TUI, Hilton, Starwood, Wyndham & British Airways discuss social media & online marketing in travel strategies

Jul 7, 2009

According to a recent study by EyeforTravel research, 55.9% of UK consumers polled said that a user review had influenced their decision to purchase a travel product or service. As travel communities, blogs and user reviews litter the Internet landscape it’s clear that travel companies need to be a part of the conversation.

Published: 07 Jul 2009

According to a recent study by EyeforTravel research, 55.9% of UK consumers polled said that a user review had influenced their decision to purchase a travel product or service. As travel communities, blogs and user reviews litter the Internet landscape it’s clear that travel companies need to be a part of the conversation.

The new economic and technological landscape, created by the rollercoaster year the industry has experienced as well as a sharp rise in new media tools, has led to on the one hand tighter budgets and on the other an ever-increasing number of options to communicate with customers. Navigating the marketing minefields that lead to higher revenues has therefore never been so tricky. What’s certain, wasting valuable resources is not an option for travel companies.

Experts in web strategy, online marketing, e-commerce, customer insight and loyalty from TUI, Hilton, Starwood, Wyndham, and British Airways will meet in Prague, 13 -14 October to share top tips and best practices in social media and online marketing strategies. The 2 day Sales & Marketing in Travel Summit Europe combines the Social Media Strategies in Travel conference and the Online Marketing Strategies in Travel conference to form a must-attend event for online travel professionals.

This year’s agenda highlights include:

  • Make your marketing budget work harder and ensure the greatest ROI on your marketing spend
  • Adapt your marketing strategy to significant changes in your travel customer’s behaviour
  • Separate the biz from the buzz - Analyse the real business case for Social Media
  • Understand the importance of integrating local content into your online marketing strategy
  • Effectively choreograph your marketing communications and target your most valued customers
  • Examine the relationship between Social Media CRM, and Brand engagement

    • As Event Director, Gina Baillie says ‘Travel lends itself to marketing practices that inspire and excite the customer about the destination or travel product. Whilst new media tools provide the perfect platform to do this it is vital that travel companies cut through the hype and get right to the nitty gritty of what really adds value to their business’.

    Throughout the 2 days attendees will hear presentations from the following industry speakers -

    Paulo Salvador, SVP, CRM & Loyalty, Accor
    Sandra Leonhard, Director of Web Strategy & Business Development, TUI
    Geraldine Calpin, VP e-Commerce, Hilton Hotels
    Martin Verdon-Roe, Head of Sales Europe, TripAdvisor
    Jesper Palmqvist, Director eCommerce - EMEA | APAC, Wyndham Hotel Group
    Amélie Bourgeois, Direct Marketing Internet Director, Disneyland Paris
    Ines Verburgh, e-Commerce Distribution Manager, Visit Britain
    Sebastian Heinzel, CEO, tripwolf
    Andrew Pozniak, Head of Travel - Emerging Europe, Middle East and Africa, Google Inc
    Ghislain D'Auvigny, Commercial Director, Pierre & Vacances Group
    Richard Verhoeff, Director e-Commerce, Center Parcs Europe
    Terry Kane, Director of Digital Strategy, Jumeirah
    Malte Siewert, MD, Trivago
    Iain Pringle, Head of Customer & Loyalty Insight, The Mileage Company, British Airways
    Steven Taylor, Senior Director Digital, Loyalty, Partner Marketing, Starwood Hotels & Resorts
    Thorvald Stigsen, CEO, Momondo
    Barbara Pezzi, DirectorWebmarketing & Ecommerce - Swissotel Brand, Fairmont Raffles Hotels International
    David Oliver, Director, Marketing Programmes, Hertz Europe
    Adam Healey, Co-Founder & CEO, Hotelicopter
    Jared Salter, Founder, Joobili
    Paul Harrison, Managing Partner, Carve Consulting
    Niki van Wijk, VP e-Commerce, Transavia
    Wesley Put van den Beemt, Lecturer, International Tourism Management, NHTV University of Applied Sciences
    And more!

    For full event information see http://events.eyefortravel.com/sales-and-marketing/conference or contact Gina Baillie, Regional Director, Europe, +44 (0)207 375 7197, gina@eyefortravel.com