Consumers Plan to Travel More in 2012
Travelocity's annual "Traveler Confidence Report" reveals a majority of consumers, 53 percent, plan to travel more in 2012 than they did in 2011 despite a lack of confidence in the state of the economy. This is an 18 percentage point year-over-year increase from 2011. Of those respondents who planned on increasing their travel this year, about two-thirds plan to increase their travel budget in 2012, while slightly more than one-third will travel more without allocating more dollars to travel, indicating they plan to stretch their dollars further.

"The travel industry should be encouraged by our findings and take this as a vote of confidence," said Carl Sparks, President and CEO, Travelocity Global. "While increases in spending are being driven by higher prices, travelers are taking more vacations and trips that are longer and farther away this year compared to last."

How Respondents Plan to Spend and Save in 2012:
In 2012, there is a six percentage point increase in people (compared to last year) who plan to increase their travel budget. Only slightly more than half actually have a predetermined travel budget this year.

In order to save money, nearly 50 percent of respondents will increase their comparison shopping, date flexibility and begin booking further in advance. About 70 percent of respondents intend to book vacation packages (flight + hotel) or book hotels via flash sales, while 40 percent are likely to consider booking an opaque hotel such as Top Secret Hotels.

Hotels:
This year, 76 percent of respondents plan to spend the same or increase their hotel spending to account for hotel rate increases, taking more trips and longer hotel stays. What respondents won't be spending money on are hotel services or amenities - they are highly unlikely to pay for offerings such as maid service, newspapers or personal check-in.

One hotel trend lives on - the staycation. Similar to last year a little more than one-third of respondents said they were likely to book a hotel near home for a short getaway in the next six months.

Airlines:
A total of 79 percent of respondents anticipate spending the same or more onflights in 2012. Those who plan to increase flight spending from last year (47 percent) will do so to accommodate rising airfare or because they plan on traveling differently such as taking more trips or trips farther away. When it comes to airline ancillary fees, the only service that a significant number of respondents (52 percent) are likely to pay for is one checked bag. Similar to last year's survey, the overwhelming majority are unlikely to pay for anything else such as advanced seating assignment, extra legroom, a second bag and / or early boarding.


About Travelocity Global
Travelocity® is committed to being the traveler's champion - before, during and after the trip - and provides the most comprehensive and proactive guarantee in the industry (http://www.travelocity.com/guarantee). This customer-driven focus, backed by 24/7 live phone support, competitive prices and powerful shopping technology has made Travelocity one of the largest travel companies in the world. Travelocity also owns and operates: Travelocity Business® for corporate travel; igougo.com, a leading online travel community; lastminute.com, a leader in European online travel; and ZUJI, a leader in Asia-Pacific online travel. Travelocity is owned by Sabre Holdings Corporation, a world leader in travel marketing and distribution.

Social Media 101: A Guide to the Top 5 Social Media Tools for Business
Katie Morell Contributor, OPEN Forum Contributors 

Learn which social media tools are best for your business, whether or not you should buy Facebook fans and much more.

To put it mildly, social media tools are transforming the way we communicate. These days, people send a tweet instead of an e-mail and write on Facebook walls instead of dial phone numbers. So you know the best way to reach customers is to join these conversations, but how? Which platform will send the right message? Here's a look at the top five tools and how can small-business owners can take advantage of this change in communication to boost their bottom lines.

Facebook: Best for engaging with customers

Every business needs a Facebook page, period. The social media giant is on par to reach 1 billion users by August, according to iCrossing, a media research company in the U.K. Translation: All of your current and potential clients already have an account. Once you fill out your page, Barbara Rozgonyi, founder of Chicago-based marketing firm CoryWest Media, suggests sending out updates at least three times per week to start attracting attention.

“Don’t just write about your business, take a community approach and talk about what is going on in your industry and your community,” she says. “It needs to be a good mix.”

Another tip: Don’t talk at people. Instead, engage them in conversation by asking questions and responding to their comments. If you don’t have time to watch your Facebook feed all day (who does?) commit a few hours per week to replying to every comment posted on your page, advises Rozgonyi.

Make posts semi-personal, too. Sprinkle in a comment about the weather with an excited note about your favorite sports team. (Note: Don’t write about what you ate for lunch; that’s too personal.) Conversation between you and your customer will not only help put a face on your company, but add to feelings of goodwill among your base. (Here are a few tips on how to get Facebook fans.)

Twitter: Best for sharing news about your company

“Think of Twitter as a news channel,” says Rozgonyi. “It’s a good place to promote your business, talk about things happening and connect with people.”

