This Summer, Experience Driving Vacations a Whole New Way
As Americans Rediscover 'The Joy of the Open Road,' Mobil Travel Guide's New MobilCompanion(TM) Program Provides Complete Trip Planning, Savings, Benefits and Support
NEW YORK, April 7 -- A new generation is venturing out on to the highways and byways, discovering the sites, sounds and colors of America.
Whether they are traveling "Route 66," driving cross-country with the family or just taking a quick weekend getaway, today's time-pressed travelers seek information, support and services to make trips quick, easy and memorable. They want complete information, fast. They want it in one place. And they want it online.
Launched this week, just in time for the summer travel season, MobilCompanion (www.MobilCompanion.com), the driving force in travel, lets travelers experience driving vacations in a whole new way. Offered by Mobil Travel Guide, creators of the star-rating system for hotels and restaurants, a $149 annual membership provides access to the extraordinary comfort of America's finest hotels and resorts, unbeatable savings on lodging, restaurants and airlines, en route support while on the road, and a fully integrated online trip-planning service that makes "getting there half the fun."
Travelers can access the complete program of services by visiting www.MobilCompanion.com.
The Open Road Never Looked so Good
With families increasingly preferring drive vacations to flying, and the Internet now the savvy traveler's most important trip planning tool, MobilCompanion provides a uniquely comprehensive package of services.
The site provides access to a virtual team of trip-planning experts; to the unparalleled breadth of Mobil Travel Guide's travel resources and information; and to a quick-click routing and reservation system that lets travelers get all the information and support they need, in a single place.
The online Mobil team is with members "every step of the way," providing:
* Access to all of the Mobil Travel Guide's information resources --
including exclusive reviews and star ratings of 14,000 hotels, 8,000
restaurants and thousands of sights and attractions
* Real savings on hotel, air, restaurants and more
* Personalized, automated hotel, restaurants, and activity suggestions
made during the planning process, based on an individual traveler's
needs and interests
* A personalized travel itinerary, including the most current maps and
driving directions, that members can print out and use as a customized
travel guide
* En-route support -- including access to a 24/7 call center to get
travel information, driving directions, restaurant recommendations,
hotel reservations and dispatch roadside assistance
* After the trip, an online diary allows members to capture images, store
photos and email them to friends and family, sharing a world of
memories
The $149 annual membership fee includes all of these services and more, on a "24/7" basis, via complete and unrestricted access to the MobilCompanion web site and is valid for the entire family.
Not Just Travel - A Travel Experience
According to Larry Dustin, president of Mobil Travel Guide, MobilCompanion provides a unique set of benefits for today's savvy traveler.
He said, "Mobil Travel Guide's star-rating system and printed travel guides have been providing travelers with dependable information they need to make informed choices for more than forty-five years." "Today's traveler is smarter, more demanding and more determined to make travel not just a process, but an experience."
He concluded, "MobilCompanion is like having a team of travel professionals in your back seat -- giving you the inside scoop on what to do and see, automatically adjusting your itinerary based on your preferences, making changes en route via a personal assistant, maintaining a mechanic on call 24/7 for peace of mind, and providing a virtual concierge at your hotel to ensure you receive preferential treatment.
"It is a critical combination of services that turns a routine trip into the experience of a lifetime."
Powerful Brands and Great Savings
Thanks to unique alliances with major hotel, restaurant and travel industry brands, MobilCompanion members also receive great savings and values, including:
* Savings of up to 50% at "America's Best" Mobil Four and Five-Star
hotels, including The Greenbrier, The Breakers, Bellagio, The
Broadmoor, Hotel Bel-Air and more than 80 other distinctive hotels and
resorts
* Savings on the best available rates at Marriott-branded hotels, and
automatic Silver Elite privileges in the award-winning Marriott
rewards program
* Savings of up to 20% on airline tickets on most major carriers
* Up to 20% savings at nearly 2,000 Mobil Travel Guide star-rated
restaurants nationwide, supported by iDine
* Additional values and savings from Michelin, Troon Golf, Marriott
Vacation Club International, Universal Orlando Resorts and Mobil Travel
Guide
MobilCompanion.com is the first fully integrated trip planning service for the drive-traveler offering customized route and itinerary planning, customized recommendations on lodging, dining and things to do along the way as well as access to special values and privileges for members. MobilCompanion.com is positioned for future innovation and growth using the latest e-business on demand services delivered by IBM.
About MobilCompanion
MobilCompanion is the first and only comprehensive, personalized program of benefits and services that enhances the auto traveler's experience, easily quickly and memorably. Created by Mobil Travel Guide, the most respected name in travel for forty-five years, a $149 membership provides access to the extraordinary comfort of America's finest hotels and resorts, unbeatable savings, en route support and a fully integrated online trip-planning service that makes getting there half the fun. Travelers can access the complete program of services by visiting www.MobilCompanion.com.
About Mobil Travel Guide (MTG)
Mobil Travel Guide is the originator of the authoritative and highly respected Star Rating Program for hotels and restaurants. Mobil Travel Guide has been committed to identifying and celebrating travel/hospitality excellence in North America since 1958.
