Pressemitteilung zum Download (.doc)

International bekannte Reisejournalistin ist
Chefredakteurin des neuen Luxusreisemagazins im Internet

Hamburg, 19. Juli 2004
Netzstart für WOWtraveler.net, dem ersten inter-nationalen E-Magazine exklusiv für den Luxus-reisenden. Das Internetportal stellt ausgewählte Fünf-Sterne-Hotels und luxuriöse Reisedestinationen redaktionell vor. Chefredakteurin und Präsidentin ist Mary Gostelow, eine weltweit anerkannte und gefragte Reisejournalistin.

„WOW Traveler bringt interessierte Gäste direkt zu den Seiten der ausgewählten Hotels“, so Mary Gostelow. Monatlich wird eine Top Ten handverlesener Reiseziele nach Themen geordnet, z.B. Golf-Hotels, und als E-Mail-Newsletter („WOW Confidential“) verschickt.

Sämtliche dargestellten Häuser werden von Mary Gostelow persönlich ausgewählt und nach eigenen Reiseerlebnissen beschrieben. Die Reiseinsiderin stellt drei besondere Merkmale, die WOW-Faktoren, heraus. Das aufgelistete Hotel darf seine eigenen Marketingtexte, Auszeichnungen und spezielle Packages hinzufügen.

Die Macher von WOWtraveler.net sind in der internationalen Spitzenhotellerie wohl bekannt. Mary Gostelow, die über 300 Tage im Jahr auf Reisen ist, berichtet für die Magazine „Elite Traveler“, „enRoute“ und „Hotels“. Ihre viel gelesenen „Gostelow Reports“ erscheinen seit über einem Jahr.

Initiator von WOWtraveler.net ist der deutschstämmige Jens Thraenhart, der Vordenker in Sachen Internetmarketing in den renommierten Branchen-organisationen Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association Inter-national (HSMAI) und American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) ist. Zudem wird Thraenhart, der für Fairmont Hotels & Resorts arbeitet, Vorsitzender der in Gründung befindlichen Travel Internet Marketing Organization (TIMO) sein.

Die Liste der Unternehmensbeiräte liest sich wie ein Who is Who der internationalen Fünf-Sterne-Hotellerie und unterstreicht die Bedeutung von WOWtraveler.net:
Giovanni Angelini (CEO Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts)
Peter Bates (Chairman/CEO Strategic Vision)
Jean-Claude Baumgarten (Präsident des WTTC World Travel & Tourism Council)
John Bell (Präsident der International Hotel & Restaurant Association IH&RA)
Raymond Bickson (Taj Hotels & Resorts)
Melinda Bush (Präsidentin Insider Collection)
Chris Cahill (Präsident/COO Fairmont Hotels & Resorts)
Joseph Cinque (CEO American Academy of Hospitality Sciences)
Serge Dive (CEO International Luxury Travel Market)
Peter Greenberg (Reisejournalist bei NBC und Chefkorrespondent von Discovery Networks/The Travel Channel)
JT Kohlman, CEO One&Only Resorts
Grace Leo-Andrieu (Präsident GLA International)
Paul McManus (Präsident Leading Hotels of the World LHW)
PRS Oberoi (Chairman Oberoi Hotels & Resorts)
Sam Ohta (Präsident und Verleger Ohta Publications Co Ltd)
Georg Rafael (Rafael Hotels)
Steve Shellum (Verleger, Herausgeber „Hotel Asia-Pacific”)
John Ueberroth (CEO Indecorp)
Jeff Weinstein (Chefredakteur „HOTELS”)
Reto Wittwer (Präsident/CEO Kempinski Palaces & Resorts)
Peter Yesawich (Managing Partner Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell)

Die Unternehmenszentrale von WOWtraveler.net befindet sich in Toronto. Weitere Niederlassungen bestehen in Hamburg, Tokio und Hongkong.

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Weitere Informationen:
WOW Traveler, Office Germany, Carsten Hennig
T. ++49 (0)40 40135767
M. ++49 (0)160 95837756
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What actually is WOW Traveler?
An authoritative online travel magazine - high end, globally and uniquely
personalized - for discriminating and sophisticated travelers, plus those who
merely want to read about it.

You say authoritative - who are the authorities?
The choice of hotels and resorts is exclusively that of Mary Gostelow, the
trusted voice of WOWtraveler.net She writes for many global publications,
including sharing best-of-best for Elite Traveler and Air Canada's enRoute
magazines.  She regularly broadcasts on best hotels (reaching over 4.5 million listeners through South America). For hotel industry professionals, Mary Gostelow is a contributing editor to HOTELS and she publishes her own Gostelow Report market intelligence newsletters - see www.gostelow.info.  She is on the advisory board for annual industry conferences in Berlin and Dubai, she chairs the advisory board for the International Luxury Travel Market in Cannes and she is on the committee for the 2005 World Travel and Tourism Global Summit in Delhi.
Mary Gostelow travels about 300 days a year, usually only one night per hotel.

For many years she has used her training as a mystery shopper to assess what really IS the best, and she has detailed notes on all her stays.  She looks for hotels that pass her quality test and then only chooses those that, in addition, have unique experience features ? the WOW factors.