Unlike Facebook users who, generally speaking, want to feel warm and fuzzy about a company before being sold, Twitter users are open to the hard sell, she says. So use the platform to advertise sales and specials. There is a fine line, though. Too many sales-y tweets, and you will lose followers. Post about three times per day, and if you don’t have time to do that, download Hootsuite, an application that allows you to schedule your tweets ahead of time.

Need more ideas on what to tweet? Rozgonyi recommends searching for what your competitors and target demographic are talking about. Join the conversation and you will have followers in no time.

Another tip: Post statistics about your industry—“everyone loves numbers,” she notes—and recipes.

But what if you don’t run a restaurant?

“It doesn’t matter,” says Rozgonyi. “If you post your best recipes every Friday, people will start looking for that and pretty soon they will want to know what else you do.” (Here are the 12 most effective ways to engage on Twitter.)

LinkedIn: Best for finding new clients

Margelit Hoffman is obsessed with LinkedIn. As co-founder of Hoffman Productions, a video production company out of Allentown, Pa., she joins LinkedIn groups where her target customer is hanging out and strikes up conversations.

“I post discussions and lead people to interesting things we post on our blog,” she says. “I only post things that will help people. They need to get something out of it, or they won’t click.”

Her advice: Make sure your profile page is complete and your tagline explains what the company does, a good trick for increasing your search engine optimization, or SEO. From there, join groups and be active on them. In a recent post, Hoffman shared a video to an industry group and a man she didn’t know contacted her about a job.

“He ended up giving us our biggest contract to date,” she beams.

Not sure what groups to join? First, conceptualize your target market. Then click on the “Group” tab at the top of the page. From there, type in keywords that match your market, Hoffman suggests. When you find a group that sounds interesting and is open to the public, click on it to see what they are chatting about, then join. If the group is private, ask to be invited. (Get more tips on how to find leads using LinkedIn.)

Google+: Best for improving your search ranking

Google+ has similar characteristics to Facebook, but with one major perk: It has incredible SEO. The next time you do a Google search, check out the results that appear near the top of the page. See those tiny photos of people you know? Those are your friends already on Google+ who’ve posted a topic similar to the one you just searched. Ahh, the genius that is Google.

Hoffman uses Google+ purely as an SEO tool, so every time she puts up a new blog or tweet, she re-posts it to the site.

Rozgonyi recommends using the site for its Hangout function. This is where up to 10 different people can talk to each other on video. The function is very popular (check out President Barack Obama’s use of the tool) and can be used by small-business owners wanting to schedule free videoconference chats. (Here's a look at some pros and cons of Google+ for small business.)

Pinterest: Best for increasing your visibility

Pinterest is the newest kid on the social media block, making a splash with more than 3 million monthly users. Unlike Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest doesn’t encourage comments. It does, however, still encourage sharing—in the visual form. Users are able to "pin" photos of whatever they find interesting (i.e. videos, ideas, etc.) to their profiles and share "pins" with others.

“It is a good place for businesses with a visual element to hang out,” says Hoffman. “If you are a personal chef, for example, have a professional photographer take pictures of your food and post it on there. Then, when people share, it will increase your company’s visibility.” (Here are five tips on how to use Pinterest.)

This was an incredibly uplifting and positive outlook on the times we are in. I hope you are inspired too. 
Wilna

Five Reasons to Drop the ‘Recession’ Mentality

By Donna McCallum  »  as published in Entrepreneur Magazine

Everywhere you go you can’t escape the pervasive story about economic crisis and recession.  If it is not the TV blabbing about economic doom-and-gloom and bankrupt countries, then it is probably your friend or colleague moaning about money.

My concern as a Fairy Godmother around this ‘recession’ mentality is that stories of economic crisis are disempowering stories, negative stories that increase personal stress, anxiety, fear and decrease your ability to be an empowered entrepreneur and manifest and create your dream business.

Here are five reasons why you should drop the ‘recession’ mentality.

• It is just a Story and Stories Create Your Life

Stories create our lives and whatever stories you fill your mind with will quickly become your reality. Do you really want to be in poverty, misery and have to scrimp and save for the next decade? No?

Well then STOP filling your head with stories about the economic crisis.  Stop listening to the media and most importantly stop talking to friends about it.  Get responsible and create another EMPOWERING story.

• There are Two Economies – yours and the Macro-Economy
  

Yes, the Macro-economy may be experiencing a slow down, however at this time there are still people making millions of dollars and some are making more money than ever before.  The difference between these people and the majority are that they realise that there are TWO economies – YOUR Economy and your country or world economy i.e. the macro-economy.  As an individual there is not much you can do about the world economy but there is a HUGE amount you can do to influence your own personal bank balance.

