New Year, new start for YHA Online

YHA is ringing in the New Year in style by launching a brand new Web site to tempt travellers of all ages with budget breaks in top countryside, coastal and city locations.

YHA is ringing in the New Year in style by launching a brand new Web site to tempt travellers of all ages with budget breaks in top countryside, coastal and city locations.

The aim was to create a site that helped the user navigate through the choices offered at more than 200 Youth Hostels that provide value accommodation in England and Wales.

The new site – www.yha.org.uk - went live this week, created by Reading Room.

The award-winning digital agency fought off stiff competition to win the project, and has worked closely with YHA to ensure the new site meets all its requirements.

The site will take into account visitor feedback and develop the online offering while maintaining the existing loyal visitor base. 

A greater emphasis has also been placed on customers being able to tailor their YHA experience according to their needs.  

The agency is also currently working on an intensive online marketing programme that will encourage discovery of all that YHA has to offer.

The launch of the new Web site and content management system, using the new Tridion R5.2 CMS technology, is Phase 1 of the alliance between Reading Room and YHA.  

Phase 2 will see further features incorporated into the site including greater streamlining of the booking engine and state of the art content segmentation for specific audiences driven by dynamic content.

Duncan Simpson, Head of Marketing and Communications at YHA: “We decided to overhaul our website to help promote a more accurate representation of what YHA represents - flexible, quality accommodation, representing great value at excellent locations all over England and Wales.   What we needed to communicate such an attractive offer was an attractive site with greater functionality and that’s what Reading Room has delivered.”

Margaret Manning, CEO, Reading Room: “YHA requires a highly complex transactional site that delivers targeted and personalised content and is fully integrated with back end systems.   Reading Room is working with YHA on the online communications strategy and advising on the way that technology can support this strategy. This is an incredibly interesting  project that will significantly enhance YHA’s online business,”