Transforming Supplier-driven Travel Booking Experience

The personalization and customization of the customer experience will mark the greatest transformation for travel booking. To sustain relevance and foster loyalty, travel sellers and suppliers will need to focus on understanding the context of traveler behaviors to create sustainable value in an effort to extend lifelong customer relationships. A Tnooz-Monetate webinar titled “Transforming the Supplier-driven Travel Booking Experience” included presentations by RockCheetah founder Robert Cole and Monetate CMO, Kurt Heinemann.

ATME Presentation – Collision of SEO and Social, Who Draws the Creepy Line?

Robert Cole presented “The Collision of SEO & Social – Who Draws the Creepy Line?” for the Association of Travel Marketing Executives (ATME) Annual Conference held on June 27, 2012 at the W City Center in Chicago, Illinois. Travel industry marketing leaders were challenged to think about the ethical and privacy implications of their strategies.

How to Get Found – Search, Social, Local and Mobile | SkiTops

SkiTops, the Ski Tour Operator Association, invited Robert Cole to give the keynote presentation at its annual SkiTops University event on July 31, 2012 at Grans sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada. The subject was how Search, Social, Local and Mobile was impacting travel marketing and technology, as well as the ski industry. The conference also featured a presentation by Roy Tuscany of the High Fives Foundation, a non-profit that supports athletes that have sustained life altering injuries while participating in winter action sports.

SkiTops University – Search, Social, Local and Mobile, How to Get Found

SkiTops, the Ski Tour Operator Association, invited Robert Cole to give the keynote presentation at its annual SkiTops University event on July 31, 2012 at Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada. The subject was how Search, Social, Local and Mobile was impacting travel marketing and technology, as well as the ski industry.

Collision of SEO and Social – Where’s the Creepy Line?

Changing rules, or a complete lack of rules governing the use of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) methods to increase Social Media ranking results in many groups using new technology to approach and cross the Creepy Line. The presentation is a discussion of the issues in play and what travel companies can do to engage customers and avoid crossing the creepy line – even when competitors are behaving badly.

Measuring and Monetizing Social Networking & Mobile Media

Golf courses and private golf clubs in particular may be the premier example of offline social networking. In a presentation at the National Golf Course Owners Association annual Conference, RockCheetah’s Robert Cole and ChrisStrauss of OB Sports Golf Management explain how to creatively apply social media and mobile technologies to help players and members interact with each other, drive more rounds and improve the end-to-end experience of the game itself.

NGCOA Presentation – Measuring and Monetizing Social Networking & Mobile Media

Robert Cole of RockCheetah and Kris Strauss of OB Sports Golf Management presented “Measuring and Monetizing Social Networking & Mobile Media” for the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA) Annual Conference held on Februart 29, 2012 at the Renaissance Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. The golfing industry represents the perfect opportunity for social media and mobile marketing to enhance player engagement the number of rounds played and the golfer’s enjoyment of the game.

The Yin and Yang of Social Media

The theme of the luncheon keynote presentation to the 2012 Receptive Services Association of America Summit Conference was “The Yin and Yang of Social Media.” The event was held at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans on February 7, 2012.

Unsuspecting Travel Hero and Travel Zero Awards 2011

The 2011 Unsuspecting Travel Hero Award goes to the anonymous hrrmph for his outstanding 9,000+ word TripAdvisor review of Kandholhu Island Resort & Spa in The Maldives. The big loser (aka winner) of the 2011 Unsuspecting Travel Zero Award is hotelreputationmanagement.org for serving as the poster-child for brashly promoting black-hat hotel reputation management tactics.

2011 PhoCusWright Travel Innovation Summit Predictions

Hipmunk, Rearden Commerce and FlexTrip were voted as having the best odds of winning the title of the Most Game-Changing Travel Innovation at the 2011 PhoCusWright Travel Innovation Summit. Unfortunately, a number of participants attempted to stuff the ballot box, underlying the challenges of using the wisdom of crowds to gauge audience sentiment.