Companies offer summer travel tips, suggest road trips.
NORWALK, CONN. and DETROIT – With the summer road trip season underway and July 4th as one of the most popular holidays for car excursions, OnStar, a provider of connectivity services for Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles, and priceline.com, a leader in online and mobile travel and part of The Priceline Group, have partnered to offer drivers the service of conveniently booking hotels while traveling.
OnStar Guidance plan subscribers in the U.S. and Canada, in need of a quick and easy way to reserve hotel accommodations while on-the-go, can now secure a stay via OnStar’s new AtYourService feature. OnStar AtYourService allows customers to speak with an OnStar advisor by simply pushing the OnStar blue button inside the vehicle. Advisors can verbally provide information on hotel availability, cost, amenities and ratings to the vehicle occupants, allowing drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. The advisor can then book a hotel reservation for the subscriber through priceline.com and download those directions to the vehicle’s navigation system.
“In our vehicles, customers now have the ability to secure hotel reservations through OnStar AtYourService in time for the busy summer travel season,” said Mark Lloyd, Director, Online Commerce, OnStar. “The service provides OnStar subscribers with access, even at the last-minute, to quality hotels across the country. Combined with our navigation, safety and security offerings, OnStar continues to deliver a powerful and highly valuable suite of driver services.”
“Whether it’s for a spontaneous road trip or an unexpected life or work event, consumers come to us with hundreds of different reasons for needing a hotel room at the last minute,” said Brett Keller, Chief Marketing Officer at priceline.com. “Through our OnStar partnership, consumers have access to deep discounts across the country with a single push of a button. And if you’re a foodie, a hiker or a music aficionado, priceline.com and OnStar are perfect partners to make your summer road trip seamless.”
Summer Road Trip Tips from OnStar
- Prepare your car for a warm-weather road trip. Check the cooling and air conditioning systems to make sure they’re full and functioning properly. Replace wiper blades worn out over the winter, and make sure tire pressure is at recommended levels.
- Drive smart, drive green. Aggressive driving and excessive idling reduce gas mileage and increase smog. To consume less fuel, drive sensibly – follow speed limits and avoid abrupt acceleration – and avoid peak rush hours (sitting in traffic is fun for no one). Use the OnStar RemoteLink mobile app to check your fuel efficiency and tire pressure.
- Navigate via OnStar. Getting lost should be a thing of the past once you get used to relying on OnStar’s Turn-by-Turn Navigation.
- Adjust itineraries if kids are on the trip. Try to break up trips into two- to three-hour chunks, stopping for rest stops or to check out a local tourist attraction. Leave early in the morning or late at night when kids are likely to spend a few hours sleeping. Make up road games everyone can play, like first to spot a Chevrolet Corvette. When using OnStar to reserve a hotel for the night from priceline.com, ask your OnStar advisor to pick one that has a pool for the kids, and maybe offers free breakfast or free Wi-Fi in the room.
- Put pets in the back seat. Pets can be potentially injured if a front-seat airbag deploys. Never leave pets unattended in a car, and don’t let them ride with their heads out the window.
- Make arrangements before getting too exhausted. After a long drive, everyone dreads stretching those last few miles to reach the next hotel. Look for a location that provides a little time to relax, maybe a meal and swim before bed, and ask your OnStar advisor to reserve your room through priceline.com.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
