Gigantic

10 Travel Trends for 2K10.

USA Today has a great list of travel trends for 2010. One prediction we particularly like is the rise of the real-time web as it applies to travel. (Our site TravelStreamz plays a role here. Watch for it to evolve with real-time deals this year.)

"In the still rapidly expanding online world, instant gratification is even easier to obtain: 'Digital' has become synonymous with 'instant,' " says Reinier Evers of the trend tracking site Trendwatching.com. With nearly half of U.S. adults using social networking sites, expect more time-sensitive "flash sales" offered via Facebook or Twitter, more real-time postings of travel experiences, and faster response from companies and institutions fearful that negative opinions will go viral. 

Travelers: Sharing stories around the digital campfire.

 

CBS News recently published a great article highlighting how social media enables the sharing of stories about travel experiences that influence travelers decisions.

"Social media and travel are a perfect fit, because they both are built around this idea of sharing experiences and storytelling," said Mary Madden, a senior researcher at the Pew Internet and American Life Project in Washington, D.C. "Content, whether that's a blog post about your favorite restaurant or the story from your latest trip to Greece and photos of that trip, is a form of social currency that you share with other people who frequent your social media space."

It is clear that the travel industry has no choice but to fully embrace social media. And to monitor and participate in the conversation as users increasingly rely on it to make decisions that could ultimately make or break a hospitality brand.

"...a recommendation from a Facebook connection or your Twitter feed may feel more trustworthy and less random than something you stumble across on a Web site - even when the tweet or Facebook message is from someone you don't know."

 

Branded Content: Sheraton

We've been busy over the last year flying around the country shooting hotels and doing interviews with staff, guests and business partners for Sheraton Hotels. Here's a compilation of some the places we've been.

Life Streamz at You in Real-Time.

We just launched 3 sites that aggregate Twitter feeds into a stand alone web page. The sites cover Twitter users who are holding conversations around: Travel, Food and Fashion. Each site aggregates tweets, pictures linked to the tweets and allows for favoring of the tweets. Additionally, each site has a interactive Real-Time Trend Cloud that allows users to see who talking about a particular subject or trend.

These sites are built around our data pyramid of: Aggregation, Contextualization and Editing. Obviously each site is an aggregation and begins to add context by tracking trends and allowing for favoring. We plan to further enhance how context can be added and will be adding an editor for each site as well. Making each site a valuable real-time resource around each subject.

Why did we build these? We think these sites serve as Proof Points around the following beliefs:

• We believe there are users who can benefit from Twitter content but don't want to be actively involved in Tweeting. These sites will become a new kind of media helping users get a real-time view around each subject.     

• We believe that brands have to think about how to actually become media (as opposed to consume media) as the world becomes more social and connected—and Twitter feeds of brands are an example (in some cases) of the right kind of steps in that direction. Aggregating them allows for a great way to monitor them.

• We believe that the future of Twitter and other real-time media lies within the ability to build off of the API, adding value (context + editing) and users to already existing communities.  

Looking forward to your feedback on these (here or on Twitter) and thanks to everyone on Twitter who helped QC these. And a big shout out to the guys 14Four for an amazing job of programming.

 

The 100 Top Brands on Twitter: A Big Vacancy for Hotels.

Yesterday Revolution (London) released a list of the 100 most mentioned brands on Twitter and we were quick to notice an absence of hotel brands on the list. Today, Barbara DeLollis from USAToday, reads our minds and follows up with a blog post about the hotel vacancy situation on her blog, HotelCheck-In.

We are following most of the lodging/hospitality brands on Twitter (we are launching a travel site on the Twitter API next week, following the launch of FashionStreamzl for fashion) and we do see a few hotel brands doing some cool things, while most are still not really getting it right. Twitter is a conversation, not a place to simply shout out brand trivia and the occasional deal. To be successful hotels need an engagement strategy and a real messaging platform.

Of course, time will work it out and we expect they all will eventually get up to speed. (Or disappear?) But the real opportunity for success with go to the brand who is the fastest and best informed hotel brand in the Social Media space.

UPDATE: TravelStreamz is live.

Social Media and Luxury Hotels. The Conversation Matters.

A recent article on Hotels Now reports that almost 80 percent of luxury hotel travelers have read a user generated online review and one in three has posted one. This leads to obvious questions for luxury hotel brands about the need to embrace, monitor and participate in social media.

Also of note, "Luxury travelers are demanding less pampering, more entertainment. Intercultural pursuits and opportunities for personal growth, such as shopping at village green markets, practicing foreign language skills and receiving a local gift at turn-down, now surpass the desire to be pampered."

Seems the definition of luxury is changing to reflect the desire to make connections and share experiences, which aligns nicely with the idea of using social media for luxury hotel brands.

Hotels are going mobile. But where are their iPhone apps?

According to an Advertising Age article from this past February, while overall hotel bookings are down due to the economy, hotel operators are reporting big gains from mobile booking.

Marriott Mobile generated $2 million in gross revenue between its August 2008 launch and the end of the year. But revenue from mobile bookings in January was headed upward fairly quickly, the hotel chain told Ad Age.

Meanwhile, Omni Hotels' mobile site has grown 85% in the past six months, and Hilton's mobile channel has generated a 22% return on investment for the brand. Those kinds of numbers are bright spots in a tough time for hoteliers -- and they show that even in recession, companies are willing to invest in and experiment with new media when the ROI is clear.

It's easy to understand the how convenience is driving mobile booking. But here is an interesting data point, with more than 30 million iPhones sold to date, not a single hotel brand has developed a stand alone iPhone app. 

Here at Gigantic, we find this shocking! Looks to us like a missed big opportunity for generating ROI on what is conceivably a small investment in technology at a time when ROI matters more than ever.

Just for kicks: Sheraton & NCAA

Remember paper football? We just launched an online version of the school time classic with an NCAA twist for Sheraton Hotels. Login now and put some points on the board to help your alma mater's place in the standings.