BY MEGHAN FARRELL, NINA FOLLMAN, LAUREN HASLETT, & CARA POLOM

Travelocity

Introduction

Marketing Problem: While the online travel site industry as a whole is getting larger, there is no real differentiation between each separate travel site. Consumers tend to choose the first travel site that they see on a search engine, rather than having a particular travel site to which they are loyal. 2

Marketing Objective: We aim to differentiate Travelocity amongst travel websites and make it stand out from the crowd. Travelocity has features that distinguish it from the other online travel sites, including its ExperienceFinder, which really focuses on getting the most out of the experience of a trip. We plan to use this feature to advertise Travelocity as an online travel site that cares about your overall travel experience and aims to attract more customers in its target audience.

A trend towards using the Internet as an information source

for planning trips has seen a large increase in the use of online travel sites in recent

years. Travel sites offer deals on flights, hotels, car rentals, and cruises, both separately and as

combination packages, that make planning trips simpler, less

expensive, and more enjoyable. More and more consumers are

taking advantage of these sites to plan trips for both business and pleasure and the goal of these sites are to make those trips as

hassle-free as possible.1

Service Category Definition

2003 2006 Change

Direct from Hotel

72.5 67.9 -16.9

Travel Agent 24.0 18.0 -6.5

Online Travel Site

3.5 14.0 398.8

With the development of electronic commerce over the past decade, travel has emerged as the top selling

product online. Growth levels have been

phenomenal, with online penetration frequently

doubling year on year.3 This increase in online travel has caused competition between

a multitude of travel sites offering similar products,

like flights and hotel deals, including sites such as

Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline, and Travelocity.

U.S. Sales of Hotels by Booking Channel

(Percentages)5

‘07 ‘08 ‘09 ‘10 ‘11

Forrester

Research

104 111 117 120 128

Estimated Size of the Online Travel Market (U.S. Dollars –

Billions)4

Trends & Implications

Trends Implications

1. People’s travel decisions have been heavily influenced by reviews on the Internet and word-of-mouth.6

1. Depending on the reviews, this can either make people want to use Travelocity or make them steer clear of it. One bad review can change someone’s mind.

2. Money is tight during these tough economic times.

2. Travel websites showcase the best deals for whatever the consumer searches for. In addition, they market the experiences people can have through the services they offer to make travel experiences more worth than the money that is spent.

3. The Internet is increasingly becoming a main source of information and entertainment for people.7

3. Travel websites aim to provide people with quick, easy, hassle-free travel planning via the Internet rather than on the phone or in person.

SWOT

Strengths8: Travelocity ExperienceFinder helps consumers visualize their vacation and plan according to their interests Travelocity has a separate division dedicated to corporate travel Travelocity has a good presence in social media If a customer finds a better travel deal somewhere else on the Internet, Travelocity will refund the customer the difference and offer them a future discount

Weaknesses: No apparent brand differentiation9

Low customer satisfaction scores10

Not aware of special features (like car rentals, cruises, ExperienceFinder)11

Opportunities: To differentiate themselves from competitors Even though they have a good presence online, there is still a great opportunity to attract more people to engage with Travelocity on social media sites12

Threats: Other travel websites show up before Travelocity on search engines13

Some people are very loyal to a particular airline/hotel and book directly with that company rather than using a travel website14

Brand Assessment: The Four P’s

Product15: Travelocity offers price comparisons for hotel rooms, flights, car rentals, and cruises and consumers have the ability to view the best deals and book their choices online

Place16: Available on the Internet, via the URL or through a search engine Consumers can also call Travelocity to speak with a customer service representative

Promotion17: Travelocity advertises on television, on the radio, in print, through social media, and through online advertisements. They highlight special deals/packages on the main page of their website. Current positioning is to attract consumers with our focus on customer service and with our goal to make our consumers’ trips more enjoyable

Price: Best deals on different travel websites for a roundtrip flight for one adult from JFK to LAX on December 15, 2011-December 18, 2011: Travelocity18: $308 Expedia19: $308 Orbitz20: $308 Priceline21: $308

Primary Competitors

28.5

16.4

12.6

12.6

10.5

9.9

Market Share22

Expedia

Trave-lAd-Net-workOrbitz

Priceline

Traveloc-ity

Yahoo! Travel

According to these results in 2010, Travelocity falls

somewhere in the middle in terms of its market share in the

travel websites industry. Three

competitors we will be analyzing (Expedia,

Orbitz, and Priceline) have higher market

shares than Travelocity.

