Press Release
May 17, 2000
ORLANDO, FL -- Ninety-degree heat in major cities is a sweaty reminder that summer is just around the bend - the
time when most individuals and families take their much-needed vacations. As savvy travelers take to the Web in
search of deals, so too can savvy online retailers who now have access to these consumers through Points4Travel.com,
a new online customer loyalty program.
Points4Travel.com is the latest business brainstorm from Orlando-based Vacation Ventures, Inc. which opened its doors in 1988. The company has developed off-line travel-focused rewards programs for PNC Bank, Zales Jewelers, Serta Mattress and many other clients.
At Points4Travel.com consumers can earn rewards by shopping with many different participating online merchants, from those selling everyday household items like groceries and baby supplies to specialty gifts. Additionally, some merchants plan to offer rewards for consumers who supply information such as filling out a survey.
"The entire focus of this marketing program is on building customer loyalty for our participating merchants," says Nancy DeLuca, Vice President of Vacation Ventures, Inc. "Frequent flyer programs are no longer unique and while they may be effective in motivating a one-time purchase, they don't promote loyalty. With Points4Travel.com there is an incentive for the consumer to return to our site and our participating merchants because we offer some of the best redemption values in the industry."
Membership in Points4Travel.com is free to consumers and the program has one of the lowest point redemption thresholds in the industry. Through Points4Travel.com the consumer can redeem points as soon as they accumulate 250. Rewards at this level have a value of up to $100. Or, they can accumulate points towards rewards like domestic airline tickets, most of which require 25,000 points. All points are applied toward travel-oriented rewards only, such as car rentals, hotel stays, golf packages, attraction tickets, airline tickets and more.
Reward redemption at Points4Travel.com is online and instant. In fact, the company guarantees a two-day response rate to all travel reservation requests, unlike competing programs that often take two to eight weeks to confirm a request. The company fulfills all travel rewards in-house.
"Points4Travel.com will compliment our off-line customer rewards programs," says Vicki Martin, owner and President of Vacation Ventures, Inc. "With 12 years of experience tracking consumers' travel preferences, combined with our redemption and fulfillment experience and preferred rate contracts with hotels and cruise lines and car rental companies, we are very qualified to produce a program that delivers high value rewards at the lowest cost for our merchant partners."
Vacation Ventures, Inc. along with its sister companies, One Stop Travel center of Orlando, Inc. and NetPassage, Inc., are privately held companies. The companies are owned and managed by women. Vicki Martin has been the recipient of many awards including the '40 Under 40' award from the Orlando Business Journal in 1997.
SOURCE: Vacation Ventures, Inc.
The Timeshare Beat note: see classified ad for career opportunities with Points4Travel.com