodgings and dining establishments, especially during what has been a difficult economic year for the hospitality industry and also for travelers,” said the Auto Club’s Approved Accommodations Supervisor Patricia Marenco. “Southern California’s hotels and restaurants that earn the AAA Four Diamond award maintain a very high standard of service in their hotels and restaurants in order to continue pleasing their guests.”

AAA’s Diamond rating program is the only hotel and restaurant review system in the nation that uses specially trained full-time field representatives. As part of AAA’s national network, the Auto Club’s own staff reviews establishments in Southern California without prior notification using objective and detailed rating procedures.

Lodging inspections include at least one unannounced inspection each year. Inspectors review and rate exterior, grounds and public areas, room décor, ambiance and amenities, guest room, bathrooms, housekeeping and maintenance, management and staff and guest services. Once the inspection process is complete, properties that meet all requirements receive a rating of one to five Diamonds.

AAA approves and rates more than 31,000 lodgings and 27,000 restaurants each year throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. A wide range of property listings are included in regional TourBook® guides, with a yearly distribution of nearly 20 million, and on AAA.com, where many travel planning and information services — including the well-known TripTik® Travel Planner, TourBook® listings and Diamond Ratings — are now available to non-members as well. The AAA Four Diamond rating is exclusive in that less than 4% of all AAA approved properties achieve this rating.

The 2010 AAA Five Diamond Award lodging and restaurant recipients will be announced in November.

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Posted in Travel | No Comments »

‘Ramble California’ offers offbeat travel ideas

Friday, July 31st, 2009
The Times-Standard

Posted: 07/26/2009 01:37:09 AM PDT
GOLDEN, Colo. — Eric Peterson says California “just might be the greatest state for road trips.” And he’s written a new book to prove his point: “Ramble California: A Wanderer’s Guide to the Offbeat, Overlooked, and Outrageous.”

The book includes sections on Los Angeles and Southern California, on San Francisco, on Central California’s coastal areas and valley, on the High Sierra, on places in the California desert like Joshua Tree National Park, Death Valley and Palm Springs and, yes, the North Coast also has several mentions in the book.

Peterson writes about the Captain Courageous roadside memorial in Klamath, the Curly Redwood Lodge in Crescent City, the Willow Creek-China Flat Museum and other locales. He also spends several paragraphs on the infamous “Emerald Triangle,” focusing on Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties.

Listings highlight others quirky attractions, too, like the Bunny Museum in Pasadena, San Diego’s haunted Whaley House, and Barney’s Beanery in Hollywood, where chili has been the house special for decades. Some chapters are more travelogue than guidebook, like “A Beer Drinker in Wine Country,” and “Sand and Surf and a Fence into the Ocean,” about a six-day, 300-mile trip that included 50 miles by bike and time on a surfboard.

The $19 paperback, published by Colorado-based Speck Press, is part of a series of “Ramble” books by Peterson, which also includes guides to Colorado and to the U.S.

Separately, the California Travel and Tourism Commission has just released its free annual road trips guide. Copies of California Road Trips 2009 can be ordered from (877) 867-3748 or downloaded for free from http://www.visitcalifornia.com/visitorsguide. The booklet highlights places like Calico Ghost Town, Old Mission Santa Barbara, and the Sundial Bridge in Redding. The Web site also has a deals section at http://www.visitcalifornia.com/summerdeals mentioning hotel offers, gift cards and gas card credits, and options like the Southern California City-Pass, which bundles theme park tickets at a discount.

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Posted in Travel | 5 Comments »

Eight million travelers apply for travel to the U.S under Visa Waiver Program

Thursday, July 9th, 2009

Source = e-Travel Blackboard: C.F  written: Tuesday, 30 June 2009

Eight million international travelers have successfully applied to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program using the Electronic System of Travel Authorization (ESTA).

These figures, released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials, shows that  since ESTA launched on August 1 last year and become mandatory on January 12, 2009, the system has enabled VWP travelers to apply electronically for visa-free travel to the U.S.

ESTA approvals are required for VWP travelers only, and there is no cost involved in the application process.

Individuals wishing to apply online should visit the official government site at https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov *

“We are pleased that this technology is proving very helpful to our Visa Waiver Program visitors,” said Assistant Commissioner for Field Operations Thomas S. Winkowski.

“ESTA adds a necessary layer of security for visa-free travel as well as for the travel industry, and we want to continue to encourage individuals to visit the many wonderful destinations the United States has to offer.”

Citizens traveling under the Visa Waiver Program, or VWP, are required to apply online at https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov prior to their visit to the United States.

* Individuals should avoid being misled by unauthorized companies claiming to be able to “facilitate” registration through other sites for a fee. (They have no affiliation with the U.S government)

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Posted in Travel | 3 Comments »

Travel Promotion Act Passes in Senate, Bringing U.S. Closer into the 21st Century of Global Tourism Marketing

Thursday, June 11th, 2009
By Caroline Beteta
Created 06/08/2009 – 09:39

 

In late May, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation passed the Travel Promotion Act, bringing us a step closer to being a world-class contender for international travel. Most Americans would be surprised and embarrassed to know that we are the only major country without any kind of national tourism promotion budget. Even so-called “third world” countries have travel promotion budgets, including television advertising campaigns in many parts of the world.  

To read more visit: http://foxandhoundsdaily.com/blog/caroline-beteta/travel-promotion-act-passes-senate-bringing-us-closer-21st-century-global-touri

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Posted in Travel | 12 Comments »

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