Expedia – “Where you book matters.”

Strengths23

Great for flexible flight dates

Weaknesses24

No flight alerts (like Travelocity)

Too many ad-ons and extra charges

Mission Statement25

“Expedia gets the world going by building the

world’s largest and most intelligent marketplace.”5

Positioning Statement: To business and leisure travelers, Expedia is the online travel site that provides customers with

everything they need to research, plan, and purchase a trip.

Orbitz – “When you Orbitz, you know.”

Strengths26 Weaknesses27

User-friendly site Low rates and fares Customer-oriented

Web site is bland Slow response to

corporate inquiries Hits you with

hidden fees

Mission Statement28

“Using innovative technology to enable leisure and business

travelers to research, plan and book a broad range of travel

products.”

Positioning Statement: To travel savvy adults, Orbitz is the online travel site that makes it

easier to get the vacation, flight, or hotel their consumers want.

Priceline – “No one deals like we do.”

Strengths29 Weaknesses30

Strong brand identity/name from William Shatner as the “Priceline Negotiator”

Customer loyalty

Long wait time for processing trip requests

No flexible date searching

Mission Statement31

“To be the leading online travel business for value

conscious leisure travelers in North America.”

Positioning Statement: To the adult who is looking for

inexpensive travel, Priceline is the online travel site that

provides customers with the best deals in travel.

Target Audience

Travelocity’s current target audience is middle class adults between the ages of 25-64 who are looking for an easy and convenient way to make travel arrangements, whether for pleasure or business. We chose to continue targeting this audience in our own creative execution.32

Key Demographics of Primary Users33

56.8% women83.8% between ages of 25-6470% now married81.9% race: white65.5% earn +$75,000

Lifestyle34

55.6% graduated college plus25.5% professional occupation70% now married81.4% own their own home

What they read35: What they watch36:

Target Audience’s Media Habits

Where they go online37:

Target Audience’s Media Habits Continued

Primary Research38

Significant Results 31% of people have used Expedia 35.9% of people like Expedia the most 81.2% of people primarily use travel websites to

book/compare hotel rooms and flights 68.8% of people’s primary concern is with finding the

best deal possible 89.1% of people do not engage with any travel

websites on social media 46.9% of people usually travel to visit family/friends 45.3% of people usually travel on a plane when taking

a vacation

Research Methodology #1:Online survey (64 responses)

67.2% female64.1% age 18-3535.9% age 36+

How do you usually plan for a trip?

Travel websiteTravel agentPrivate websiteOther

What is most important to you when planning a trip on a

travel website?

Finding the best deal

Easy, hassle free purchase

Booking mul-tiple things on the same website

Other

“When you hear the word “Travelocity,” what words/phrases/images come to mind?”

Some responses: the gnome, reliable, “You’ll never roam alone,” traveling, decent customer service, nothing, “The Amazing Race” sponsor, vacation, international, beaches

Primary Research Continued39

Significant Results Travelocity is easy-to-use and people like that they can find

the best deal. Others say that the layout is too cluttered and confusing.

Some people said that they know they have used travel websites before but they cannot remember which ones – no differentiation between different travel websites: “They are all pretty much the same.”

Some people preferring using other methods of planning a trip, such as directly calling the airline or hotel, using a travel agency, or planning on their own

Travel websites are convenient to use: “Anytime, anywhere. 24/7.”