The WOWtraveler team is supported by a formidable group of advisors (see
below), including the presidents/ceos of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing
Association International, International Hotel and Restaurant Association,
Leading Hotels of the World, Preferred Hotels, Relais and Chateaux, World
Travel and Tourism Council, plus such media as the editors of Discovery
Channel/NBC travel, Hotel Asia-Pacific and HOTELS.

Pundits regularly sharing latest travel tips via WOWtraveler Confidential
include Peter Greenberg and such pinnacle travel agent professionals as Bill
Fischer, Geoffrey Kent, Lisa Lindblad and Rudi Steele.

How do people hear about WOWtraveler.net and what brings them back to the site?
There are many ways of first-time introduction.  These include hyper-links
from Jet Setter (Japan), Hot Bed (Canada), Luxury Travel Market (UK), Most Famous Hotels of the World (Austria), Classic Driver (Germany)  and other
sites. They might find the site via a standard search engine, or via word-of-mouth or creative marketing partnerships.  The complimentary monthly e-newsletter WOWtraveler Confidential encourages subscribers to revisit the site by its hot news and introduction of the WOW Insider and Top Ten list.

What are the benefits of being a WOWtraveler.net aficionado?
Constantly changing information.
Up to date - current information (anything online can be updated much faster than in a printed publication).
Personalized information from someone who knows.
Unlike on line "booking" travel portals, WOW takes the user - if the hotel
chooses - directly to that property's site: this means that consumers deal
directly with the hotel, thus establishing a personal relationship.
Users can sign on, free of charge, for monthly email bulletins (WOWtraveler
confidential).

Which hotels, resorts and other purveyors can participate in WOWtraveler.net?
Firstly and most importantly, no product is listed without personally being
invited by the voice of WOWtraveler.net, Mary Gostelow.
The main target currently is hotels and resorts - cruises will be added soon,
as will WOWwonders, adventure trips and the like. 

Do hotels and resorts pay to be on the site?
Yes - this is not a philanthropic charity.  Once invited to be on the site
and be a member of WOWtraveler.net, hotels and resorts pay a monthly fee, set by the number of rooms and suites and based on a one-year agreement.

Right, what is the target market for the WOWtraveler.net aficionado?
People with money (but they do not want to waste it).
People who are short of time.
Those who want to be In The Know before others.
Those who value personalized concierge service.
Those who take short trips for leisure and want the top quality experience.
Various age groups who want wonderful adventures.
Various family groups, including those with teenagers, or younger.
Traditional business people who like to escape.
The single traveler.
The older knowledgeable - young at heart.
Celebrities/sportspeople/musicians/filmstars.
Professionals - medical, finance, law and so on.

So what are the points of difference?
WOWtraveler.net saves time for users (third party sites can take a long time to browse for prices and info).
Here you have recommended room numbers in each hotel - which are the best to ask for?
You have personal endorsements from professional world travelers.
This is the authoritative viewpoint.
You find up-to-the-minute information written by professionals - you know you are getting latest updates and happenings.
You get truly GLOBAL information.
There is a wealth of ideas you had not thought of before - for leisure and
business travelers.
Experiences for every occasion.
Personal introductions - you have the name of the General Manager, which can be useful both before and during a stay.

You said other things are coming up - what?
WOWcruises - adventure and mainstream, but only top-end, of course.
WOWwonders - wineries, cooking schools, and such unique opportunities as
renting villas, islands, yachts, balloons, and vacation ownership and much
more.
WOWglobal correspondent - society pieces, travelogue, adventures etc
WOWconcierge.
WOWcollection - resort wear, gadgets, luggage etc.
WOWexperiences - signature packages.

Addendum
Our advisory board is chaired by Jens Thraenhart, recognized by the
Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International HSMAI and by Travel Agent magazine as one of the top marketing hospitality people today, worldwide. Thraenhart chairs the HSMAI's hotel internet marketing committee.  He is director internet strategy, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.

Other members of the board are:
Giovanni Angelini, md/ceo Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts
Peter Bates, ch/ceo Strategic Vision
Jean-Claude Baumgarten, president World Travel and Tourism Council
John Bell, president International Hotel and Restaurant Association IHandRA
Raymond Bickson, md Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces
Régis Bulot, president Relais and Châteaux
Melinda Bush, president Insider Collection
Chris Cahill, president/coo Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
Joseph Cinque, ceo American Academy of Hospitality Sciences    
Serge Dive, ceo International Luxury Travel Market
Kurt Fischer, president International Food and Beverage Forum
Robert Gilbert, president Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association
International www.hsmai.org)
Peter Greenberg, travel editor NBC and chief correspondent Discovery   
Networks/The Travel Channel
JT Kuhlman, ceo OneandOnly Resorts
Grace Leo-Andrieu, president/ceo GLA International
Paul McManus, president Leading Hotels of the World
PRS Oberoi, chairman Oberoi Hotels and Resorts
Sam Ohta, president/publisher Ohta Publications Co Ltd
Georg Rafael, Rafael Hotels
Steve Shellum, publisher/editor Hotel Asia-Pacific
John Ueberroth, chairman/ceo Indecorp
Jeff Weinstein, editor-in-chief HOTELS
Reto Wittwer, president/ceo Kempinski Palaces and Resorts
Peter Yesawich, managing partner Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown and Russell,


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