Max Starkov of HeBS to Present at the CRM & Loyalty Strategies for Travel Conference in Atlanta

Starkov will present during the session: "How to Use Your Website as a Retention Tool", which will explore these crucial topics:

• Marketing budgets are being reduced so how do you drive free traffic to your website? Learn how to optimize your website so it reaches the right customers
• Find out how to synchronize your website with your CRM strategies and capabilities
• See how to present a different website experience to different customer segments
• Web 2.0 as a CRM tool: understand why user wants to share their travel experiences and create a website tailored to their needs
• Is measuring frequency in website visits a good way to measure loyalty?

According to Starkov, "In a difficult economy such as ours, it is crucial that hoteliers and other travel suppliers don't just provide great service to their guests, but that they 'own' their customer throughout the travel planning and decision making cycle. The hotel and travel supplier website has become the first, quite often—the only, and unfortunately for some hoteliers and travel suppliers—the last point of contact with past, current and future customers. Building customer loyalty by using a variety of CRM initiatives, especially via the hotel/travel supplier website, will be a major factor in helping travel suppliers succeed -- especially in the direct online channel -- in 2009. This Eye for Travel conference brings together like minds at a time when the industry must think of new and creative ways to use the most of what we have and keep customers loyal."

According to Patrycja Bobek, Conference Director for EyeforTravel, "We are we are delighted that Max Starkov will be joining a key presentation and debate on this important topic at the EyeforTravel Conference CRM & Loyalty Strategies for Travel, March 4-5, 2009 in Atlanta, GA. This is the one event in 2009 travel companies interested in how CRM can boost sales, build long term customer loyalty and improve bottom line results really can't afford to miss. Over the course of two information packed days, travel companies will experience a wide range of thought provoking and challenging sessions designed to stimulate and inform.

HeBS, one of the pioneers in eCRM strategies and implementations in hospitality, creates, enhances and launches eCRM strategies for its clients. HeBS' principals have written some of the most popular articles and research papers on the subject, including "Building an eCRM Strategy in Hospitality: How to Establish Mutually Beneficial Interactive Relationships with Your Customers."

The EyeforTravel Conference CRM & Loyalty Strategies for Travel takes place March 4-5, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia. To read more about this conference and the event agenda, as well as a full list of guest speakers, visit: http://events.eyefortravel.com/crm

About HeBS | Hospitality eBusiness Strategies, Inc. (HeBS) is the industry's leading Internet marketing and distribution strategy consulting firm for the hospitality and travel verticals. Based in New York City, HeBS has pioneered many of the "best practices" in hotel Internet marketing, website design + optimization, and direct online distribution. HeBS specializes in helping travel suppliers and hoteliers build and enhance their direct Internet marketing and distribution strategy, boost their Internet marketing presence, establish interactive relationships with their customers, and significantly increase direct online bookings and ROIs. The firm brings a unique perspective to the industry, gained through working with over 500 travel and hospitality companies including major brands, luxury and boutique hotel companies, franchised and independent hotels, resorts and casinos, convention bureaus and hotel management companies worldwide. Find out more about HeBS at www.hospitalityebusiness.com or by email at [email protected] .

About Eye for Travel: | EyeforTravel is a media company specializing in business intelligence for the travel and tourism industry. It was started by Tim Gunstone in 1997 as part of the FC group. EyeforTravel organizes over 30 events per year globally dedicated to technology and online travel. Their flagship Travel Distribution Summits in North America, Europe, Asia and most recently India are the industry meeting places for travel e-commerce and technology executives in these regions. Speakers include many of the industry's leading strategists and innovators and as such the events help to shape the future of travel distribution. In addition to the Summits, they also run numerous highly focused conferences on business critical topics including revenue management, social media, ancillary revenue, online marketing, internet content, distribution technology and more. Such is the popularity of these events that many are repeated year after year, and across all regions they serve globally.