A few people responded that it is helpful to read travel reviews on TripAdvisor

Some people said that their employers take care of all their travel arrangements when traveling for business purposes

Research Methodology #2:In-depth Interviews (25 conducted):

13 males, 12 femalesRange of ages between

23-85

Problem to Be Solved/Key Insight

The problem to be solved is that there is no differentiation between Travelocity and other travel websites. Many people simply go to the first travel website that appears on a search engine. They hold the assumption that all travel websites are the same.40

The key insight we uncovered is that Travelocity has a unique feature that is not currently being advertised. Travelocity’s ExperienceFinder lets people customize every aspect of their trip by inviting customers to not only research a destination but also experience it. The ExperienceFinder goes beyond what travel websites normally offer, allowing customers to pick a theme and even book specific activities in their desired destination. Travelocity dedicates a section of their website to this component, and customers can plan every aspect of their trip in one convenient location. The ExperienceFinder can be launched at www.travelocity.com/experiencefinder. 41

Positioning Statement

Current: To the everyday adult who wants to make travel planning fun, Travelocity is the online travel site that focuses on customer service and that is there to make your trip more enjoyable whenever you need them.

New: To economically conscious adults who want to make the most out of their trips, Travelocity is the online travel site that helps consumers enjoy their travel experiences and make long-lasting memories.

Advertising Objective

Our advertising objective is to differentiate Travelocity from its competitors by highlighting the ExperienceFinder feature on the agency’s website. We want to make consumers aware of this fairly unknown aspect of Travelocity by explaining what the program does and how it makes planning a trip easier. Through the ExperienceFinder, Travelocity is changing the way people look at online trip planning by helping consumers plan every aspect of their trips. With these two objectives, we aim to attract more members of our target audience into becoming loyal Travelocity users.

Creative Strategy

Who is the advertising talking to? The advertising is talking to adults between the ages of 25-64 who are conscious of their spending

habits but still want to travel and make memories.42

What single benefit should the advertising promise? The advertising will highlight the ExperienceFinder, which promises helpfulness in creating an

affordable travel plan that goes beyond just finding a flight and hotel room.43

Why should the consumer believe you? Travelocity provides consumers with the best deals for all aspects of their travel needs. With the

ExperienceFinder, Travelocity provides all of this in one easy, convenient place and allows consumers to go beyond “shopping and booking to dreaming and planning”.44 For example, along with booking a flight and hotel room, the ExperienceFinder allows consumers to select a theme for their trip and plan outings and activities in accordance with the theme.45 By helping consumers to plan all additional aspects of their trip, Travelocity demonstrates their concern for their customers’ overall travel experience. Our advertising is a soft sell because it aims to attract consumers emotionally into thinking about traveling.

What does the consumer think now? Now, the consumer can recognize Travelocity as a travel website but it cannot differentiate it

amongst its competitors. The consumer believes that Travelocity is easy to use; however, consumers have no real loyalty to Travelocity. The consumer is not aware of Travelocity’s unique feature. 46

What do you want the consumer to think after seeing the advertising? We want consumers to think of Travelocity as a brand that is concerned with every aspect of the

consumer’s travel planning and wants to help the consumer create lasting memories of travel. We want the consumers to recognize that Travelocity offers benefits that other travel websites do not. In particular, Travelocity’s ExperienceFinder not only makes travel planning easier but also allows consumers to plan every aspect of their trip in one convenient location.

Creative Strategy Continued

Brand Personality: Travelocity is humorous, reliable, personable, caring, and international.

Guidelines for tone of creative execution: The brand personality is a strong component in our ads. To coincide with the soft sell of our campaign, the Roaming Gnome will be the representation of the brand personality in our ads using humor and friendliness to attract consumers. With these qualities, we want the consumer to view Travelocity as a personable brand that cares about every aspect of the trip.

Media Plan

When during the year is the optimal time for the advertising to be placed? Many people want to take a vacation during the summer months to enjoy the warm weather

and/or during the winter months either to escape the cold or to relish it. Therefore, a pulsing strategy should be applied to Travelocity’s advertising campaign, with peaks during the winter and summer months and lower levels of advertising during the fall and spring. By advertising the ExperienceFinder during the summer and winter, it will make people imagine a romantic ski getaway or an adventure-filled family beach trip and fuel them to use the program. The ExperienceFinder allows people to make complete travel and vacationing plans well in advance or even at the last minute.

