Travel Alerts to Increase as EU Market Exits Recession

Travel alerts and other text-based communication can help European travel companies keep up with post-recession consumer trends. Should American businesses follow suit?

As European travel companies move into recovery from the recession, many American businesses in the same industry will keep their eyes peeled to ensure that they stay on par with their European counterparts.

Why travel alerts?

It’s a small message, traditionally with a 160-character limit. However it provides the ultimate vehicle for concise information with the benefit that it:

• Saves time
• Only requires the availability of mobile coverage – no need to have an internet-enabled feature phone or Smartphone

What do we understand under travel alerts?

Travel alerts refer to a number of message types and include notifications that provide travelers with context-relevant and often time-critical information. Below are some examples of how a number of European companies are currently employing travel alerts:

• HotelZone, one of Europe’s largest hotel booking agencies makes use of SMS travel alerts to ensure customers receive reservation codes, arrival and departure dates as well as hotel names and locations.

Benefit: The obvious advantage above is that travelers have the information right there with them – literally in their pocket. No need to call the hotel’s reservation desk or to wait in a call queue.

• The London Underground provides travel alerts that informs commuters of potential delays and other relevant travel news. Being one of the main forms of travel in London for Londoners and tourists, this information can provide them with advanced warning to ensure that they reach their destinations on time.

Benefit: Being one of the main form of travel for Londoners and tourists alike, the Underground plays a crucial part of everyday business in London. By using these alerts, commuters are able to navigate their way around delays or outages, ensuring that they reach their destinations on time through alternative means.

It’s all about value-added services

Yet another reason, and quite an important one, why travel alerts will be taking off in the near future is the question of consumer trends – what do they expect from the businesses they deal with? Recent figures suggest that over 50% of Americans won’t return to a specific restaurant if they have to wait too long. Stats like these confirm the fact that your average consumer (who could also be a traveler) expects more for the same amount of money – something that was predicted as the end of the recession drew near.

But, American businesses are not only quick to catch on, but are also avid trendsetters terms of innovation in travel alerts. Hard Rock Café is one example of an American company that made use of the immediacy of text messaging by providing their customers with the convenience “information in their pocket” when it came to bookings and reservations and much, much more.

Reach more people with SMS text messaging and go to our travel alerts page now!

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