The Travel Industry’s Drone Dilemma – Digital Marketing News This Week

Drones have the potential to create jaw-dropping travel video and new ways for travel marketers to build excitement and generate buzz.

But all that “buzz” isn’t a good thing. As it turns out, many travel organizations and destinations are increasingly enforcing blanket bans on the devices, fearing issues with safety, privacy and general nuisance to guests. But is there a case to be made for allowing drone flyers to operate the devices in certain controlled circumstances? Perhaps yes. Read on for more analysis.

Travel Businesses Face Dilemma Over Growing Use of Drones
Even as drones have become an increasingly popular tool for many travel brands and travel filmmakers, they’ve become a growing source of distress for executives at theme parks, airlines and cruise lines, who face nuisance and safety issues for their guests. Important as it may be to stamp out bad behavior associated with these high-flying aerial devices, it seems just as simplistic to enforce a blanket ban on them without allowing for exceptions that responsibly embrace their unique potential. Read more

Marketers Share Tactics to Help Maximize Summer Paid Search Campaigns
Summer is without a doubt one of the most popular times of the year for travel spending. With this rise in travel purchases, many marketers are also ramping up their paid search efforts for the summer season to court potential buyers. One recent study took a look at how different search ad copy approaches, like optimizing campaigns for mobile and destination-customized keywords, can help boost results. Read more

Google Announces New AdWords Features for Mobile Ads and Maps
Related to the topic of paid search above, Google recently announced a range of new paid search features to help address the growing consumer move towards mobile. Travel advertisers who buy campaigns through the AdWords platform should check out the new campaign options, which included expanded text options, device-specific adjustments to bidding and new ad formats in the popular Maps application. Read more

How Consumer Behavior is Shaping the Hotel Industry and Airbnb
Airbnb executive and Joie de Vivre hotels founder Chip Conley shared some interesting thoughts on the trends that helped drive the rise of Airbnb at this week’s C2 Conference in Montreal. As Conley suggests, factors like the growth of the “mass-market” hotel industry after World War II, the timeshare industry, Craigslist and the rise of “global nomads” have all contributed to Airbnb’s newfound success with travelers. Read more

Flight search platform Skyscanner Launches Facebook Messenger Presence
Following a growing trend of travel brands testing messaging apps and chat bots, flight search company Skyscanner this week announced a new service on Facebook’s popular messenger platform, allowing customers to search for flights directly within the chat app. Read more

New Hyatt Service Lets Hotel Guests Stream Content to In-Room TVs
The range of hotels making it easier for customers to access streaming content and use personal mobile devices for entertainment is growing. Although hotel brands like Marriott already let guests access popular streaming services like Netflix on in-room televisions, Hyatt is taking the idea to the next level, enabling guests at its San Francisco property to broadcast content from their smartphones and tablets to in-room TVs. Read more