Recommended medium or media: Travelocity’s target audience are heavy users of magazines and the Internet through social

media. We chose to advertise in these two media because of their strong usage with our desired target audience. In addition, with magazines, we can explain more about the ExperienceFinder without being disruptive to the reader. Because people opt-in to reading a particular magazine, the audience will be more receptive to our ads within it. When viewing an ad in a magazine, people can spend more time with it and can pass-along the ad to friends and family. Similar to this point, when advertising on the web, Internet users can pass along links and website URL’s to friends and family with the click of a button. The Internet is more interactive than any other mass media and also involves a two-way communication, so people can feel more involved with our Internet advertising method. It is also important for Travelocity to have a presence on the Internet through social media for the mere fact that Travelocity itself is an Internet-based company. Along with these two media, we also chose to advertise in a slightly underdeveloped medium, that of TV advertising. We chose this medium because television has a very high level of viewing and pervasiveness and will therefore reach our target audience while also attracting new users to Travelocity. 47

Media Plan Continued48

Recommended media vehicles: For magazines:

Because the ExperienceFinder allows people to visualize every aspect of their trip while at the same time booking the best deals, it makes sense to advertise in magazines where people are interested in both of these features. Currently, Travelocity’s target audience are heavy readers of travel and economic magazines, such as Condé Nast Traveler and The Economist. Therefore, we chose to continue to advertise in both of these types of magazines because the audience will be receptive to this new way to plan trips while still making economically-wise decisions.

For TV: Members of Travelocity’s target audience, though underdeveloped in TV, watch programs that

are consistent with the interests they read about in magazines. For example, Travelocity’s target audience currently watches travel, economic, news, and sport networks, such as the Travel Channel, MSNBC, Bloomberg Television, and Versus. This consistency across media types highlights the great interest in travel and the importance of making wise decisions in terms of money. Therefore, we chose to to keep this correspondence between the two media by having a strong TV advertising presence on travel, economic, and leisure activity related networks.

For the Internet: The social media component of our campaign will be a combined element of both the

ExperienceFinder section of Travelocity’s website and its Travelocity Facebook account. Since its creation in 2004, Facebook has the most users of any social media site and people enjoy connecting with their friends, family, celebrities, businesses and many more. Our social media campaign will increase traffic to the ExperienceFinder and to the Travelocity Facebook page, inviting people to engage with the brand icon and generating awareness to others about Travelocity’s unique feature via the Internet.

Creative Execution 1 – Magazine Print Ad

This print ad will be very effective for Travelocity. Their previous ads have been very humorous, a quality that makes them memorable. We want to emulate this humor and stay true to Travelocity’s persona, while at the same time letting the public know about one of Travelocity’s unique features: The ExperienceFinder. The gnome is also a well-known icon, and “personifying” him in this ad helps people associate him to the brand.

This ad is very playful and compares the excitement of a surprise birthday party to that of an exotic dream vacation. We thought about the target audience when making this ad, and want them to understand that Travelocity’s surprise is not something as corny or cheesy as a surprise birthday party, but rather the opportunity to have the trip of a lifetime, with the easy-to-use ExperienceFinder. We are differentiating Travelocity from other online travel sites, while remaining true to the “brand personality.”

Creative Execution 2 – TV Spot

Frame 1: The commercial begins with a business man working at his desk. He looks bored and tired, and is daydreaming about skiing.

Frame 2: A housewife is in her home, looking stressed and dreaming of going to the beach.

Frame 3:The gnome appears in the center of the screen and say, “Why dream it, when you can experienceit?” There will then be a montage of people on exotic vacations having a great time with a voice over explaining the ExperienceFinder.

The voice -over will say: “The new ExperienceFinder from Travelocity helps you reserve the perfect hotel, research shows and even book tours and activities. Now, you can build the trip of a lifetime. Travelocity: Roam with the gnome like never before.”

The characters in this ad relate to our target

audience, and many of them have

found themselves in

the same position.

