Auto Club AAA estimates families will spend an average of $809 on summer travel in 2010, compared to $876 in 2009. Most families are opting to stay close so they can avoid steep airline prices.

The Commerce Department stated that consumers spending was stagnant in April and it’s at its weakest level in seven months.

Many hotels and popular travel destinations are offering discounts on hotel rooms or special packages at amusement parks. The average hotel room is down slightly to $95 from $107 two years ago.

Until the job market improves people will continue to pinch pennies. What are your travel plans for summer 2010?

Advertisers are always looking for effective ways to reach consumers, however sometimes it is not always the easiest task to accomplish. If done correctly, email marketing is a cost effective way to reach a large audience in a short amount of time. The biggest trick businesses have to face is getting “that email” delivered in the consumers inbox. Last week JetBlue Airlines utilized email marketing, press releases and partner’s emails to get across a HOT deal they were offering.  JetBlue was offering tickets from NY to San Francisco for $14!  That is unheard of, however it was no joke.  The unfortunate thing was this email and press release blast made the airline sell out quickly (within an hour to be exact). This also created a great buzz about the airline and traveling, and that is what they were looking to accomplish.  What other way can you effectively market something that HOT in such a short amount of time???? According to DMNews, this wasn’t such a bad scenario for the airline to be in…..

Email marketing is also a great way to monetize data.  Leadpile Lead Exchange is very happy to offer TEXT links to it’s lead publishers to use in an email marketing campaign.
Bottom line is… email works!

Are you one of those people that has a Blackberrys, iPhone, lap top or other electronic device connected to your hand at all times?  Being fully connected with the internet has become the norm, and if one does not have access for more than one hour at a time… we (yes, WE) all go crazy!!!!! Knowing this craziness, airlines are now testing Wi-Fi availability on their planes.    Various U.S. airlines have been testing this phenomenom for about a year now, however all others are now scrambling to get on board with this. Initially this is going to be free, however once all the kinks are ironed out you can expect this to be hitting your pocket book.  According to MSNBC, “Alaska Airlines is asking those who use the free test service to take a survey, which includes a question about how much they’d be willing to pay. A Southwest Airlines spokesperson says the airline will start testing fee structures once technical testing is complete, perhaps this summer.” So how much would you be willing to pay to have non stop access to the internet? I think the Leadpile crew would be willing to pay a little extra for the convenience, however let’s see what the airlines try to make us pay.