Travel Trends – Twares, Women Heart Blogs, There’s More to Maine, Banner Ads, South Carolina v. Columbus

Enough! Enough with all the new twords!

The Good, Bad & Ugly of Twares – Sweet Lincoln’s mullet. Before we go much further, can we put out an official call to the travel industry to stop making up words.  Forget society in general, let’s just start with travel.  Really, United, Twares?  (Twitter + Fares = Twares) Please, Twitter is confusing enough to explain to @oprah, let alone with new Twords popping up all the time.

However, kudos to United for launching the aforementioned (we are not using the word) Twitter fares promotion on Twitter.  As we spoke about earlier in the week (How the Travel Industry Should Use Twitter), how can organizations take advantage of the infrastructure that Twitter has created?

A perfect comparison is the Southwest Ding Desktop app…granted, that was created several years ago, before the miracle that is Twitter came into being…instead of creating an app, promoting it and trying to build an audience for the app via advertising, United used Twitter and it’s community, reach, etc. to essentially run a similar promo.  In this case, with less investment (see $0), less advertising and less risk.  A brilliant use of an existing technology…instead of reinventing the wheel.
http://www.united.com/

Women Heart Blogs – A helpful study on how women use blogs.

From the article:

According to The 2009 Women in Social Media Study by BlogHer, iVillage and Compass Partners, 64% of women are nearly twice as likely to use blogs than social networking sites as a source of information, 43% for advice and recommendations and 55% for opinion-sharing, while they 75% are 50 percent more likely to turn to social networking sites as a means of keeping in touch with friends and family.

Of the 42 million women engaged in social media weekly:

• 55% of women participate in some form of blogging activity
• 75% participate in social networks such as Facebook or MySpace
• 20% use Twitter
• 45% of survey respondents decided to purchase an item after reading about it on a blog

http://www.mediapost.com/

There’s More to Maine – From our friends in the far northeast, a new campaign from Visit Maine.  Typically, we don’t cover traditional campaign launches, but the connection between the print and website, visitmaine.com,  is quite refined.  Clean, uncluttered and showing the best of Maine…well, I assume the best of Maine, never been there…the homepage is a nice example of directing visitors to the key sections of the site.  The primary callouts acknowledge what the traveling public is looking for in a Maine vacation…Summertime, Cusine (lobster), Lighthouses and Fishing…honestly, what else is there?  Give the visitor what they want and Maine does.
http://www.visitmaine.com/

Banner Ads Are Relevant! – Interesting research that shows the display ad is not quite dead after all.

From the article:

When Internet users were surveyed to find out what actions they took when viewing a display ad on an ad-supported Website, nearly one-third said they clicked on the ad.

http://www.emarketer.com/

South Carolina v. Columbus – From the blog Mengel Musings, a social media smackdown between two friends of the Travel 2.0 blog, South Carolina and Columbus (OH).  The post evaluates the Twitter, Facebook, website and other social media marketing tactics used by the DMO and CVB.  Overall, a nice outsider perspective on the travel industry’s crusade into social media marketing.

From the article:

I’m comparing how two cities are using social media from a travel and tourism perspective. Both have their namesake from Genoa’s most famous navigator and both are home to college football teams I love to hate. Let’s see how Columbus, Ohio and Columbia, South Carolina are cultivating relationships with fans through social media.

If you want to skip right to the finish (spoiler alert!) Columbus wins on an anti-Steve Spurrier technicality.
http://www.amymengel.com/

Generations Online – Boomers, Gen-X and G.I.s All Go Online

Over half of the adult internet population is between 18 and 44 years old. But larger percentages of older generations are online now than in the past, and they are doing more activities online, according to surveys taken from 2006-2008.

Contrary to the image of Generation Y as the “Net Generation,” internet users in their 20s do not dominate every aspect of online life. Generation X is the most likely group to bank, shop, and look for health information online. Boomers are just as likely as Generation Y to make travel reservations online. And even Silent Generation internet users are competitive when it comes to email (although teens might point out that this is proof that email is for old people).  >>Full Story

Thoughts// A great report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project summarizes the rapid shifts in the online population of the last 3 years.  While conventional wisdom or more appropriately, old stereotypes, say that older Americans are not online, new data suggests that while 55+ consumers are not as prevalent online, their numbers and use of the medium are growing.