Creative Execution 3 – Social Media

On both Travelocity’s website and on the Travelocity Facebook account page, Internet users will be informed of Travelocity’s social media campaign, entitled “Roam for Free with Travelocity!” This contest will be conducted year round, and one lucky customer will be chosen in each of the four seasons to travel absolutely free. ExperienceFinder component: To qualify for this contest, a customer must plan for every aspect

of their desired trip using Travelocity’s easy-to-use ExperienceFinder. The customer picks the location he wishes to travel to, a theme for the trip, a hotel to stay at, and activities to participate in while on the trip. The ExperienceFinder will highlight the best deals for hotels, popular reviews, and other travel tips and guidelines. When all the options have been chosen and before the customer finalizes the booking and payment information, ExperienceFinder will prompt him to enter the “Roam for Free with Travelocity” contest by uploading his travel plans to Facebook.

Facebook component: By posting the travel plans on Travelocity’s Facebook page, the customer’s post will enter him into a seasonal contest to travel for free. In each of the four seasons, one lucky customer’s vacation, as planned through the ExperienceFinder, will be absolutely free! The Roaming Gnome will randomly roam through all of the contest entries and select one customer to travel for free (the rates he paid for booking all details of the trip will be refunded to him).

Endnotes

1 – "Introduction."  Online Travel Intermediaries - International -August 2009. Mintel. Web. Nov. 2011. <http://academic.mintel.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=417691/displaytables/id=417691/display/?id=477086>.

2 – Primary Research – In-depth Interview 3 – "Introduction."  Online Travel Intermediaries - International -August 2009. Mintel. Web. Nov. 2011. <

http://academic.mintel.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=417691/displaytables/id=417691/display/?id=477086>.

4 – “Size of the Online Travel Market.” Online Travel Intermediaries - International –August 2009. Mintel. Web. Nov. 2011. <http://academic.mintel.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=417691/displaytables/id=417691/       display/?id=477086>.

5 – “Market Segmentation.” Travel Booking – US – April 2007. Mintel. Web. Nov. 2011.<http://academic.mintel.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=226602/displaytables/id=226602/display/id=273517&?select_section= 273516>

6 – Thompson, Troy. "10 Hottest Online Travel Trends | Travel 2.0 Consulting Group." Travel 2.0 Consulting Group | Tourism Strategy Consulting for Destinations Ad Agencies. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. http://travel2dot0.com/2009/04/10-hottest-online-travel-trends/.>

7 – "Introduction."  Online Travel Intermediaries - International -August 2009. Mintel. Web. Nov. 2011. <http://academic.mintel.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=417691/displaytables/id=417691/display/?id=477086>.

8 – "The Travelocity Customer Bill of Rights." Travelocity. Web. Nov. 2011.<http://www.travelocity.com/about/main/0,,TRAVELOCITY:EN%7CABOUT,00.html>.

9 – Primary Research – In-depth Interview 10 – "Travel Search Engines - Travel Sites Reviews." Product Reviews and Reports - ConsumerSearch.com. Web.

10 Nov. 2011. http://www.consumersearch.com/travel-sites/travel-search-engines.

Endnotes Continued

11 – Primary Research – Survey 12 – Primary Research - Survey 13 – Google. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. <https://www.google.com/>. 14 – In-depth Interview 15 – Travelocity. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. http://www.travelocity.com/. 16 – IBID 17 – IBID 18 – IBID 19 – Expedia. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. <http://www.expedia.com/> 20 – Orbitz. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. <http://www.orbitz.com/> 21 – Priceline. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. <http://www.priceline.com/> 22 – "Top Travel Sites, 2010." Market Share Reporter. Ed. Robert S. Lazich and Virgil L. Burton

III. 2012 ed. Detroit: Gale Group, 2012. 810 pp. 2 vols. Gale Directory Library. Gale. Boston University Libraries. 28 Nov. 2011 http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/gdl/start.do?prodId=GDL.

23 - Wade, Roger. "Which Is the Best All-Around Airfare Site? – USA | BootsnAll Travel Articles." Boston All Indie Travel : RTW Tickets, Travel Inspiration & Deals. Cheap Tickets, Hotels & Hostels. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/08-02/which-is-the-best-all-around-airfare-site-usa.html.

24 – IBID 25 – Expedia. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. <http://www.expedia.com/> 26 – Alster, Richard. "Orbitz Delivers Real-Time Business Activity Monitoring With SL. Enterprise Review."

