Virgin America Twitter promotion gives 50% off ticket prices

by Melanie Nayer on

[Editor’s note: this deal has expired! Congratulations to those who scored a ticket!]

When Virgin America puts on a sale, they really go all out. Get ready to save, Virgins… err, flyers…

Virgin America’s latest promotion is via their Twitter account. The Red Hot 50% Off Promo is only available for purchase on Tuesday, April 13, 2010 between 1:30 p.m. and 7:59 p.m. EDT. All you have to do is give Virgin America your Twitter account name, or sign up on Twitter, and you’ll be rewarded with a 50 percent off coupon code.

The Red Hot 50% Off Promo must be used for two guests traveling on one itinerary only, and is valid for flights to and from any Virgin America destination. Availability is limited to the first 500 people to book.

Here’s the deal:

  • Login with your twitter account using this link.
  • If you are a @virginamerica follower, then you’ll get your discount if one is still available when you go through the process. If you are not a @virginamerica follower, then once you login, you’ll automatically become a follower.
  • After login, click “Grab a Seat” to use your discount.

We did a quick check of the promo’s validity and found it to be true – we grabbed a promo code and signed up for two round-trip tickets from Los Angeles to San Francisco at the discounted price of $65 per ticket. Stay tuned for more updates from @virginamerica or search #VXRedHot to get more flight deals from Virgin America.

Tweet and win with the Valentin Imperial Maya Resort

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Blast your thoughts in 140 characters or less, and you could find yourself under the sun in Mexico. The Valentin Imperial Maya Resort is launching a new contest, “Follow Valentin & Win,” so if you’re a Twitter ninja, this is a user you want to follow – by the end of the month.

The Valentin’s goal is pretty simple: the adults-only resort on in Riviera Maya wants to reach more than 1,000 followers. Make yourself one of them, and you have a shot at being one of the three guests to receive a free three-night stay at the resort. The Valentin will pick three secret numbers. If one of them corresponds to yours (i.e., as the Xth follower), you’ll be on the receiving end of a relaxing getaway which includes a 45-minute Primax swim with the dolphins, round-trip transportation to the resort and a DVD of your experience.

There is a catch … there always is. Each winner will be asked to keep a “Valentin Journal,” documenting the stay. These journals, along with photos and videos, will be popped onto the resort’s Facebook page, showing the experience through the eyes of a fellow vacationer.

The contest closes at the end of April, and the winners will be announced on May 3, 2010. You can follow the resort at @valentinmaya.

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Social media thrives in tough travel market

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Travel used to be recreational (well, recreational travel, at least), but now even vacationers are finding ways to turn it into work. The latest report from travel research firm PhoCusWright, Social Media in Travel: Traffic & Activity, finds that the average vacationer is becoming more like the average blogger on a press trip. Travel reviews are written, photos popped onto the likes of Flickr and Facebook and personal blogs are peppered with opinions and observations. And, immediate reactions wind up on Twitter with incredible speed. All this content, straight from the horse’s mouth, is having a profound effect on the online travel market.

According to Douglas Quinby, senior director of research at PhoCusWright, “There continues to be a big gap between the enormous promise of social media and the current reality of realizing and measuring those returns.” He continues, “With our partners, we analyzed nearly 1.9 million traveler reviews and visitor referral and conversion traffic from more than 50 social travel Web sites, as well as general social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. The result is the most expansive research into where and how online travelers are creating, consuming and acting upon social content.”PhoCusWright is staying a bit tight-lipped with the reports details, holding them back for people with skin in the game (and thus willing to foot the $995 tab), but one observation was released that shows just how powerful an impact the social media environment can have on the travel industry: despite the hit the travel business took last year, monthly visitors to social travel sites surged from the first half of 2008 to the first half of 2009.

The fact that social media is having an impact on the travel community may be obvious, but the extent is staggering.

“Place-dropping”: the new social currency?

by Jeremy Kressmann on

You just landed in Paris. What’s the first thing you do? Head for the passport line? Withdraw some money at the ATM? How about updating your Twitter/Facebook status? It’s called ‘place-dropping,’ an increasingly popular form of “digital bragging” about where you’ve been online. With many of us carrying laptops, checking mobile phones and using location services, it’s easier than ever before to log on and update our status, notifying our friends back home about our adventures. But is there a difference between simply sharing news and simply being obnoxious?

Like so much of social media etiquette, the proper rules of place dropping are still up for debate. Writer Spud Hilton took a stab at laying some ground rules in a place-dropping article on World Hum last month, suggesting a good place drop “conveys you were there” but doesn’t “overplay your hand.” But Hilton is talking mostly about place dropping during face-to-face conversations. What about doing it online? In some cases, there’s justification. For instance updating curious friends and anxious family members on where you are. For frequent travelers, a place drop is also a research tool. I often sent requests for destination insights during my recent trip to Southeast Asia. And it’s a handy way to find travel friends who are nearby.

Yet place dropping has limits. It prevents us from truly immersing and enjoying ourselves in our destinations. And if done excessively on social media, place-dropping alienates friends and followers. At a time when we can get anywhere on earth in 24 hours or less, it also seems increasingly redundant.

What do you think about place dropping? Is it just a sign of our ever-more-connected global lifestyle? Or something more heinous? Leave us a comment to start the discussion.Related:
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Before you go, be sure to check out Travel Talk, in which the guys visit the spiciest restaurant in NYC — try to slake their thirst with beer.

Blog it or Facebook it or Tweet it or … – Road trip tip

by Gadling Staff on

Let friends and family share in your road trip adventure by posting details along the way via your blog, Facebook, Twitter or other social media site. People at home are curious about your adventures, and seeing your update may trigger a memory or suggestion they have to improve your trip.

With a smartphone such as the Apple iPhone, Motorola Droid or Research in Motion’s BlackBerry, it’s a snap to post a status update of your trip or take and upload a photo or video of a roadside attraction. Smartphone Facebook apps and apps such as Bloglive make it easy to upload your content.

Of course, don’t do any of this while driving. Wait until you’re stopped, or have a passenger do the posting.