It’s my favorite day of the week again! It’s #traveltuesday. The day where I get to partake in yummy travel conversations, and daydream of my next destination.

Regarding destinations, I’ve been traveling so much as of late that I’m barely at my desk or in the office. My most recent trip was for pleasure, and I put a lot of miles on my car as I trekked from New Brunswick to Ontario and then to Nova Scotia (with a stop in Montreal for smoked meat and poutine, of course!).

Traveling is fun, but so is returning home. That wonderful feeling of returning ‘home’ of course had me considering how travel brands create a home away from home that entice us to return to them time and time again.

For some of you, returning to the remarkable memory of divine pillows is just like going home. (I’m sure Shashank Nigam of Simpliflying would agree based on his latest entry about Citizen M Hotel in Amsterdam.)

But just how does one come to consider ‘home’ to that little island or that fancy boutique hotel? Consider the ‘chicken and egg’ theory of liking a travel brand on Facebook. Some may argue that you already ‘liked’ that hotel or airline before ever clicking on the magic button. Others believe that the lure to show a little love to a brand will just encourage you to be a customer in the future. Regardless of which comes first for you, there are usually several factors involved in your decision making.

Travelers are looking for advice from their friends, family and the travel-happy community at large. And increasingly, travel-seekers are booking online. Despite the urge to book online,  Mark Simpson of Maxymiser shared at #eftAmerica that one in five people booking travel online will fail and give up. There is plenty of opportunity for travel brands to zero in and be more strategic in the placement of their social media efforts.

If most travelers are anything at all like me, they look at an offer and ask ‘what’s in it for me?’ At the end of the day, isn’t it all about ME, after all? Clever travel brands with a strategic social media plan are gaining the trust and love of their customers and influencers by first listening to traveler conversations. Listening leads to better understanding of just how to WOW your target and present a pretty picture of what’s in it for them.

Because we have fun with conversations, I want to know your thoughts surrounding how you determine if a destination has your attention. A few questions to get the party started:

Just what is it exactly that causes you to listen when a cruiseline, airline, hotel or other travel industry brand is reaching out to you via social media? What gets your attention? And better still, what KEEPS your attention? Is there a time when you were captivated by a travel brand’s social media campaign and jumped on board, so to speak?

Jenn Seeley dreams of waterslides on cruise ships followed by yummy food and warm beaches. She can be found engaging in #traveltuesdays on Twitter as @jenn_seeley.

Tags: Brand, leisure, management, transportation, travel