Facebook's first user generated travel book
Published: 20 Aug 2008
San Juan Marriott Resort is offering free travel via its new application, iGO iWRITE, on Facebook. The application is positioned as Facebook's first user generated travel book.
The concept gives both amateur and professional writers an opportunity to not only publish their writing online, but the potential for it to be bound and printed in a hardcopy book.
As part of the initiative, San Juan Marriott is offering five years of free vacation at the resort if one get his or her story published after staying at the hotel. Guests who book the resort's "Vacation 2.0" package and then have their travel story from the trip selected for publication in one of the iGO iWRITE books, will enjoy 35 free nights or one week a year for five years.
Vacation 2.0 is a three night/four day package starting at $1182, based on double occupancy, excluding taxes and fees.
"This promotion is intended to get our guests involved in the process and encourage them to voice their opinions...good, bad or ugly," said Julian Cable-Treadwell, director – Marketing, the San Juan Marriott Resort. "We are not soliciting positive reviews, just trying to encourage our guests to get involved in the conversation."
"We created the Facebook web application for the average person, the traveler who simply loves to explore new places and share their experiences with others," said Paul Spicer, iGO iWRITE co-founder. "With the explosion in social networking and new media, such travelers have become modern day story tellers. As a group they now have the opportunity to shape the direction of the iGO iWRITE travel series by crafting books together that represents the best travel adventures, hidden gems, and hometown heroes they meet along the way."
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tromba said on 20 Aug 08:
What a great promotion! This is just the sort of marketing effort that will catch the attention of good writers. In the past, there was too much hope and prayer that user-generated content would be developed simply because travelers and tourists might like to see their names in print or on a web page. The world doesn't work that way.
By offering a substantial prize to the winner, the San Juan Marriott Resort is sure to get some very good submissions.