A quote from the report:

Contrary to the image of Generation Y as the “Net Generation,” internet users in their 20s do not dominate every aspect of online life. Generation X is the most likely group to bank, shop, and look for health information online. Boomers are just as likely as Generation Y to make travel reservations online. And even Silent Generation internet users are competitive when it comes to email (although teens might point out that this is proof that email is for old people).

Notice the ‘make travel reservations’ line.  There is no difference between the Gen Y (18-32) and the G.I. Generation (73+) who make reservations online…both come in at 65%.  In fact, the group most likely to make reservations online, Gen X (33-44) is only at 70%.  Of course, the variance between the number of Gen Y (87%), Gen X (81%) and G.I. (31%) actually online is much larger, however still an interesting thought that your 76-year-old Grandmother and, well, you (if you are younger than 32) are both just as likely to book travel online.  Who knew?

The full report is a free download and contains a solid amount of information.  Unfortunately, no hidden secrets on how to unlock the mystery of social media marketing, however some good insights…such as, if you are targeting anyone over 55+, you can skip running ads on the major social networking sites…only 9% of Older Boomers (55-63) reported using them.

Travel Trends – Transmoflection & Vancouver 2010, Jumbo Hostel, Social Network Demographics

Transmoflection in action.

Transmoflection & Vancouver 2010 – From our neighbors to the north comes the idea of Transmoflection, an interesting look into the development of the Vancouver 2010, well, look.  Certainly in the category of a major tourism event, the Winter Olympics in Vancouver will drench the city in Olympic signs, banners, murals, etc and in this case, they look pretty good.  A timeless design…perhaps not, there are some trendy elements, but it does seem to capture the spirit and harmony of the city in a gorgeous graphical execution.  Plus, we love new buzz words.
http://www.vancouver2010.com/

Jumbo Hostel – Let’s call this one recycling technology.  Those of you who are regulars know that Mo and I support not only a green philosophy, but one of sustainable tourism.  Oscar Diös, who we will assume is Swedish, saw an opportunity in a run-down 747 and turned it into a hostel at the Stockholm-Arlanda Airport.  Pictures are here. That’s right, a full-size, intact 747 that you can spend the night in…and no, it does not fly anymore.  Fantastic.  When is the next travel conference in Stockholm?
http://www.jumbohostel.com/

Social Network Demographics – From the minds at Pew Internet, via eMarketer, new stats on social networking demographics.  Again, if you don’t already subscribe to or routinely visit Pew Internet, you need to.

Some good data in there.  However, a final thought from eMarketer needs to be corrected:

“The ongoing headache for marketers is that social networking is such a powerful consumer activity, but incredibly challenging as a marketing medium,” said Debra Aho Williamson, senior analyst at eMarketer.

As we have spoken about at length on the Travel 2.0 blog, marketing is difficult if not nearly impossible on social networks. The key being that social networks are a communication platform, therefore, you need to communicate with members, not market to them.

So, substitute the word ‘communication’ for ‘marketing’ and your social networking strategy should work out much better.
http://www.emarketer.com/

Travel Trends – Tourism Websites, Logos, Twitter Age

22 Well Done State Tourism Websites – From the Build Internet! blog of Sam and Zach Dunn, a look at 22 ‘well done’ state tourism websites.  As many of you know we had own our informal and unscientific poll to determine the best travel website…the Great Travel Site Showdown…which Virginia won.  Stay tuned for the Great Travel Site Showdown 2009.  Anyway, a good post from Sam on the commonalities of tourism websites.  Of course, each of us have our own goals and objectives, but seeing 22 state tourism sites on a single page does reveal the similarities of the designs.

Sam’s comments / themes for the sites:

• JQuery or Flash animated headers
• Large image backgrounds
• Image intensive layouts
• Good white space, not too cramped
• Distinct accent colors

And his list:

1. Ohio
2. Utah
3. Rhode Island
4. Pennsylvania
5. New Hampshire
6. Idaho
7. Tennessee
8. Wisconsin
9. Washington
10. Maine
11. Oregon
12. North Dakota
13. South Dakota
14. Illinois
15. Missouri
16. Texas
17. Virginia
18. Georgia
19. Massachusetts
20. New York
21. Kentucky
22. Hawaii

We cannot argue with that list.  All of those 22 sites have a similar look and feel to them which is very pleasing ascetically.  However, the real answer to the ‘is my website successful’ question, is looking at your statistics and analytics to determine if you site design is accessible, easy and useful.  Of course, a nice design never hurt.
http://buildinternet.com/

State Tourism Logos – While writing for the post above, we came across another post from Sam, this time on the 50 state tourism logos.  Again, a great look at all of the logos side by side.  And be sure to read the comments section, some good thoughts in there as well.

