Club Med continues to build its presence in mobile, having launched a new mobile site to complement its existing iPhone and iPad apps.

The vacation destination chain first jumped into the mobile space earlier this year with the iOS apps and is already seeing over 10 percent of its customers accessing information via mobile devices. The goal of the mobile site is to evolve the mobile experience for customers and enrich the customer journey from research to booking.

?[The mobile site] is part of our strategy to have a multi-screen approach to enrich our customer?s experience,? said Sabina Sicuso, vice president of marketing for Club Med North America, Coral Gables, FL. ?From researching their vacation to purchase, one can now have a seamless interaction with Club Med whether they are accessing from a tablet or smartphone.

?The goals are to develop our customer knowledge, improve loyalty and satisfaction as well as improve business volume,? she said.

Smart strategy
By launching a mobile site, Club Med is able to provide brand access to a wider array of consumers since it can be accessed from any smartphone.

The mobile site provides booking deals and views of every Club Med resort, enabling users to plan and book a trip. Consumers are able to explore the chain?s more than 80 resorts through photos, descriptions and vacation deals.

The site has a search function, enabling users to choose between resorts based on the type of vacation experience they want. Search criteria include levels of luxury, location as well as eco-friendly and family resorts.

Users are able to share what they like. There is a ?Click to Call? button to connect users with an experienced Club Med travel advisor for over the phone booking.

The Club Med mobile site can be accessed by typing http://m.clubmed.us in any smartphone browser.

Tools for travel
The travel industry is embracing mobile as a way to reach on-the-go consumers with pertinent information to enhance their travel experience. From hotels and car rental firms to online booking services, mobile is increasingly a key strategy for these companies whether this is via mobile apps, a mobile site or mobile advertising.

For example, online travel site TripAdvisor recently added new cities to its line of guide applications to help consumers discover the best attractions, events and places while traveling (see story).

Additionally, Courtyard by Marriott is spreading brand awareness and driving hotel bookings as the launch sponsor on AccuWeather?s revamped iPad application (see story).

?More than 12 percent of users are accessing Club Med information from their mobile devices with a return rate of approx 45 to 55 percent,? Ms. Sicuso said. ?The duration of the visits have improved and sales conversion has also improved.?

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York