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Gilt Groupe’s Jetsetter preps holiday gift store, mobile app

October 18, 2010

: Jetsetter has big end-of-year plans

Gilt Groupe’s travel brand Jetsetter is ramping up its year-end strategy with plans to launch a dedicated holiday gift store and a multi-platform mobile application this quarter.

The travel Web site’s holiday strategy involves a focus on experience-based travel packages. Its mobile strategy is still developing, but will likely resemble that of parent company Gilt.

“The overarching idea [of Jetsetter’s holiday strategy] is this notion of experience gifts,” said Tom Foster, creative director for Jetsetter, New York.

“The idea is that there are a lot of sites where you can get travel gifts, but it’s a special thing when you give someone a trip or experience that isn’t even staying in a hotel – it’s an adventure, a lasting memory,” he said

“We’re looking for ways to expand on that idea.”

Jetsetter is an invitation-only flash sale site that claims more than 550,000 members and 500 travel partners a little more than a year after its founding in September 2009.

The travel site claims more than 75 percent of its members take three to five trips each year. Eighty percent of members are under 40 years old and the average makes more than $100,000 a year.

Away for the holiday
Jetsetter’s holiday gift strategy has two main prongs, according to Mr. Foster.

The first involves a partnership with a major upscale hospitality chain with hotels in most major urban areas.

Jetsetter members will be able to buy gifts that include either one or two nights in any of the brand’s hotels.

Recipients can redeem the gift and stay at the chosen hotel any time, rather than finding themselves locked in to a particular date.

Jetsetter is promoting the non-date specific gifts as good last minute holiday purchases.

Secondly, the travel site is building a set of experience-based travel gifts that offer perks beyond lodging.

Mr. Foster gave examples of experience gifts that range from customized fly fishing trips in Patagonia, to luxury train journeys through Europe, tickets to major sporting events and meals with renowned chefs.

“[Experience gifts] build on the notion that trips go beyond the hotel stay,” Mr. Foster said. “It’s something you can’t really find anywhere else.”

The gift options will be placed in a dedicated holiday section on the Web site.

In addition to gifts, Jetsetter will also be developing sales for holiday-themed getaways that consumers planning year-end vacations can book on the main site.

Finally, the travel site is coordinating with Gilt Groupe for a joint holiday initiative, although it was not able to specify on the specifics at this time.

Mobile aspirations
Jetsetter plans to release its first mobile application on multiple platforms by the end of the year.

The brand currently has mobile offerings within Gilt’s mobile application, available for iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

Those offerings provide a preview of what the Jetsetter application will look like.

The applications contain all the same flash sales as the main Web site.

Users can sign-in in to their accounts to access all their shopping information and make purchases straight from their phones.

The Gilt iPhone application with a link to the Jetsetter-specific section

Travel done different
The company claims that 84 percent of members have booked a hotel based only on the site’s recommendation.

Meanwhile, the brand reported that 70 percent of members booking trips to the Caribbean were not originally researching the destination they booked.

Additionally, 90 percent would recommend the hotel they stayed at to a friend, and 61 percent said they would return for a second trip at full price.

“We’re not trying to be everything for everybody,” said Kellie Pelletier, spokeswoman at Jetsetter. “We have a niche audience, and that’s who we’re looking to create trips and experiences for.”