Sam’s comments / discussion topics:

• Best/Worst Designs
• Most Fitting/Inappropriate
• What was Kansas thinking?
• Any additional thoughts, feelings, or concerns. Dreams too.

Sorry Kansas.

Favorites seem to be Georgia, Oregon and Kentucky.  Which, in the case of Kentucky, spent a lot of time and energy developing the logo and brand behind the logo, prior to launch.  Kudos Kentucky.

See their PowerPoint presentation on the branding effort:

So, off the record, which one of us has the worst logo?
http://buildinternet.com/

Twitter Age – Speaking of informal and unscientific polls, Twitter user @TheBusyBrain is currently conducting a quick poll to determine the demographic age of Twitter users.  Again, completely unscientific, but still, interesting…so far, 64% of respondents (Twitter users) are between the ages of 30-59.  We won’t jump to any conclusions, but that is an encouraging stat on the adoption of these ‘social media tools’ among anyone over the age of 23.

Current results:

If you are a Twitter user, what is your age bracket?

30 – 39 years (33%, 473 Votes)
20 – 29 years (28%, 401 Votes)
40 – 49 years (21%, 304 Votes)
50 – 59 years (10%, 147 Votes)
16 – 19 years (5%, 67 Votes)
60 – 69 years (2%, 23 Votes)
10 – 15 years (1%, 13 Votes)
80+ years (0%, 7 Votes)
70 – 79 years (0%, 6 Votes)

Total Voters: 1,441

http://blog.thebusybrain.com/

Random Thoughts: This company’s on the fast track to the It List!

From a recent article on Rolling Stone about MTV’s  decision to forgo music programming in favor of additional reality shows.

“These new series reflect Generation ‘Why Not?’ — living, working and playing on their own terms, ‘adventure capitalists’ if you will, pursuing a variety of thrill-seeking, 2.0, express-yourself enterprises,” says MTV entertainment president Brian Graden.

Wow.  Great stuff Brian.  Now I am sure, and you can tell, Brian has the best intentions when he launched that statement into the world…you can hear how passionate he is about the product…but honestly, has there ever been another statement with more insider, marketing-speak, jargon and fluff than that one?

Unfortunately this type of rapid-fire, ‘they must like it because I do’ assumption is far to prevalent when discussing interactive and social media marketing…and apparently TV as well.

Very similar to Aristotle’s Converse Fallacy of Accident:

Every swan I have seen is white, so it must be true that all swans are white.

Everyone I know loves Facebook, so it must be true that everyone loves Facebook.

Thanks Aristotle.

Title Note: The ‘This company’s on the fast track to the It List!‘ is a fantastic quote from an equally philosophical show, Futurama.  The episode in question, Future Stock, also includes the oh-so perfect marketing guy lines:

There are two kinds of people: sheep and sharks. Anyone who’s a sheep is fired. Who’s a sheep?

…as a fellow 80’s dollar jockey, I’m making you my new vice chairman.

Don’t you worry about “blank” let me worry about “blank.”

Fantastic.

Travel Trends – Display + Search = Clicks, Email, Smart Web Users, App Graveyard

Display + Search = Clicks – Before we dive into the numbers, realize that the results are from a company that sells display ads. The numbers are probably not skewed in their favor, but they do have an interest in display advertising.

With disclaimers out of the way, let’s get to the good stuff. According to a new study from Specific Media, utilizing comScore data, display ads increase the volume of searches for a specific product or company.

Display and search are directly correlated, judging by a Specific Media study of comScore data. Brand- and segment-related searches (for cars, automakers and vehicle classes) jumped by more than 100% in several categories after consumers were exposed to display ads for those brands.

Search clickers exposed to display advertising were 22% more likely to produce a sale than those who were not exposed, according to a September 2008 study of Microsoft’s Engagement Mapping system by Atlas Solutions.

