Four Twitter deals for Valentine’s Day getaways

by Tom Johansmeyer on

You may not be able to say how you feel in 140 characters or less, but you sure can get leads on the best Valentine’s Day experience that way. So, instead of tweeting a feeling, use the white-hot social media platform to grab the top travel specials for the most romantic day of the year. Several resorts are running Twitter-only Valentine’s Day specials this year, so follow the right people, and you’ll be able to wow your better half this year.

1. @BalHarbourFL

ONE Bal Harbour, a five-star luxury property in Florida, is offering a savings of up to $800 a night through its “Tweeterhearts” package. Follow @BalHarbourFL and look for the package that has a room rate of only $1,335 a night for three nights, champagne in your room upon arrival, a couples spa treatment in a private beachside cabana and a romantic dinner for two at 1 Bleu.

2. @FairmontNewport
Look for a room rate of $199 a night at the Fairmont Newport with its “Twitter-patter” package. You’ll stay in a junior suite, enjoy breakfast on your private balcony and receive plush robes adorned with the names of you and your guest (perfect for Twitter nerds like @tjohansmeyer and his wife, mommy-blogger, @ljpimberton — I’m seriously kicking this around, just for the robes). Other amenities, from high-speed internet access to valet parking and champagne are covered, as well. And, the window is wide: you can stay from the beginning of February through the end of March. Get the booking code from @FairmontNewport or @FairmontHotels.3. @LandingsStLucia
Who thought you could get a great wedding deal on Twitter? This RockResort is putting its best foot forward with the “Twitter Bells” package, which you can find by following @LandingsStLucia. You can save up to 25 percent with rates starting at $564 a night for a six-night stay as part of your wedding getaway. Enjoy a ceremony on the beach with a decorated wedding arch, floral arrangements and a bouquet and boutonniere. Your wedding dinner will be prepared for by Executive Chef Richard Tonks, and you’ll eat it on your luxurious “Tweet Suite” terrace. You’ll also pick up breakfast and lunch daily and evening champagne turndown service. You’ll need to tie the knot by May 11, 2010.

4. @ArrabelleVail
Do you crave powder? The Arrabelle at Vail Square‘s “Sweet Tweet for Two” package will get you a two-night stay at a discount of up to 30 percent, if you follow @ArrabelleVail. You’ll be greeted with champagne, roses and chocolate covered strawberries, and during your stay, you’ll enjoy an 80-minute couples massage, a Tweethearts tubing session and breakfast every day. The package is available through the end of ski season (April 17, 2010), with rates starting at $465 a night.

Facebook “memology” report reveals non-travel bias?

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Facebook has released its trend analysis of the top words appearing in status updates in 2009. Unlike the Twitter worldview, which had some terms that could be seen as travel-related, Facebook users appear to have spent more time at home. Sure, there’s the obligatory H1N1 mention, which impacted the travel-hungry throughout the year … but that’s it. What cements the seemingly sedentary characteristic of the Facebook addict this year is #13 on its “memology” report (meme = online slang for trend or fad) is “yard.”

We’ve all grown to loathe the coined word “staycation,” but as much as we try to ignore the word, the underlying tendency can’t be ignored. Just how the hell did “yard” come in at #13? It’s the antithesis of travel – of mobility, really – and drives home the notion that low fares and dirt-cheap hotel rooms weren’t enough to get us out of our own plots in 2009.

Facebook admits to some surprise at this meme on the list, saying, “This is a trend that nobody would have guessed.” Can’t get blunter than that, right?The social network’s blog post continues, “The word “yard” seems fairly uncommon, and indeed it barely breaches a rate of five mentions in every 10,000 status updates. When we compare 2009 to 2008, however, we see a huge increase.”

It’s possible, according to Facebook, that it’s a result of more “moms and dads” coming to Facebook and letting the world know via status updates that they are either working or spending time in the most suburban of land masses, as “these folks have yards that require some tending.”

Does this mean that Twitter users are younger? Or, just more active than their Facebook counterparts? Obviously, it’s impossible to say, but it’s a bit fun to guess. Of course, I cheated a bit with our interpretation of Twitter a few weeks ago, so the chasm isn’t as vast as I may have made it appear.

So, let’s try to change the situation in 2010. Link your Twitter account to your Facebook page and push your travel-related updates hard. Live tweet the hour you wait in line at the security checkpoint, or gripe about the lousy service you get from the airlines. Do something – do anything. Let’s change the face of social media … and put a travel mask on it!

[Photo by Kevin Prichard via Flickr]

Destinations feature highly in top Twitter trends of 2009

by Tom Johansmeyer on

It wasn’t explicit, but the top Twitter trends of 2009 have a hint of travel built into them. Sure, it was the elections in Iran that put made “Tehran” and “Iran” among the top 10 news items trending this year, and politics pushed “Gaza” up there, as well. And, we all remember the H1N1 Swine Flu epidemic, which has been memorialized in the form of “Swine Flu” and “#swineflu” on the microblogging site. Six of the top 10 new trends on Twitter had implications for travelers.

Twitter exploded this year, entering the public consciousness and drawing enough action to bring its user base close to 60 million. Travel writers spent the year devising new ways to use Twitter to help their readers circle the globe and suggesting interesting and unusual tweet-masters to follow. So, 2009 was for exploration, and 2010 will put Twitter on the mobile devices of even recreational travelers as they look for hotel rooms, hunt for cheap fares and try to get the lay of the land at the destinations on their itineraries.

