Web 2.0 Travel Sites Capitalize on the Trend of Broader Demographic Adoption

CRM in Travel USA 2008 Special

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. October 14, 2008

By Ritesh Gupta, Global Correspondent & Managing Editor, EyeforTravel

JANUARY 10, 2008. Recently, one of the web 2.0 travel sites shared that the majority of the more than half a million people that come to the site each month to plan a trip are 40+ year old family's with a household income of more than $100,000.

The Internet is no longer for young males and early adopters. It is interesting to know what kind of implication it has on travel companies CRM initiatives and how can they capitalise on the trend of broader demographic adoption.

Providing an insight into the same, Ken Leeder, Founder and CEO, RealTravel told EyeforTravel.com's Ritesh Gupta: " Yes, our audience is older, female, affluent and well educated. Furthermore, after researching their trips on RealTravel people book their trips across a variety of channels, including online travel agencies, traditional travel agencies and directly with the travel service providers. This has very important implications for a travel companies CRM initiative."

"Companies should seek to influence people while they are in the research phase on the Internet (recognizing that their older customers may ultimately use an offline channel to book a trip), as well as seek out ways to reinforce brand messages during the post booking communication that is increasingly taking place on the Internet," said Leeder.

People are taking more control of their travel planning online and any trip planning tool must provide the flexibility for people to do what they want. So what impact Web 2.0 can have on CRM process?

On this Leeder said, "It provides travel companies with an opportunity to engage customers before, during and after a trip. In addition, since the Internet has emerged as the primary means of research and planning for travelers, whether they ultimately book online or offline, it provides an ideal opportunity to influence a potential customers decision or reinforce a brand message."

CRM in Travel USA

Leeder is scheduled to speak during EyeforTravel's CRM in Travel USA 2008 conference to be held in New Orleans (29-30 January) . For more information, click here: http://www.eyefortravel.com/crm/agenda.asp or contact:

Helen Raff
VP North America
+44 (0) 207 375 7582 (UK)
helen@eyefortravel.com