In a ClickZ article, Microsoft’s Young-Bean Song said the study results suggested that search alone was not a cure-all for customer acquisition.

Clearly, the interesting stat for everyone reading the Travel 2.0 blog is the huge lift that display ads deliver to searches in the travel and tourism industry.  Should this come as a surprise?  Display ads have quickly become the online equivalent of a print campaign, providing a good opportunity for branding, but low results and CTRs.  Until now data showing the effect of display on search was not clear, although most assumed a correlation was probable.

As for all of those articles and discussions about the death of the display ad, it appears that the display ad is still just as healthy as it’s printed brother.  When used and measured correctly (engagement!), the display is still an important piece of an overall interactive marketing campaign.

And, apparently, it drives searches in the travel space.
http://www.emarketer.com/

Email – Shocker! Old people like phones and email.  Young punks like text and social sites.

Personally, the stats about the boomer generation and communication preferences are not surprising.  What is surprising is the realization that the younger demographics…Gen X, Gen Y, Millennials, whatever…are rapidly changing their communication habits.  We have heard these stats before and even discussed them on the blog, however seeing charts such as this one should cause one to pause.  Look at the drop off in email usage from 25-34 to 15-17, nearly half in a span of 10 years.
http://www.emarketer.com/

Congrats Online Users, You Are Smart(er)! – For years, digital marketers had to keep track of broadband penetration rates, browsers used, and other signs that campaign messages would reach their intended targets. Now it’s largely taken for granted that most Internet users will be able to watch an online video, forward a link, or otherwise perform the tasks required in the average digital campaign.

http://www.emarketer.com/

Apps: The Newest Brand Graveyard – Ah, the promise of Facebook and all it’s possible applications.  Let’s do the math, Facebook has 130 million users + a cool app = success!  If only it were that easy.

…Nike global director of digital media Stefan Olander explained how the brand saw its mission as building community through applications. He highlighted a new initiative: the Ballers Network, a robust Facebook application built by digital shop R/GA for basketball players to find games and manage leagues. On its Web site, Nike promises it will “revolutionize the way players around the world connect online and compete on the court.”

Six months later, Nike is confronting a dilemma familiar to many brands that charged headlong onto Facebook: very few people use Ballers Network. Despite its global ambitions and support in three languages, the application has a mere 3,400 users per month. According to Nike, it’s still testing the application.

3,400 is a pretty small number and if my calculations are correct, only about 0.002615% of Facebook users interact with the app.  What happened?  How does an organization such as Nike, clearly one of the leaders in the social media marketing (and marketing in general) field fail to take advantage of 130 million people on a social network?

The theory is that branded applications are, well, too branded and too complex for daily use.

“It’s pretty clear building [brand] applications isn’t working.”

Application experts pointed to several other reasons so many top brands have fallen short. In some cases, they said, brand apps are too complicated. Some provide little worthwhile interactivity and are overly branded.

“Marketers want to build something that’s product and marketing first,” he said. “The developer wants to provide utility, functionality and better someone’s life.”

Marketers have an agenda, a goal, a target, while developers are simply trying to make something easier for the end-user.  So far, those two factors do not mix well…regardless of how many people are using a social network.
http://www.adweek.com/

S texting d nxt big thng? Or Marketing Via SMS

I lov d travL 2.0 blog. lol!

This week Nielsen published a new report / whitepaper titled The Short Code Marketing Opportunity, focusing on the rise of marketing and advertising via SMS or short code or text messaging. Certainly a timely topic and one that I was speaking about with my counterpart Josh (from the Scottsdale CVB) as recently as yesterday.

So, let’s take a look at some of the highlights from the report and then discuss the ‘Marketing Texts I Want and Don’t Want.’

For those of you who would rather skip ahead, you can find the full report on the Nielsen site (.pdf).

Intro:
In August 2008, Barack Obama’s presidential campaign made either history or political spectacle when it attempted to announce Joe Biden as the vice presidential candidate over SMS text message. Before the campaign could send the text message announcement to supporters, mass media scooped the news and broke the story, but the magnitude of the campaign’s mobile efforts is noteworthy.

The most recent example of a massive texting campaign, however I seriously doubt that the mass media ‘scooped’ anything.  More than likely, the campaign deliberately ‘leaked’ the info to increase text subscribers.