Information Management. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. <http://www.information-management.com/issues/2007_47/10001155-1.html>. 

27 – IBID 28 – IBID 29 – Fall 2010 Product Shopping - Travelocity. Rep. 2010. MRI+. Web. 27 Oct. 2011.

http://ureporter.mriplusonline.com/selectdemo.asp

Endnotes Continued

30 –IBID 31 – IBID 32 – Fall 2010 Product Shopping - Travelocity. Rep. 2010. MRI+. Web. 27 Oct. 2011.

http://ureporter.mriplusonline.com/selectdemo.asp 33 – IBID 34 – IBID 35 – IBID 36 – IBID 37 – IBID 38 – Primary Research – Survey 39 – Primary Research – In-depth Interview 40 – Primary Research – In-depth Interview 41 – ExperienceFinder. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. <http://www.travelocity.com/experiencefinder/> 42 – Fall 2010 Product Shopping - Travelocity. Rep. 2010. MRI+. Web. 27 Oct. 2011.

http://ureporter.mriplusonline.com/selectdemo.asp 43 – ExperienceFinder. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. <http://www.travelocity.com/experiencefinder/> 44 – "Travelocity's Experiencefinder Wins 'Innovatior of the Year Award' from Travel Industry Association |

Ehotelier.com News Archives." Global Hotelier’s Community | Hospitality Industry News | Ehotelier.com. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. http://ehotelier.com/hospitality-news/item.php?id=A13477_0_11_0_M>.

45 – ExperienceFinder. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. <http://www.travelocity.com/experiencefinder/> 46 – Primary Research – In-depth Interview 47 – Fall 2010 Product Shopping - Travelocity. Rep. 2010. MRI+. Web. 27 Oct. 2011.

http://ureporter.mriplusonline.com/selectdemo.asp 48 – IBID

Bibliography

Alster, Richard. "Orbitz Delivers Real-Time Business Activity Monitoring With SL. Enterprise Review." Information Management. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. <http://www.information-management.com/issues/2007_47/10001155-1.html>. 

Expedia. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. <http://www.expedia.com/> ExperienceFinder. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. <http://www.travelocity.com/experiencefinder/> Fall 2010 Product Shopping - Travelocity. Rep. 2010. MRI+. Web. 27 Oct. 2011.

http://ureporter.mriplusonline.com/selectdemo.aspPCLN) SWOT Analysis." Stock, ETF, Mutual Fund Research | SWOT, 5 Forces Analysis. WikiWealth. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. <http://www.wikiwealth.com/swotanalysis:pcln.

Google. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. <https://www.google.com/>. "Introduction."  Online Travel Intermediaries - International -August 2009. Mintel. Web. Nov. 2011. <

http://academic.mintel.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=417691/displaytables/id=417691/display/?id=477086>.

“Market Segmentation.” Travel Booking – US – April 2007. Mintel. Web. Nov. 2011.<http://academic.mintel.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=226602/displaytables/id=226602/display/id=273517&?select_section= 273516>

Orbitz. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. <http://www.orbitz.com/> Priceline. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. <http://www.priceline.com/> “Size of the Online Travel Market.” Online Travel Intermediaries - International –August 2009. Mintel.

Web. Nov. 2011. <http://academic.mintel.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=417691/displaytables/id=417691/       display/?id=477086>.

Table listing for Online Travel Intermediaries - International - August 2009. Rep. Mintel Web. Nov. 2011. http://academic.mintel.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=417691/displaytables/id=417691/display/id=477086&?select_section=417691

Bibliography Continued

The Future of Technology in Travel – International – June 2011. Rep. Mintel. Web. Nov. 2011. http://academic.mintel.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/sinatra/oxygen/whatshot/wh_id=15/latest_whatshot_reports/wh_id=15&list=latest_whatshot_reports/display/id=545397/displaytables/id=545397/display/id=581337&/display/id=581337/display/id=545397.

"The Travelocity Customer Bill of Rights." Travelocity. Web. Nov. 2011.<http://www.travelocity.com/about/main/0,,TRAVELOCITY:EN%7CABOUT,00.html>.