When the ‘crisis’ began in 2008, I realised that I needed to make up an empowering story that would influence my personal economy. My Fairy Godmother story about the current situation is that “in times of crisis people need inspiration, so now is the time for my business to boom.”

Guess what?  Business is booming for me!

I was aware of this story doing the rounds called ‘economic crisis’, and I used it as an opportunity to do “early bird specials” on my workshops, where if people book and pay early they get a good discount and those offers are being snapped up. I am now filling up my workshops and am sold out four weeks in advance!  I have created my own booming economy despite the macro conditions.

• Look for Opportunities

Warren Buffet has a quote “When everyone is greedy be fearful and when everyone is fearful, be greedy”.  People in the marketplace are fearful, so now is the perfect time to capitalize on opportunities that others are too fearful to take.

A friend of mine in New York who runs www.urbandaddy.com is using this time as an opportunity. He has gone on a massive PR campaign and instead of firing, he is hiring.  Why? He chuckled when he told me that he is now able to hire top MBA talent at a fraction of their previous cost.  The result is his business is booming.

You only have to look at how many “discount” and group-buying websites have sprung up in the last 2 years to realize that some insightful entrepreneurs are taking seeing opportunity in the current conditions.

The courageous will prosper and thrive. So get courageous, do things differently to the majority.  Will it take something?  Certainly, but the rewards will be huge. Now is the time.

• Fear doesn’t create anything

Creation as an energy form is expansive and growing. Fear as an energy type contracts and debilitates.  When you are fearful you don’t take action in your business and you live in a constant state of negativity and mediocrity.  The story of ‘economic crisis’ is a fear based story of scarcity, lack and victimhood.   If you really want to create an amazing business, where you are turning your goals into reality you will need to conquer the fears around you, so that you can step into the expansive and thriving energy of creation.

• Your country needs you
  

Your country needs you to be an opportunist, an optimist and someone who is creating value and moving the world out of this macro financial state.  The longer people are paralysed by fear and scarcity, the longer it will take the macro world economy to move out of recession.  The longer you remain in the ‘story’ of financial crisis, the longer the world will remain in the same story.   Your country and the world needs you to adopt an empowering story of creation, opportunity, wealth and abundance to shift the current energy. It is all up to you.


Donna McCallum is also known as the Fairy Godmother. She has helped thousands of people in South Africa, the UK and the US focus on their dreams and goals. She is the author of The Fairy Godmother’s Guide to Getting What you Want and runs empowering 12 Week Money Magic Online Programme to help people transform their relationship to money. Prior to being a Fairy Godmother, Donna was a successful entrepreneur having started, built and sold businesses in media and marketing. For more info on Donna and the Money Magic courses, visit the Fairy Godmother website.

Why Your Small Business Needs Video Marketing
CAROL MEINHARDT COO, CHICAGO WEST PULLMAN 

Deciding on an advertising budget and determining how to spend it can be among your most challenging decisions. Advertising options have changed and expanded considerably over the past few years, and updating your strategy definitely means taking advantage of the new, digital marketplace.

So how can you create a dynamic advertising campaign with a limited budget? Video.

Video gives you the opportunity to interact with your customers by allowing them to get to know you and your business, and feel comfortable with you. This is especially important for small, local businesses. Forrester Research Group says “video is 53 times more likely than text pages to appear on the first page of a search engine.” Read: video drives search results. On the OurTown website, articles that include a photo array or a video are more easily searched on the Web and receive three times as many clicks as articles without these features.

Adding video to e-mail marketing boosts customers' interaction—such as opening the email or clicking on any of the content—by as much as 200 percent to 300 percent, says Marc Fleishhacker, managing director at WPP's Ogilvy Consulting.

You can, of course, hire a production company and have them make a video for you. But if that option doesn’t fit into your budget, you can make a very effective video yourself using simple software or an online video service. You should be able to put together a great video for less than $50. Here are some tips to keep in mind when making your advertising video:

Keep it short. Studies show that we have an attention span of about 30 seconds. So if you are making an advertising or branding video, say what you have to say and then save the rest for follow up videos.

Combine video and still images. Mixing videos and stills of your product, employees, location and anything that you believe will interest your potential customers will add variety to your video ad.

Add a personal message. The message can be from you or one of your employees, or it can be a testimonial or recommendation from one of your customers.

 A little humor never hurts. Sometimes your own gaffes in making the video make it even more appealing.

