Travel industry goes social

People are now making more flight and hotel reservations via Facebook and Twitter

People routinely book flights and make hotel reservations via Facebook and Twitter nowadays.

Hotels, airlines, and other sectors of the travel industry are taking advantage of social media, making sure that their customers can access their services through online sites like Twitter and Facebook.

Airlines have established their own YouTube channels and using social-mapping networks such as Loopt to sell deals and discounts. Hotels are using blogging as an advertising tool, and social media to elicit feedback, determine trends, and offer concierge services.

“I definitely think that social media is about to change the way we do things entirely,” says Jill Fletcher, social media and communications manager for Virgin America. “We're able to admit over social media if we've made a mistake or if there's a weather delay. So we're able to communicate much faster and more effectively.”

The travel and hospitality industry is utilizing social media more compared to other industries, says Carl Howe, a director at telecommunications market research firm Yankee Group.

Howe says it's “mainly because there is so much concern about consumer perception. “There are a lot more choices for hotels than there are for cable providers, and the same is true for airlines.”

A crucial element in social media is for firms to build a loyal base of customers who will keep coming back.

“Most travel organizations are actually looking for something more than a transaction,” Howe says. “They're looking for loyalty, and that means a long-term engagement.”

Posted by Sophia Andrews on Tuesday September 14 2010, 12:29 PM EDT. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Travel. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0