eTravel Project

Four Seasons is giving us a lesson in luxury travel and branding. It is not the time to sit and wait to see what the new trends are. If you are in the luxury field, you have to be  on top of everything. You cannot afford to be a follower anymore, you need to have the courage to take risks and be a leader and a trendsetter. Your clients expect that you exceed expectations ALWAYS and social media is not an inconvenience. If embraced, it can truly help your team and product.

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Jonathan Tisch - Conference Chair

I recently attended the prestigious NYU Hospitality Conference, where I was invited to speak at the alumni panel “Buildings for the next generation” and discuss needs and wants of gen X & Y.

At the conference, I was somewhat surprised with the optimism shown by most hoteliers. While economists and finance people see a full recovery in 2011, they affirm that we are already seeing some good signs of recovery and banks are starting lending again.

Another point that struck me – perhaps because I deal with the luxury travel market – was that most upscale CEOs have decried rate reductions. Nowadays, most properties are discounting like crazy, cutting personnel and increasing staff productivity by cross-training their employees. Corporate clients are in a position to negotiate rates and ask for more perks. However, lowering rates does not always work to boost demand and drives revenues down.

An interesting article about this can be fount at BTNonline.com.

I had this feeling, but now it is confirmed by a survey from Reuters. Plugged-in hotels are likely to get the most guests checking in, with a global survey showing websites, and hi-tech facilities, are the top criteria travelers look for when picking a place to stay.

With 70 percent of travelers saying they would stay at a cheaper hotel due to the global economic slowdown, a Reuters Synovate survey of 6,300 people across 10 countries looked at how people choose their hotels and what features are important.
Read more at Reuters.com

The Swiss Tourism Board posted a video announcing that it was seeking volunteers to join the Association of Mountain Cleaners. The video claimed, “The Association of Mountain Cleaners… makes sure that our holiday guests can always enjoy perfect mountains. Using brooms, brushes, water and muscle power, they clean the rocks of any bird droppings.”

At the end of the video, visitors to myswitzerland.com were invited to take a mountain cleaner aptitude test and submit their name for a chance to win a week’s holiday in Switzerland.

They got tons of media coverage around the world. No kidding. Simply smart!

Brand: Curaçao Tourist Board

Execution: A funny television spot of  thirty seconds invites people to run away for a treasure hunt to Curaçao [pronunciation: kyur uh sow], the largest island in the Netherlands Antilles group.  The Curaçao Tourist Board is giving away seventy trips and $500,000, a real travel bailout.

Description: The 30-second video has the format of a news broadcast with an anchorman. Suddenly, people flock in front of the camera to flee for the treasure hunt and the anchorman follows as well. The headlines at the end show a web site where to go and ask for information.

What We Like: The video is funny and looks like a consumer generated streaming video. It speaks to the harsh economic situation and introduces the topic of travel – a luxury during these times – ironically. We love the clear call to action at the end of the spot and that the video can be embedded for viral marketing.

What We Don’t: It misses a bit on the branding opportunity. There is brand interaction only if people go online to www.curacaotreasure.com and fill in the form for the sweepstakes.

Conclusions: A sticky, well-executed campaign.