Give your videos a call to action. Make it clear what the viewer should do after watching the video. Add a coupon or special offer.

Make sure your customer knows how to find you. Don’t forget to include your phone number, address, website address and e-mail. If you have a brick and mortar location, you might even want to include a map.

Distribute your video in every way possible. Promote your video through an online ad campaign, e-mail, social media, YouTube and even your own website. There are online video services that will provide all of these services for a price if you don't want to do it yourself.

You may think this sounds like a lot of trouble, but you do need video. Video engages your customer and sets you apart from those static ads you see on the Internet. It allows you to tell your customer what differentiates you from your competition. Your videos can help you have a face they can recognize and come to trust. That’s the kind of relationship you want with your customer.

OPEN Cardmember Carol Meinhardt is co-Managing Member of Chicago West Pullman, an investment holding company and the COO of vADz, Inc, a social video advertising platform, and OurTown Media, a hyper-local news network.

I came across this great list of tools available to build your website when reading Entrepreneur Magazine online... check it out. 

Hospitality market fundamentals look set to continue the recovery which started in 2011 in spite of continuing uncertainty and the prospect of further upheaval in the global and regional economies according to Ernst & Young's latest Global Hospitality Insights report.

Despite the uncertain global economic environment, hospitality indicators continue to appear positive. "The conventional wisdom suggests that key fundamentals should be on the wane, but that has not happened yet and, due to many factors, we don't believe it will occur in 2012," said Michael Fishbin, Ernst & Young's leader of Global Hospitality Services. Nevertheless, Fishbin suggests hotel operators and investors in the sector need to stay focused and not have a false sense of security by the overall numbers.

"The situation for the hotel industry is markedly different from market to market and global operators need to be on their toes and ready to react to rapidly changing conditions," he added.

Fishbin contrasted hospitality markets in developed economies, such as the US, with some developing economies such as China and Brazil, where construction has been very active. In the US, currently the largest hotel market in the world, the construction of new hotels has historically averaged around two percent per year but in recent years, and for the foreseeable future, is projected to be less than one percent per year. "Even with the uncertain economic outlook, hotel supply is not going to outpace demand any time soon, giving fundamentals such as room rates and overall occupancy a chance to further recover," Fishbin said.

Among emerging economies, Brazil could fare the best over the next decade in part by the impact of two mega events -- the FIFA Soccer World Cup and the Summer Olympics -- scheduled to take place there in 2014 and 2016, respectively. These events will attract millions of travelers to the country and while hotel construction has been increasing in preparation for both events, officials are taking a pragmatic approach in order to avoid overbuilding.

Fishbin concludes that while the bias among hotel companies will be to continue to grow in 2012, that growth should not come without a fair amount of checking back in the rear view mirror. "This isn't a time for hotel operators to abandon the principles that allowed them to navigate through the recent economic downturn," he says. Many companies are still sitting on piles of cash waiting for an opportunity to transact, says Fishbin. "Companies should take advantage of this breathing room to reassess and examine their capital agendas to make sure they are using cash wisely and efficiently as well as preparing for future growth," he says.

Download the full report at Hospitality.net (PDF 1.4 MB)

Results of a new TripAdvisor survey of more than 1,000 U.S. travelers and more than 600 U.S. hotel representatives shows that Wi-Fi Internet access and breakfast included with booking are king, while a turndown service offers very little value.

Of the travelers surveyed, 54 percent said they have canceled a lodging reservation because they found better amenities at a different property.

- 88% of travelers expect Wi-Fi Internet access to be free of charge in all lodging types
- 41% of travelers have never paid for Wi-Fi Internet access
- 65% said they have used free Wi-Fi Internet in an accommodation’s lobby or common areas to avoid paying for in-room access

According to the survey, 93 percent of accommodations report offering some form of free Wi-Fi Internet access to their guests.

“While accommodations generally appear to be in sync with most traveler amenity preferences, our first-ever 360° survey reveals that there are a number of opportunities for lodging businesses to shift the focus from some services to others to capture travelers’ attention,” said Christine Petersen, president of TripAdvisor for Business. “For example, offering complimentary or discounted tickets, recommendations or even a shuttle service to local attractions or a nearby airport may help tip the balance in a property’s favor, especially when you consider that more than half of travelers say they’ve canceled a reservation because they found better amenities elsewhere.”
The following chart shows the Top 5 most important amenities according to U.S. travelers who most often book hotels. Additionally, respondents representing hotels gauged how important these same amenities are to travelers. Their answers are displayed below:

Most Important Hotel Amenities Travelers Who Most Hotel Owners /Managers often Book Hotels