Quick Facts:

• As of Q3 2008, 203 million of the 263 million U.S. wireless subscriber lines paid for text messaging either as part of a package or on a transaction-basis.
• U.S. mobile subscribers now send and receive more text messages in a month than they make phone calls.
  
• A typical U.S. mobile subscriber between the ages of 35 and 44 will now send or receive more text messages, on average, than make phone calls.

Examples of Texting Campaigns:

Through My Coke Rewards, Coca-Cola customers collect unique codes found on various Coca-Cola products and enter them into an account they’ve registered at mycokerewards.com. When they reach certain point levels, they are able to redeem points for rewards. The mobile component of the program allows consumers to enter the codes over their mobile phone on the go. Coca-Cola’s mobile users typically send and receive about 32 messages a month to Coca-Cola.

Importantly, it’s not just kids or teens who are an active audience for short code marketing. In the Coca-Cola example, nearly half (47 percent) of users were 35 or older. That age diversity is not unique to Coca-Cola either. Overall, 53 percent of those engaging with free (standard rate) short codes, such as those used by brands in marketing, are sent by texters 35 and older. For an audience accustomed to traditional channels of marketing, it seems, the opportunity to engage with brands in a new way is a welcome experience.

When a chain of Ashley Furniture Homestores in the Carolinas wanted to bolster sales during a slow period this summer, they sent 6,000 text message coupons to customers who had opted in to receive information about special offers. Billed as a four-day “secret sale,” the chain of eight stores also sent nearly 29,000 e-mails to promote the sale. And the text message campaign ended up paying off. The chain says that $85,000 of the $135,000 in revenue generated from that sale was attributed to the SMS coupon, further estimating that for every $1 they spent in executing the text message campaign, they generated $122 in revenue.

Earlier this year, in one of the first mobile barcode couponing efforts, the Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort in Oregon distributed barcode coupons over mobile phones, promoted through an opt-in alert system that provided customers with updates of weather conditions at the resort. The coupon rendered on users phones as a barcode that could be scanned at the resort for discounts. The barcodes could be read as coupons by the resort’s existing scanning software, with no technical or software changes to either the user’s phone or the registers.

What’s Next:

Marketers should look at SMS and see an opportunity to engage with a core customer base in a new and unique fashion. Short code marketing has the potential of a mass medium but requires a personal execution. Short code marketing, perhaps more than any other advertising medium today, is as simple as a conversation.

In between those summary points, the piece mentions the popularity of texting due to or because of watching TV, however American Idol accounts for almost every case study within segment.  Also mentioned is utilizing texting as an entry method or communication method with outdoor, radio and print executions.  However the results of using a texting component as the call to action in these mediums is still unknown.

Okay, we know a lot of people use mobile phones and a lot of those people are texting each other, but how does someone within the travel industry take advantage of texting?  Without getting into all of the logistical and infrastructure needs to operate a proper texting campaign, let’s start at the very beginning:

Do you have a product, service or content that people are interested in, desire or feel passionate about?

If you answered yes, then proceed with your mobile dreams.

If you answered no, then you can stop and get back to your SEO campaign.

A similar theory to our post on Facebook, Why Facebook Will and Will Not Work For the Travel Industry – Part 1, certain aspects of social media work well for some organizations because consumers are passionate about that product.

Look no further than the Barack Obama example.  People were passionate about that campaign.  Understatement of the year.

In terms of the report, the results or examples highlighted certainly show some passion, but the idea of desire…in this case for coupons, deals or rewards…was the driving force behind the success of the campaigns.

With that, let’s review some examples in a section we like to call: Marketing Texts I Want and Don’t Want.

Marketing Texts I Want and Don’t Want

I Want:

Coupons and Offers:  No need for clipping coupons anymore.

Helpful Information:  Flight status, football scores, entry tickets via barcode, weather.

Rewards:  See the Coke Rewards example above.

I Don’t Want:

Branding Messages:  Of any kind.

Trivia, Games or DYK Facts:  Not useful, thanks.

Impersonal Information:  As the piece mentioned above, texting equals 1-on-1 marketing, your mass media marketing campaign message does not work.

A short list, but a pretty good summary.  Have your own list?  What texts do you currently receive from marketers? Tell us about it in the comments section.

