Leading learning holiday specialists www.GoLearnTo.com today launched an innovative application that integrates with Facebook to instantly personalise the site to each user as well as featuring reviews from friends.

It’s about equipping travellers with the best decision making tools to discover holidays that last a lifetime, said GoLearnTo.com founder and CEO Vanessa Lenssen.
 

The latest launch is one of many in the social evolution by GoLearnTo.com to reach its goal of offering an immersive social experience for travellers.

Now on GoLearnTo.com you will see…

Facebook friend’s recommendations
 

“You’ll see ‘Likes’ and recommendations from your Facebook friends as well as the total number of Likes on the holidays you’re researching,” Lenssen said.

The tool allows people to use ‘social proof’ when booking their holidays, said app creator Carl Davis from So Adaptive.

“It makes a difference in knowing that this type of holiday experience has been enjoyed by someone that you know,” Carl said.
 

‘Share’ and ‘Like’ options before purchase
 

When researching holiday’s users can Like and Share any holiday they’re interested in across their social networks, whether it’s pinning stunning photos of a cooking school in Tuscany to Pinterest, or sharing a snippet about beach yoga in Spain to Twitter.

And while away 70% of travellers update their Facebook, so it’s making it even easier for guests to share their holiday experiences with their friends directly from the site, Lenssen said.

‘Share’ your holiday purchase

Guests can also ‘Share’ recently purchased holidays across their social networks, whether it’s pinning photos of their upcoming holiday to Pinterest or sharing travel plans with colleagues on LinkedIn.

“Our holidays are a social experience where you meet like-minded people, and our on-going aim is to extend that social experience to the planning and booking stage of your holiday as well,” Lenssen said.

Phase two of the launch will also see;

Tailored holiday recommendations from your Facebook profile

Users can connect on the site via Facebook and instantly see holiday recommendations tailored to their individual likes and interests from Facebook.

“If you like photography and yoga on Facebook then when you login you’ll instantly be shown a selection of yoga and photography holidays tailored to you,” Lenssen said.

Trusted. Private. Real.

With all the recent credibility issues with the likes of TripAdvisor hitting the press, people are even more likely to dismiss static review sites looking instead to their own social networks for endorsements.

“We’re excited that the integration with Facebook means we are optimising that social channel and keeping traffic on the GoLearnTo.com site to read trusted customer feedback and reviews from previous guests or their friends,” Lenssensaid.

However unlike other Facebook logins, user’s privacy remains protected.

“We’re dedicated to maintaining trust with our online community so nothing is posted without your permission.” Lenssen explains.

To try it out, visit www.GoLearnTo.com and search for a holiday whilst logged into your Facebook account.

-Ends-

Notes to Editors:

GoLearnTo.com are learning holiday specialists selling a range of over 1000 inspirational holiday courses in over 37 countries worldwide to suit all timescales & budgets.

GoLearnTo.com are nominees or two 2013 British Travel Awards in the categories for best special interest tour operator and best singles holiday tour operator.

All holidays are focused on learning a new skill or pursuing an existing hobby and include unique courses where you can go learn to speak Spanish, cook, flamenco dance, make your own perfume, surf, kitesurf, cook paella, make Italian gelato, paint, ride horses like a cowboy, scuba dive, take photographs to be proud of, make jewellery and much more.

So Adaptive was formed by University of Cambridge graduates who studied the effectiveness of social media, personalization and recommendation systems at the university.  Seed funded by one the Cambridge colleges; the team’s aim is to provide e-commerce websites and content providers with the most creative social technology that will drive their revenue growth.

Vanessa Lenssen has over 24 years’ experience in the travel industry having previously worked in senior roles at STA Travel, Virgin, MyTravel, TUI and Teletext. She won Shine corporate women of the year in 2009 and was nominated for Red Magazine’s Red Hot Women award. Vanessa is available for comment and interview.

Media enquiries:
Contact either: Sally Hine or Jane Grisman
Contact: media@golearnto.com     
Tel: 02081445990