AARP’s new travel website offers personalized trip-planning tools and a link to a dedicated member page through a new partnership with Liberty Travel.
The site continues to link to Expedia for online bookings.
“We have added access to Liberty Travel agents as well, so that members can meet their planning needs in whichever way works best for them,” said Stephanie Miles, AARP’s vice president, member value, products and services.
The partnership with Liberty, which launched in mid-January, offers AARP members on-phone and in-store access to agents.
“The ability to work with an agent on a complicated itinerary or international trip is important to the 50-plus age group,” Miles said.
“We want our members to have easy access to the tools and options they need,” she said. “The booking tools provided through AARP’s relationships with Expedia and Liberty Travel give access to member discounts, as well.”
New features of the site include an interactive trip finder that uses a series of questions to help travelers choose an appropriate destination.
The site uses photography to represent different places, styles of travel and activities.
The Map Explorer is a detailed street-level map with attractions, restaurants, hotels and reviews.
Other tools include a My Trips page to save itineraries, travel tips from AARP travel ambassador Samantha Brown and articles on domestic and international travel.
“We will continue to build and enhance the site in the months ahead,” Miles said.
In announcing the new website, AARP noted that data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that personal travel spending by travelers over 50 tops $120 billion per year.
AARP’s own survey noted that the 50-plus demographic takes an average of six overnight, non-business trips at least 50 miles from home each year. Also, eight in 10 use websites to plan as well as book personal travel and spend as much as 36 hours per year planning personal trips online.
“Through our online travel study and conversations with our members, we understand what they are looking for — and looking to avoid,” Miles said.
“The market is fragmented, and people have to open multiple sites at once just to plan a trip.”
AARP Travel was built “to make travel fun and easy with the tools, information and offerings needed,” Miles said. “We want our members to make the most of every moment and every dollar.”
Follow Gay Nagle Myers on Twitter @gnmtravelweekly.