Thompson, Troy. "10 Hottest Online Travel Trends | Travel 2.0 Consulting Group." Travel 2.0 Consulting Group | Tourism Strategy Consulting for Destinations Ad Agencies. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. http://travel2dot0.com/2009/04/10-hottest-online-travel-trends/.> 

"Top Travel Sites, 2010." Market Share Reporter. Ed. Robert S. Lazich and Virgil L. Burton III. 2012 ed. Detroit: Gale Group, 2012. 810 pp. 2 vols. Gale Directory Library. Gale. Boston University Libraries. 28 Nov. 2011 http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/gdl/start.do?prodId=GDL.

Travel Booking - US - April 2007. Rep. Mintel. Web. Nov. 2011.         <http://academic.mintel.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=226602/displaytables/id=226602/display/id=273589&/display/     id=226602>.

"Travel Search Engines - Travel Sites Reviews." Product Reviews and Reports - ConsumerSearch.com. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. http://www.consumersearch.com/travel-sites/travel-search-engines.

Travelocity. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. <http://www.travelocity.com/>. "Travelocity's Experiencefinder Wins 'Innovatior of the Year Award' from Travel Industry Association |

Ehotelier.com News Archives." Global Hotelier’s Community | Hospitality Industry News | Ehotelier.com. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. http://ehotelier.com/hospitality-news/item.php?id=A13477_0_11_0_M.

Wade, Roger. "Which Is the Best All-Around Airfare Site? – USA | BootsnAll Travel Articles." Boston All Indie Travel : RTW Tickets, Travel Inspiration & Deals. Cheap Tickets, Hotels & Hostels. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. <http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/08-02/which-is-the-best-all-around-airfare-site-usa.html>.

Appendix A - Survey

                             

5. How often do you travel by plane? Once a week Once a month A few times a month Every few months Once a year Less than once a year

6. Why do you usually travel away from home? Vacation Visiting friends/family Business Other (Please specify):___________

7. Why do you usually travel on a plane? Vacation Visiting friends/family Business Other (Please specify):______8. How do you usually plan a tripe (i.e., book a hotel, book a flight, plan a car rental)? On a travel website Through a travel agent On a private website (like Southwest.com) Other (Please specify): ____

1. What is your gender? Female Male

2. How old are you? 18-24 25-35 36-50 50-65 65+

3. What is your ethnicity? Caucasian   African American Asian American Hispanic Pacific Islander Other (Please specify): ____

4. How often do you travel from home? Once a week Once a month A few times a month Every few months Once a year Less than once a year

Appendix A - Survey Continued

12. What do you use a travel website for (check all that apply) Booking/comparing flights Booking/comparing hotel rooms Booking/comparing cruises Booking/comparing car rentals Other (Please specify): ______

13. What is most important to you when planning a trip? Being able to compare rates and find the best deal Being able to make any easy, hassel-free purchase Being able to book multiple things on the same website Other (Please specify): ________

14. Do you engage with travel websites on social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc)?

Yes No

15. Are you aware that you can book and compare cruises on Travelocity?

Yes No

16. When you hear ‘Travelocity” what words, phrases or images come to mind?

9. Select the travel websites you have used before: Expedia Kayak Priceline Orbitz Hotwire Other (Please Specify): __

10. Which travel websites do you like most? Expedia Kayak Priceline Orbitz Hotwire Other (Please Specify): __

11. Which travel websites do you like the least? Expedia Kayak Priceline Travelocity Orbtiz Hotwire Other (Please specify): _____

Appendix B – In-depth Interview

  Have you ever heard of Travelocity?

If yes, what have you heard about it/what do you know about it?

What comes to mind when you hear the word “Travelocity”

If no, have you heard of other travel websites? What do you know about them?

Have you ever used Travelocity?  

What did you use it for?  

Tell me about your experience with Travelocity.   What did you like/dislike about it? 

What do you use travel websites for?

How often do you use travel websites?

  What time of year do you use them?

What is important to you when using a travel website?

 If you don’t use travel websites, how do you plan your trips?

Why have you never used a travel website?

 

Interviewee Name:______________________Interviewee Demographics: ________________