p50-52 ttg_lux_how_to_digital Spr10 4/3/10 12:25 Page 51
SUITES
& TWEETS
The luxury travel sector has tended to rely on face-to-face and phone
contact, to reflect its high standards of personal service. But that
doesn’t mean it should ignore the vast potential of mobile marketing
and social media techniques, says Samantha Mayling
he global hype surrounding Apple’s iPad launch to make the most of traditional USPs such as service.
T
in January should be a wake-up call for agents. Steve Dunne, Cimtig council member and chief execu-
On Apple’s latest toy, users can browse websites, tive of consultancy Digital Drums, says most luxury cus-
check emails, view photos, video and maps, even tomers use iPhones and BlackBerries, so agents should be
read books while on the move. Things like the iPad won’t re-considering how they communicate. “I never open email
suit everyone, but the sheer volume of media coverage newsletters, as I read everything on my mobile,” he says.
proves that mobile does matter, and travel agents should Cimtig introduced social media award categories last
get switched on sooner rather than later. year – this year it has seen far fewer brochures compared
As a sign of the times, Genesys’ recently published Tour with social media entries, especially from luxury brands.
Operator Technology Review included mobile solution “The travel industry has gone through a watershed and
providers for the first time. Genesys’ Paul Richer says: is no longer viewing social media as a fad,” says Dunne.
“There is tremendous hype surrounding ‘m-commerce’
– selling via mobile – but the jury is still out on whether it AGENT AWARENESS
will be a mass-market sales channel for travel products. Haslemere Travel chairman Andrew Brownrigg says social
However, you must make sure your website is readable media issues were discussed at January’s Aito Specialist
on these devices.” Travel Agents conference. “The consensus seemed to be
Statistics show cyberspace is the place to be: EyeFor- no one quite knew how they can be used as marketing tools
Travel’s European Online Travel Report last November or to have a relationship with one’s customers,” he says.
indicates the online market continues to grow at 10% while Rebecca Genin, a director at social media consultancy
offline markets decrease 5-6% a year. EDigitalResearch Surf PR, agrees: “There appears to be caution when it
claims 94% of people now research holidays online. comes to social media in the luxury sector, possibly
Hitwise figures show social networking sites are the sec- because most high-end operators do not use their sites for
ond-biggest traffic drivers to websites after search e-commerce. But it can be fantastic at targeting customers
engines, and Facebook accounts for one in seven internet when at the ‘dream’ phase of their trip, before they have
page views. Despite this, many luxury agents seem wary decided on a specific destination or travel brand.”
of developing digital strategies beyond email offers, and Some luxury agents are investigating search engine
the real trick is finding ways to optimise online strategies optimisation (SEO) and social media but still appear to rely
largely on tried-and-tested techniques such as email.
Haslemere Travel has seen dividends from web invest-
ments; the website offers downloadable newsletters, but
Up close not online booking, as the agency’s service and knowledge
Niall Douglas,
is a major competitive factor. And customers still receive
managing director,
the old favourites such as flowers and welcome-back cards.
Haslemere’s managing director, Gemma Antrobus, does
Full Circle Travel advise that agents should be using software that enables
them to update content personally, adding reports from
This Oxfordshire independent relaunched its website in November 2009 and trips, travel advice and news. She aims to develop the
since going live it has “gone ballistic” and paid for itself within weeks, according agency’s presence on Facebook and Twitter in 2010 but
to Douglas. admits these can be time-intensive – whereas email
“I used CSI Media as they offered competitive prices, and the blog was part of campaigns definitely drive new business.
it. I employ an old schoolfriend who’s a travel journalist to do Facebook, Twitter A third of Elite Travel Group members are in its Ethos
and blog entries so they are keyword-rich and we go up the natural rankings. If luxury division, but few have bookable websites as they feel
we put an article on Skidoo.com, we can jump up to the first page on Google. upmarket holidays are best sold face-to-face or over the
“We have 442 Twitter followers and start conversations such as ‘10 best phone. Julie Franklin, Elite commercial and membership
bathrooms in hotels’ – this in effect gets them doing the work for us! manager, says members instead offer downloadable
“We don’t offer online booking, but high-spending potential clients do documents, detailing planned itineraries.
come to us via the site – we have lots of UK-based Russians finding us via the “At quote stage, it is vital to make an impression and
website, for example. I gave a Russian client an £18,000 quote recently.” stand out. The success and conversion rates of bookings
However, Douglas adds that traditional advertising in local luxury quoted this way are high,” she adds.
publications still works and one of the biggest returns on investment For homeworkers, face-to-face can be a rarer option, so
comes from parish magazines. Travel Counsellors and Hays Travel are focusing
on social media. Travel Counsellors is in effect
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