VacantReady

It’s pretty hard to get excited about third-party hotel distribution websites, but VibeAgent is a hotel site that takes Tripadvisor’s reviewer model to a whole new level. I wrote a post about VibeAgent here at Vacant Ready, because we think they offer a unique, fun and informative place to shop hotels.

Last week Dennis Ortiz, VP of Marketing over at VibeAgent dropped me an email, and he mentioned that Vibes has launched a virtual tour component to the website.

I checked out a virtual tour of the Fairmont Vancouver Airport, which came up first in a search for hotels in Vancouver. The v-tour, produced by Hotelview was a fairly typical hotel-produced tour, and I would like to see user-generated media from YouTube etc. on the site to get a less formal perspective.

Still, it’s great to be able to get a visual of any hotel you are thinking of visiting. The excellent reviews on Vibe Agent do add great context to the Fairmont’s selling proposition.

Dennis forwarded me his Vibe Agent press release, which included a few supporting thoughts:

“According to PhoCusWright, the leading online travel research firm, 81 percent of online travelers indicate that videos and photos most influence their travel purchases.  VibeAgent already boasts both hotel and user-submitted photos for most of its 120,000 hotels worldwide - now travelers can further enhance their decision-making process by viewing the new “Video” tab on each hotel’s detail page. ”

VibeaAgent continues to develop an interesting and useful community to find deals in great hotels recommended by guests who stay there, and I look forward to participating on Vibes more often in the future.

1 comments | Permalink | Marketing

Today I discovered an interesting award opportunity featuring hotel innovations in technology. It’s last-minute to nominate yourself (deadline is tomorrow), but it is an interesting idea for future reference.

Last Call for Nominations for the 2008 Hotel Visionary Awards

Now in their fourth year, the Hotel Visionary Awards seek to honor hotel companies for outstanding achievement in delivering technological, operational and overall excellence to guests. The awards will be presented in April at the Hotel Technology Forum. Hotel company nominations may be self, or third-party nominated.

This is the last call for nominations for HT ‘s 2008 Hotel Visionary Awards. If your hotel company has outstanding overall technology innovation, incredible in-room technology, or exceeds guest expectations on a regular basis - don’t wait. Nominations close on Feb 15th, 2008.

0 comments | Permalink | Marketing

Andrew Calvo over at Passions of a Zealot found a hilarious example of “hotel branding gone wild” exposed on the TV show The Simpsons.

A recent episode revealed a quick shot of a local hotel called the “Residence Inn by Hyatt Embassy Suites by Courtyard by Marriot—A Starwood Hotel”.

What a hilarious pot-shot at the big hotel brands who never seem to tire of re-branding their various business units...again and again. And again.

The HotelsMag blog ran the story as well, and they managed to get the insider scoop from Marriott HQ:

At Marriott International headquarters in Washington, D.C., the Simpsons gag generated a hearty chuckle. “We think this did a decent job of clearing up the branding confusion that can exist in today’s lodging industry,” says corporate spokesman Jeff Flaherty. “We also understand why there wasn’t enough room on the sign for the second T in Marriott.”

Too funny...and refreshing to know that a sense of humour can be found around Marriott headquarters!

0 comments | Permalink | Bloggers • Hall of Shame • Marketing

Online travel blogs and communities have become an important and trusted resource for travel research.

Although I believe this trend will continue, I still struggle sometimes to find unique travel blogs with the right combination of content, style and relevance.

Highly targeted travel blogs are often better able to serve the interests of their readers. Building a community can be pretty hard for niche travel sites since the more narrow the concept, the smaller the market. Still, the advantages of being more relevant to a smaller group can be worth the effort, and I’m always happy to find great travel sites that are focused on long tail demand.

The Extravigator Traveller Community

I recently discovered an awesome example of a hospitality and travel-driven community that clearly has potential. The site is called ”Extravigator.com”, founded last year by Dan Richman. Extravigator is an online travel community dedicated to the upscale, sophisticated traveller.

The overall layout and design of the site has achieved a nice blend of taste and design while maintaining a subdued, uncluttered feel. There is already lots of excellent content and dialogue around the site, and the interactions are pretty interesting. Community membership has to be approved by Dan and his team, which is a smart move in keeping the exclusivity factor high for community members.

Dan has crafted an excellent luxury travel community space, and I look forward to watching the site grow this year.

Check out the Extravigator’s about page for more info about Dan vision for his community. 

“Extravigator is a new elite social network for those who know how to travel in style. The social network is centered around a highly interactive discussion forum that covers a range of topics about luxury travel. 

You might also be interested to know that the November issue of GOTHAM magazine calls Extravigator a “jet-setting clique” that “allows haute travelers to gossip about their latest jaunts around the globe.”
Dan Richman Founder - Extravigator.com

1 comments | Permalink | United States • Lifestyle • Marketing

Fattal Hotels is a multi-national brand with properties across Israel and Western Europe.

I stumbled upon this hilarious Fattal video ad on YouTube--this brand has introduced an entirely new level of service for their lovebird guests:

Added: July 20, 2007 Fattal hotels commercial from Israel - copywriter: Galia Kedem ; ad agency: Yehoshua TBWA. Translation of script: “for particularly spoiled guests, Fattal hotels chain”

0 comments | Permalink | Europe • Marketing