A post on texting would not be complete with a mention of the rapid pace of technological change.  Even with the promise of texting campaigns, the mobile web and the applications being built around it are quickly replacing the need for text message updates on such things as weather.  A complete replacement for texting?  Of course not.  However some information currently delivered via text will be more relevant delivered via the mobile web

As for our outlook on texting.  A great communication tool for certain organizations and campaigns, but not right for everyone.

Travel Trends – Disney, TripAdvisor, Boomers Go Online

Can you hear me now?

Disney To Offer Mobile Tours – A quick excerpt from a recent Disney corporate communication email (MouseMail: An Update for Community Leaders):

Marking a first in both the travel and mobile industries, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and Verizon are teaming up for a multi-year relationship designed to enhance the guest experience – before, during and after guests arrive at Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort. This new service allows guests to have a personal tour guide in their wireless phones. Early next year guests will also use Verizon Wireless’ technology when experiencing Disney’s Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure, an ultra-interactive attraction coming to Epcot® in Walt Disney World Resort. “Imagine receiving up to the minute tips on special Park activities with just the touch of a button or receiving a call from Buzz Lightyear welcoming you to the Magic Kingdom,” said Jay Rasulo, chairman, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

Unfortunately, not a lot of substance to that story, however an interesting offering from Disney that expands their utilization of an increasingly common touch point for travelers, the cell phone.  As many of us within the travel industry (any industry for that matter) have seen during the past several years, the rapid adoption and refinement of mobile technology is presenting new methods for guest relations, marketing and communications.

For Disney or any organization, offering interaction via a cell phone is a logical next step.  Receiving ride wait time updates, text for dinner reservations or on-demand audio tours of the parks are ideal ways to leverage the use of cell phones.  As we have all seen, the airline industry has successfully used mobile technology for online check-in, flight status and updates.

With the continuing advancements in mobile tech, expect to see further integration and opportunities for travel organizations.

Negative Reviews on TripAdvisor – For those of you who do not belong to the Travel 2.0 group on LinkedIn, you should join.  Currently, there are quite a few good discussions among the more that 3,500+ group members, including this one about TripAdvisor.  Here are the highlights:

Original Question:

We all have had at least one bad review. Let’s face it; people complain a lot faster and louder than they compliment. I was pondering the idea of sending an e-mail SOS to my current client list with the request to post a review of the hotel on TripAdvisor or any other review site of their choice. I wondered if I could make it a contest, say, e-mail me with the link to your review and have it entered into a drawing for a free weekend, with no preference of good or bad reviews. Does anyone have any input on this idea?

Some of the 19 (and counting) responses:

Another idea: you can address the bad review directly on TripAdvisor (if you have claimed your listing). A simple note from your GM either clarifying inaccuracies or apologizing and offering corrective measures can go a long way on these user-generated sites. Most complaints just want to be heard, and engaged. I have all of my clients draft mock-answers, and reply to EVERY review (on TripAdvisor and a few other sites).

– one answer for a compliment
– one answer for a negative and inaccurate review
– one answer for a negative and accurate review

By starting with sample replies, you just need to tweak them when needed instead of starting from scratch. Also, keep in mind that no one has 100% good reviews…it looks staged if you do. One bad apple amidst a lot of great reviews can actually help your credibility.

—

Senior staff need to take a close look at the property and devise a plan for property upkeep and feedback. If they know of any guests who were not pleased, they may want to invite them back with a complimentary night or reduced rate to show them the improved look at the resort.

—

Plus, a great response from Brian Payea at TripAdvisor:

(And kudos to Brian for joining, listening and responding on behalf of TripAdvisor to the question.  Social marketing at it’s best.)

I’ve been a member of this group for a while, and this is my first post. First, I’d like to thank everyone for their spirited discussion of TripAdvisor – you’ve given us a fantastic opportunity to explain a few things to a very heavily invested community, and we really appreciate it.

Jenifer’s initial post started with a common misconception – she expects that people are much more inclined to complain than compliment. On TripAdvisor, it’s actually much more common for a traveler to praise a hotel than to complain. The most common rating (41% of all ratings) on TripAdvisor by a traveler is five “owls” – the top rating. The next most common is four owls, accounting for 27% of the ratings. Only 12% of the reviews give a hotel a one-owl rating. Travelers email us frequently to explain that they see TripAdvisor as a community, and when they benefit by reading another traveler’s reviews, they feel like they want to give back to the community and share their stories to help others plan and have a perfect trip. So it’s more often about helping others have a great stay than reporting a bad experience. But reporting a bad experience is also very important and is one of the reasons so many travelers trust the reviews – because they’re independent and unfiltered.