Beyond tips and tricks, a travel community developed on Twitter, with bloggers and reporters, destinations and publicists and travelers of all types collaborating to help each other get the most out of every jaunt. We learned who has the best info through such practices as #TravelTuesday, which gave everyone recommendations on whom to follow.

Travel didn’t gain enough of a profile to unseat the major newsmakers, top movies and TV shows and major sporting events, but there was plenty of travel intel we were able to pick up from the news trends – especially for those of us with a more adventurous bent – and the action within our own community was certainly enough to prove the value of this tool to jetsetters of all types.

So, peck away at your devices next year, and let’s resolve to contribute to a robust, useful and exciting travel tweet-stream in 2010. Even if we don’t make the top 10 for travel reasons at this time next year, we’ll all have benefitted from the shared experiences of millions of airport-dwellers, business travelers and adventure-seekers. Whether they’re on-the-ground updates on delayed flights or tips on where to get the best hotdog in a strange place, it’s up to us to give each other news we can use.

Corporate travel databases: give morale a shot in the arm

by Tom Johansmeyer on

“Corporate,” “database” and “morale” usually don’t show up in the same sentence – at least not without some sort of negative word nestled in there. Images of tedious data entry are conjured, which does nothing for your state of mind while on the road. Yet, these words can be joined, and the resulting concept can be a gold mine for any company with legions of road warriors. Every employee accumulates knowledge while traveling. They learn which restaurants are best (and worst) in a particular city, and they develop coping strategies that their colleagues may find useful.

The curse of a travel-heavy company, of course, is that the employees don’t see each other often enough. When they do, talk turns to business first, and many of these tips remain hidden. A single place where the collective wisdom can be stored and shared can make business travel much more enjoyable tolerable while fostering communication where it might not exist otherwise.

I’m still stunned by the fact that I only saw the corporate travel database in action once during close to a decade of frequent business travel (frequent = around 40 weeks a year). It was pure genius, worked well and was used regularly. With the social media tools now available, it’s even easier than it was back then to implement the concept. Rather than a “database” in the traditional sense, a company could use a Facebook page, LinkedIn account or even a simple message board to share ideas, experiences and advice with coworkers.

So, how do you get a corporate travel database off the ground?

1. Someone needs to own it

No project gets off the ground in Corporate America without a “champion.” Clear it with whoever has the rubber stamp before pulling the trigger, and become the first contributor. Post regularly, and tell people about it – especially those who are going where you’ve already been.

2. Identify likely helpers

Find the eager beavers who will join the cause – every company has a few. Everybody wants to be heard, and this is a save and easy way to gain a voice.

3. Publicize your successes

As people take advantage of these shared tips, let everyone know, especially if there was a business impact. For example, “John Smith’s client loved dinner at Pomodoro Rosso … we was so tired of restaurants in midtown.”

4. Get granular

Simply being redundant with TripAdvisor and other user-generated content sites won’t help you out. Think local, unusual and relevant to the travelers in your company. You’re looking to solve a problem. So, find and contribute real on-the-ground intelligence. Late-night bars that will be open after a day of marathon meetings, for example, are both valuable and had to find when you’re new in town. The names of restaurant managers who are sympathetic to a little palm-greasing can be gold when you need a table on short notice. Every detail counts.

5. Respect boundaries

Know your company’s policies, and abide by them. If you use Facebook for your travel-sharing tool, be sure access is tightly controlled. Also, management needs to be on board, and the “right” people (different in every company) have to be kept in the loop. If your tool is developed properly, you’ll have one hell of an intelligence file. Just think of what would happen if it got into the wrong hands!

So many companies fail to tap the collective knowledge of their employees in so many ways. While a corporate travel database may not boost sales or share business information, it can help with morale and client entertainment (and, ultimately, relationships). Knowledgeable people become more productive, especially when they don’t have to cope with the quirks of a strange place while figuring out the intricacies of a new project. And, it’s always good to have at your fingertips the info you need to blow off a little steam. In the end, performance goes up, and people feel better about their jobs.

We have the tools at our disposal, and there’s no shortage of information. The only thing missing is the effort that pulls the two together.

Help for lost cameras

by Katie Hammel on

The folks over at Jaunted posted a story yesterday about a friendly-looking family who dropped their camera at some point while on a trip to Maui. A good Samaritan found the camera and posted one of the pics on Reddit last week, along with a plea for help in locating the family so that their camera could be returned.

According to HalogenLife, in a prime example of the power of social media, the family was located and the camera is on its way to be reunited with its rightful owners.

That news in itself is pretty cool. But what I found even more interesting is that there are apparently several websites dedicated to helping people recover their lost cameras. On Ifoundyourcamera.blogspot.com photos from orphan cameras are posted each Thursday. I haven’t lost a camera recently, but I think I may become addicted to scrolling through the pics looking for familiar faces. There’s got to be someone I know on the site, right?

Jaunted has a better, smarter solution for digital camera owners though. Write your name and contact information on a card and snap a picture of it. Lock it on your memory drive and internal memory and voila – electronic dog tags for your camera! If someone should find the camera and scroll through your photos, they can easily get in touch via the info you’ve provided. You know, if they aren’t just going to keep your camera for themselves.