WEB
Continued from Page 14
clear majority of travelers in every
age group had used the Internet to
make a travel reservation during the
previous year, except for those over
60. Only 36% of travelers in that age
group had made an online booking
For each booking you make during Best Western’s Summer Sweepstakes, June 21 through August 28, 2009, you will be entered for a chance to win!
Two Grand Prizes: $2,500* each
Two Second Prizes: $1,000 each
Two Third Prizes: $500 each
Four Weekly Prizes: Each week during the Sweepstakes
4 winners will be drawn and each winner will
receive a $50 gift card for a total of 40 winners
Bay, CA
Halifax, NS
Zion National Park, UT
Miami Beach, FL
Here’s how it works:
s; ; 4RAVEL;!GENTS;BOOK;A;"EST;7ESTERN;HOTEL;ANYWHERE;IN;THE;WORLD;AT;ONE;
OF;OUR;;;;;;;;PLUS;LOCATIONS;IN;OVER;;;;COUNTRIES;VIA;THE;'$3
s; ; %NTER;THE;FOLLOWING;INFORMATION;IN;THE; 3);&IELD;;;;2/#+;;9OUR;&IRST;)NITIAL;;
9OUR;-IDDLE;)NITIAL;AND;9OUR;&ULL;,AST;.AME;I;E;; 3);2/#+*$3-) 4(;
s; ; %NTER;AS;OFTEN;AS;YOU;WOULD;LIKE;WITH;EACH;BOOKING;;4HE;MORE;YOU;BOOK;
THE;GREATER;YOUR;CHANCES;OF;WINNING;
.O;PURCHASE;NECESSARY;;6OID;WHERE;PROHIBITED;;/PEN;TO;TRAVEL;AGENTS;RESIDING;IN;THE;
5NITED;3TATES;;INCLUDING;0UERTO;2ICO;AND;THE; 5; 3;;6IRGIN;)SLANDS;;THE;#ARIBBEAN;)SLANDS;
AND;#ANADA;;WHO;ARE;;;;YEARS;OF;AGE;OR;OLDER;AS;OF;*UNE;;;;;;;;;;AND;WHO;
HAVE;A;VALID;!2#;)! 4!.; 4)$3;#,)!;ACCOUNT;OR;NUMBER;;∨OFl;CIAL;RULES;;
VISIT;WWW;BESTWESTERN;COM;TRAVELAGENTAWARDS;;3WEEPSTAKES;ENDS;!UGUST;;;;;;;;;;
THE WORLD’S
LARGEST
HOTEL CHAIN.®
For official rules and complete details,
visit bestwestern.com/travelagentawards.
bestwestern.com | 1.800.WESTERN | GDS Code: BW
*Grand prize and cash prizes may be awarded in the form of a debit card, cash or gift checks, the exact form to be determined by Best Western International, Inc. and will
be subject to issuer’s rules of use. **Numbers are approximate and can fluctuate. Each Best Western® hotel is independently owned and operated. Best Western and the
Best Western marks are service marks or registered service marks of Best Western International, Inc. ©2009 Best Western International, Inc. All rights reserved.
in 2008. Today, however, that number has risen to 41%.
The Monitor data also suggest
that while social networking sites are
clearly growing in popularity, the big
numbers are still going to the OTAs
and branded supplier sites.
Among leisure travelers who
shopped the Internet last year for
travel information, 55% used Travelocity, and 53% reported using Expedia. Branded airline sites were visited
by 47%, and hotel sites were visited
by 43%. Far fewer, about 19%, consulted blogs and social networking
sites, the Monitor reported.
Of those who have used a blog or
networking site for travel research,
only 3% have posted content or pictures. You Tube, the video sharing site,
was the most visited, named by 44%.
Facebook came in second at 33%, followed by MySpace at 30%. The latter
two showed substantial gains from
last year’s Monitor, when they were
mentioned by 9% and 16%, respectively. Showing a big decline from last
year was Trip Advisor, visited by 27%,
down from 44%.
But the jury may still be out on
the broad question of what drives
people to particular sites.
When given a five-point scale to
rate website features, respondents to
the Monitor’s surveys in recent years
have been ranking fewer and fewer
things as “extremely” desirable.
In 2001, for example, 86% ranked
destination maps as an extremely
important feature of a travel website,
but that feature is now ranked as extremely important by only 66%.
Also in 2001, an easy-to-use booking engine or photos were both seen
as extremely important features
by more than 80% of voters; those
numbers have fallen to 74% and
59%, respectively.
While these and other values are
falling, others are not rising to take
their place. In the latest survey, 87%
of Internet travelers ranked the ability to find the lowest price as an important attribute for a travel website.
Nothing else came close.
