TTD: Holiday Autos launches Favourite Drives using Google Earth

Sunday, 02 Jun, 2006 0

Travolution summit special report: Holiday Autos is using Google Earth technology to personalise its service and bring it to life for customers.

The car rental specialist, part of the lastminute.com, has launched ‘Favourite Drives’ on holidayautos.co.uk enabling consumers to ‘virtually’ drive around destinations.

So far London, the Florida Keys, the Amalfi Coast and Nice to Genoa are featured but there are plans to add more destinations in the coming months.

Holiday Autos UK managing director Stuart Nassos said: “It’s a way to determine before they go why they might be inspired to hire a car and what kind of car they might want.”

The plan is to incorporate Favourite Drives into the main lastminute site as well as its other brands.

It is also part of a larger strategy, which will see hotel information and flight options being added to the virtual experience.

Nassos said: “We’re taking components of the travel process and bringing them together. We could offer hotels along the routes or show people the best restaurants. This will all be developed over the coming year and next year. It is not a pipe dream.”

The development also goes hand in hand with lastminute’s strategy to give people all the information they need and make finding things easier.

Speaking at the Travolution Summit in London, lastminute.com chairman and co-founder Brent Hoberman said: “Travel websites, including lastminute, still do not give consumers what they want. We’re asking them to make a very big purchase and not making things easy for them to find.”

Hoberman said the industry should be moving away from creating content for the customer.

“We’re all guilty of of trying to tell customers what to do too much. Even Favourite Drives is still telling our customers.”

Report by Linda Fox

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Linda Fox

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