Travel industry uses Facebook and Twitter to reach customers

Travel industry uses Facebook and Twitter to reach customers

Booking a flight? Go on Facebook. Running late to the hotel? Send a tweet.

Hotels, airlines and other segments of the multibillion-dollar travel industry are aggressively tapping into social media,

ramping up their use of online sites such as Facebook and Twitter to build loyalty to their brands.

Airlines are maintaining a presence on YouTube and offering deals through social-mapping networks such as Loopt. Hotels are promoting their properties through bloggers, and they're using social-networking sites to gather feedback, monitor trends and provide concierge services.

By Charisse Jones and Roger Yu, USA TODAY

"I definitely think that social media is about to change the way we do things entirely," says Jill Fletcher, social media and communications manager for Virgin America. "We're able to admit over social media if we've made a mistake or if there's a weather delay. So we're able to communicate much faster and more effectively."

Social media are being incorporated at a rapid rate into every part of a journey, from making the reservation to finding out where to eat. For instance:

As of August, Delta passengers can buy tickets on Delta's Facebook page.

Southwest has three staffers dedicated to monitoring and responding to queries made through social-media channels.

Marriott is launching its Marriott Courtyard Facebook page Tuesday to issue messages about the chain and related information that might interest customers.

Hyatt Hotels launched a Twitter account last year to serve as a virtual concierge. Staffers, based in Omaha, Australia and Mumbai, are instructed to respond to requests and questions within an hour, and are fielding queries ranging from where to find good sushi to alerts that a guest will be checking in late. The account has 12,000 followers. Hilton has a similar Twitter account.

Compared with other industries, the travel and hospitality sector is ahead of the curve in engaging social media, says Carl Howe, a director with the Yankee Group, a telecommunication market research firm.

It's "mainly because there is so much concern about consumer perception," he says. "There are a lot more choices for hotels than there are for cable providers, and the same is true for airlines."

Seeking return visitors

A key goal of staking a claim in the social-media space is to build a base of devoted followers who will keep coming back.

"Most travel organizations are actually looking for something more than a transaction," Howe says. "They're looking for loyalty, and that means a long-term engagement."

Still, deals, incentives and freebies offered on social-media channels are a way airlines and hotels cultivate new customers.

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