Virgin Media ups travel plans with content deal

Virgin Media is taking a major step forward to boost its web travel channel by incorporating the WhatsOnWhen travel guides. The partnership will see the Wiley Travel-owned content specialist provide destination content, dedicated city guides and travel videos into the growing Virginmedia.com travel portal. The home broadband supplier signed a major travel search partnership with…

Virgin Media is taking a major step forward to boost its web travel channel by incorporating the WhatsOnWhen travel guides.


The partnership will see the Wiley Travel-owned content specialist provide destination content, dedicated city guides and travel videos into the growing Virginmedia.com travel portal.


The home broadband supplier signed a major travel search partnership with Travelsupermarket last year as part of a wider strategy to provide online ancillary services to customers such as travel, white goods and clothing.


WhatsOnWhen currently provides and hosts travel content for a string of third parties including British Airways, Hilton Hotels, Expedia, Travelocity, lastminute.com and Eurostar.


Director Joel Brandon-Bravo said: “The key to answering this brief was to augment existing content on the travel section of virginmedia.com with a unique combination of events, destination guides including ski and resort guides, airport guides and travel videos.


“The new site delivers just that and will allow Virgin Media to attract new travel customers through natural search. This project mirrors the trend we’ve seen amongst both our retained and project-basis clients to invest in content creation.”


Competition for travel ancillary services amongst home broadband and mobile suppliers has increased massively in the past year with Orange appointing Sidestep (which later switched to Kayak) to run flight and hotel search facilities on its travel channel.


Sky Media recently hired Expedia to run a full white label search and booking engine on its travel portal.