Natasha suggested ways to solicit reviews from guests, and we actually encourage hoteliers to ask their guests to submit reviews, but not by offering incentives such as a complimentary overnight. Incentives are a violation of our terms of service. When we learn about those types of practices, the property’s listing on TripAdvisor is affected, but the property is not removed from the site.

A very powerful but extremely underutilized tool is TripAdvisor’s management response. When a hotelier posts a management response, it sends a strong message to future guests about their commitment to guest satisfaction. Oftentimes, the management response can do more to influence a traveler than the original post, even if the review was a rant. Management response guidelines are posted at http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/management_response.html

As to Mark Scott’s question – five years from now? Who knows? I can report that it’s very difficult to build the critical mass of reviews necessary for a site to be relevant to a large number of travelers. It took years for TripAdvisor to hit a million reviews and opinions, and then the viral effect kicked in and we began doubling rapidly – and as our founder and CEO often says, it was hard work. It’s also a challenge for sites to host reviews of their own properties and convince readers that they are impartial. I’ll be very excited to come back to this forum in five years and see where the industry stands.

As for now, we’re offering a number of tools for hotels and destinations to take the content from TripAdvisor and publish it on their own sites in a widget. If they want to add fresh, independent reviews to their web site, all they have to do is scroll down to the bottom of their hotel page on TripAdvisor and click on the owner’s link to get started.

Adrienne suggested that management monitor reviews for their hotels. It’s very easy to monitor TripAdvisor reviews. Every hotel detail page on TripAdvisor includes a tab at the top of the page labeled “feeds.” By clicking this tab, a manager can subscribe to an RSS (real simple syndication) of the reviews for their hotel. When they open their RSS reader (free from Google, MSN, etc.), the most recent reviews of their hotel are delivered right to their desktop.

Thanks again for the opportunity to participate in this group.

Boomers Go Online – Stats on the rise of Boomers online from eMarketer:

Boomers have never lacked for attitude, and now they make up the largest group of US Internet users. At 56.7 million strong they constitute nearly 30% of the online population.

“Marketers targeting boomers online would be mistaken to treat them all alike,” says Lisa Phillips, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, Boomers Online: Attitude Is Everything. “Older boomers, ages 54 to 62, use media more like the ‘matures’ who precede them, and younger boomers, ages 44 to 53, act more like Gen Xers online.”

About 74% of boomers use the Internet at least once a month.

However, their attitude toward the Internet is less a love affair and more a marriage of convenience. They go online to get things done, such as finding information on products and services, shopping, and staying in touch with friends and family.

http://www.emarketer.com/

Travel Trends – Google SearchWiki, Display Ads, This is My Milwaukee

That is 2 votes for arizonaguide.com.

Google SearchWiki – Last week Google launched their rumored SearchWiki, a new addition to the user interface that allows users to edit search results by re-ordering, removing or commenting.  If you have a Google or Gmail account and have searched via Google in the last few days, you have probably noticed the new up or ‘X’ buttons next to each search result.  Great for customizing your personal search results, but what does this all mean for your SEO campaign?

According to Google, nothing or maybe something:

Google emphasizes that changes made in the SearchWiki interface will have no impact on the traditional ranking of web pages. If you put your own site in the 1st position for your primary keywords, you’re the only Google user who’ll see your site at the top of the rankings. Your site will, however, be included when users click the “See all notes for this SearchWiki” link at the bottom of the page; that link leads to another page that shows what results other users have re-ordered, removed, or added.

Still, Dupont didn’t completely rule out the possibility that user data from SearchWiki may someday impact regular search rankings. I asked what would happen if 10,000 people all added “Matt McGee’s Widget Page” to their own results for the phrase [widget]. “We’re always looking at user data as a signal,” Dupont says. And in a situation like that? “We’re not closing any doors.”

