Company description::
January 14, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EventHero Provides 17 CVBs With Online Tool For Selling Packages
Contact: Vince Heald or Ember Garrett (858) 453-9600
SCOTTSDALE, AZ -- TravelHero, the online reservation technology provider to over 85 destination marketing organizations, launched its packaging application called EventHero approximately one year ago and it is rapidly gaining in popularity among convention and visitor bureau (CVB) destinations.
Based on input from numerous CVB partners including Tucson, Washington, DC, San Francisco and Philadelphia, the application was developed to meet the unique needs of CVBs, while at the same time remaining "hotelier-friendly."
EventHero offers two main components - lodging and ticketing. The two
components can be combined to sell packages or used separately to sell promotional rates, and even handle event housing.
Among the features built into EventHero is the ability to create logic or
"promotional rules." Promotional rules allow destinations to be creative and develop special promotions to drive multiple night stays during slower periods by offering special discounts or even free nights for qualifying stays.
Participating properties maintain complete control over the management of
inventory and rates, through a web-based interface. The ability to adjust or close out dates is a key feature geared to making the system hotelier-friendly.
The ticketing component allows destinations to sell tickets to attractions
or events. The ability to combine lodging with tickets allows visitors to easily select a room and purchase tickets within a single transaction with one check out.
Numerous options built into the system are geared to handle virtually any
promotional campaign. Online reports provide detailed tracking of all sales activity so destinations can report productivity back to their communities.
Currently, EventHero sales generate over 1,000 room nights per week despite
the fact that it is a traditionally slower travel season.
"EventHero has helped us format an aggressive online reservation program
that fills hotel rooms in traditional slow periods,” said Richard Vaughan, VP, Sales & Marketing, Metropolitan Tucson CVB. “It coordinates all of our hotel partner inventory, allows us to give customers immediate access to special discounts, and generates volume business. It records all revenues and room nights so we can accurately track our production and business levels to our membership. It's a valuable tool that has surpassed our expectations."
A few of the major events known nationwide for which EventHero could be utilized include the WWII Memorial Dedication (Washington DC), the 2004 Track & Field Junior Olympics (Eugene, OR) and a 2004 Hotel Fan Block for a major NCAA basketball tournament in San Antonio, TX.
Karen Bell, Director of Business Development for the San Francisco CVB, appreciates EventHero’s ability to create a platform from which a destination marketing organization can keep pace with the rapid changes occurring in travel distribution.
“By allowing packaging rather than yet another discount channel for inexpensive hotel rooms, EventHero allows us to maintain the organization's position as the "integrity sell" for its hospitality members while at the same time offering the ever-savvy travel consumer what they are really looking for: a good value in lodging," she said.
For additional information, call visit online at travelhero.com.
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ABOUT TRAVELHERO
TravelHero, founded in 1995 and headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, has grown from a one-person, grassroots operation into a company with annual bookings in excess of $65 million. TravelHero.com was launched in 1999 as a full-service travel site offering traditional and expanded services to its online customers that include reservation options not available through any other online resource. In addition, the company has developed a technology platform that can be integrated seamlessly into a client’s online site to provide its customers with extensive reservation functionality. Today, TravelHero has become recognized in the travel industry as the leader in destination marketing. For more information, visit www.travelhero.com.
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