Translation, it would impact the rankings for Matt’s Widget Page.  However, at this point, the new SearchWiki should not cause any major alarms, read up on the subject and try out the new service.
http://searchengineland.com/

Display Ads are so 2002 – We have heard this one before.  Traditional display (banner) ads cannot provide solid metrics or ROI for most advertisers and soon, this pillar of the online advertising plan will cease to exist.  Plus, with almost everyone cutting back or scrutinizing every last penny, display ads will be the first cut from many online budgets.  Possible, but considering past history, not the end of the display ad.  That being said, personally, I think there is a greater value and ROI in pursuing an integrated online buy (content + search!) rather than just display ads. And even if you are using display ads, at least be sure the metrics you are measuring provide a clear picture of the results or as Mo and I like to mention every so often…engagement!  But, will display ads go away?  Probably not.
http://www.adweek.com/

This is My Milwaukee – Last week, Martin (@coldinpdx) sent around a link to an, apparently, new tourism video and site for Milwaukee.

(Reading via RSS or email, click for video.)

Because Martin described the video as ‘Cool? Weird? Funny?,’ I was intrigued enough to watch.  The video starts off somewhat normal, reminding me of something we would watch in the 6th grade about the invention of the VCR or the fall of Communism, but after a few minutes the footage and tone skews wildly off-track and it becomes apparent that either A) Milwaukee has a completely different target that everyone else or B) This video was not produced by the Milwaukee CVB.

After a quick search for the Milwaukee Tourism Commission (which does not exist) and a few minutes on a couple of forums, it became obvious that this was the start of an ARG or alternate reality game.  ARG’s are a subject we don’t typically cover on the Travel 2.0 blog because they are usually more suited or at least more utilized for music, movie or video game promotions.  But, considering the subject matter of Milwaukee Tourism, it seemed like a good introduction into ARGs.

So far, there has been a vigorous discussion on several forums about the site, with members trying to decipher clues from the video as well as call the number listed on the site.  Yes, someone actually picks up the other line and will play along with you, giving out more clues.

Plus, the group has set up a Wiki site (literally overnight) about the campaign to organize all of the clues and information they have gathered so far.

More than likely, unless the Milwaukee CVB is really pushing the envelope, this will probably turn out to be a video game promo, however, it provides a fantastic, real-time case study for ARGs, Wikis, social communications and viral marketing campaigns.

Watch, enjoy and be confused.
http://www.thisismymilwaukee.com/

Travel Trends – Statistics Overload! Email Open Rate, Young People, MySpace v. Facebook, Punk Kids!

Consumers Opening Fewer E-Mails – Fewer consumers worldwide are opening marketing e-mails, according to a November 2008 study by MailerMailer.

The company found that the average marketing e-mail open rate fell to 13.20% in the first half of 2008, compared with 16.11% in the first half of 2007. Click rates also fell, from 3.18% in the first half of 2007 to 2.73% in the first half of this year.

http://www.emarketer.com/

Are Young Adults Really Brand-Resistant? – The 18-to-24-year-old set is famously media-drenched, with high Internet and mobile phone usage. However, these young adults are not solidly opposed to brands themselves, and are willing to spread the word about the ones they like. That is one of the findings Synovate made in June and July of 2008 in its “Young Adults Revealed” study, released this month.

When asked about their online brand engagement in the past month, 28% of respondents had talked about a brand on a discussion forum, 23% had put brand-related content on their instant messaging (IM) profile, and 19% had added branded content to their homepage or social networking site.

Nearly one-half said they had clicked on online ads, and 18% had accessed brand and product information through a portal. Nearly one-quarter had uploaded ads to social networks and online video sites in the past month.

“They are more than just ‘comfortable’ with brands,” said Julian Rolfe, global manager at Synovate, in a statement. “They want to associate themselves with brands they see as ‘cool’ and this is why we see them uploading clips to their social networking sites and IM services.”

http://www.emarketer.com/

Behind the Numbers: MySpace and Facebook – Many of the ad formats that social media sites are experimenting with are too new to be tracked via existing measurement techniques.

Take display ad views. Facebook’s share of display ad views was 1.1% in June 2008, compared with 15.9% for Fox Interactive Media, which includes MySpace, according to comScore Media Metrix.

http://www.emarketer.com/

College Student and Teen Web Tastes – Teens and college students seem to have remarkably similar tastes in Websites, based on a first glance at a September 2008 Youth Trends study.

Facebook, Google and Yahoo! rated highly among teen and college student males and females. YouTube was also generally among the top five listed, except among females in college.

http://www.emarketer.com/