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| June 12, 2008 |
Luxurious Ko Olina Beach Resort Complimented by Gorgeous Japanese Website and Booking Engine
Development Period: 2 months
Launch Date: June 12, 2008
URL: http://jp.koolinabeachresort.com
The KoOlina area of Oahu has garnered attention in recent years as savvy Hawaii travelers look to explore areas outside of Waikiki. To meet demand for a high end hotel, with full kitchen and appliances favored by "long-stay" travelers, the KoOlina Beach Resort was built and beautifully appointed with sophisticated and luxurious interior design comparable to the best of the best of Waikiki.
In keeping with the beauty of the property, PRTech has developed a visually stunning Japanese website, integrated with a Japanese booking engine to meet the needs of Japanese travelers looking for something a little different.
"I had a great time developing the website," said lead developer Yumiko Tsutsumi. "The property and surrounding beaches are so beautiful that I wasn't sure how they would come across online, but I think the final result speaks for itself. I hope everyone that browses the site actually visits Ko Olina, they won't be disappointed!"
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| April 25, 2008 |
Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Hawaii, Launches Oahu Korean Website
Development Period: 3 months
Launch Date: April 25, 2008
URL: http://www.StarwoodHawaiiKorea.com
Starwood Hotels & Resorts has launched its new Oahu Korean website to attract Korean visitors, for which traveling to Hawaii is becoming easier due to a weakened U.S. dollar and the upcoming U.S. visa waiver.
PRTech’s involvement included integration and management of the Korean Booking Engine and setting up a Korean Customer Support Center for Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Hawaii, which PRTech will continue to manage. This entailed hiring and training Korean operators to interface between the online customer and the Starwood reservations desk. Now, when a Korean customer requests a room, PRTech will translate the request to English and send it to Starwood for confirmation, and then relay the reply from Starwood to the customer—similar to how PRTech’s successful JpRes (Japanese-English Reservations Service) works.
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| April 14, 2008 |
Sandcastle Guam and Saipan Japanese Websites Showcase Fun and Flash
Development Period: 6 months
Launch Date: April 14, 2008
URL: http://www.SandCastle.jp
After being voted as “Guam’s most outstanding tourism facility,” Sandcastle Guam wanted to enrich its Japanese web presence with a site that more closely represents its sophisticated Vegas-style show.
They hired PRTech to develop the website and make it richer in Flash and content. The site now opens with a rising curtain, followed by a moving montage of circus-like dinner theatre entertainers. With a click on visually appealing menus and dynamically organized content, this easy-to-navigate site takes viewers to a menu of dinner shows, activities, and testimonials. Online booking also has been made easier with a form that takes reservations in Japanese, and produces a reservation e-mail in English for the convenience of the Sand Castle staff.
As well as graphically designing the website and developing video content for each page, PRTech consulted on English-to-Japanese translation and provided Japanese Search Engine Optimization. PRTech’s continued involvement includes website maintenance and hosting.
“The new website helps promote Sandcastle as the upscale, sophisticated, and fun show that it is. The sites’ interactive capabilities make it easier for guests to book tickets and easier for Sandcastle staff to communicate with them, which will increase both bookings and customer satisfaction,” said PRTech Chief Developer Stephen Curtis.
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| April 4, 2008 |
Development Period: 6 months
Launch Date: April 04, 2008
URL: http://www.NeimanMarcusHawaii.com
Seeking ways to develop closer contact with its regular customers, Neiman Marcus consulted with PRTech about the best way to do this online.
PRTech, which previously developed Neiman Marcus’ successful IPC program in Japanese, came up with the concept of a bilingual (English & Japanese) microsite containing the following:
1. Designer Index
2. Store information
3. News and events
4. International Point Club (IPC) Member page
- Members can see their redemption history for IPC
- Members can update their personal information
5. International Point Club (IPC) Membership registration
During the six months it took to develop the microsite, PR Tech worked closely with Neiman Marcus’ internal developers on all aspects of the job. For instance, PRTech’s team worked with Neiman Marcus Direct website developers to create a live integration that ensures the designer index links always tie in seamlessly with the constantly changing Neiman Marcus Direct website. PRTech was/is responsible for database creation and online survey creation as well as website design, Japanese and English content development, and website hosting and maintenance.
“The online survey is one of particular value to Neiman Marcus because it enables us closely track demographics and shopping habits of Neiman Marcus customers,” said Brian Newman, Sales Manager at PRTech. “We’ll use online survey information to further improve the customer experience, both at the physical stores, and online. Neiman Marcus was delighted with the finished product, and we’re already discussing similar initiatives in other Asian languages such as Korean.”
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| April 1, 2008 |
Development Period: 3 months
Launch Date: April 01, 2008
URL: http://www.cpb-kr.com/
Anticipating more Korean business in Hawaii once visa restrictions are lifted this summer and noting the success of its Japanese web site, CPB decided to use online marketing to reach the lucrative Korean market. To meet this goal, CPB hired several Korean staff and PRTech (which built their Japanese web site) to assist with developing a Korean language website.
The new website took PRTech three months to develop and showcases CPB’s ability to offer best in class services to Korean clients, in the Korean language. PRTech referenced the existing English and Japanese sites to create Korean content and develop Flash design, and now is contracted for ongoing website maintenance and hosting, as well as Korean Search Engine Optimization.
“Our native Korean speakers and copywriters worked with our Japanese staff to translate web copy from Japanese to Korean, then proofed all copy to ensure it translates cultural subtleties, as well as words, and includes copy and graphics attractive to the Korean market,” said Yuko Akiba, Lead Web Developer.
CPB Senior Vice President - Alternative Delivery Channels, Wayne Kirihara said, “We wanted to offer potential Korean customers the comfort of researching financial services and products online, in their native language, and then being able to speak to a person at CPB in Korean. PRTech helped us bring this goal to fruition and be the first financial institution offering banking services in Korean in Hawaii.”
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| March 31, 2008 |
Development Period: 3 months
Launch Date: March 31, 2008
URL: http://jp.BoraBoraNui.com/
This functional and graphically sophisticated website, developed in
Japanese, showcases Starwood Hotels & Resorts Tahiti properties. The site
features best-in-class Flash design and a booking system that accommodates
billing in XPF (Pacific Francs) for Japanese travelers.
After achieving positive marketing results in Hawaii from its Japanese
websites, Starwood Hotels & Resorts decided to make a
dedicated online effort to increase Japanese business at its other
properties, starting with this dramatic site.
They hired PRTech for website development and Flash design, Japanese content
development, website maintenance and hosting, English to Japanese
translation, integration and management of a Japanese reservations engine,
and Japanese Search Engine Optimization.
"This is probably the most beautiful site I've ever worked on," said Yuko
Akiba, lead PRTech Web Developer. "We were tremendously successful in
depicting the beauty of Bora Bora through an online medium with a site that
literally takes your breath away."
"The Bora Bora site looks incredible," said Chris Wieners, Online Marketing
Manager at Starwood. "We look forward to seeing positive results in terms of
increased bookings and customer communications from this site, just like we
did when we started to put effort into creating top quality Japanese sites
in Hawaii with PRTech."
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| January 24,
2008 |
Starwood Hotels and Resorts’ Japanese language website now features a Podcast
Starwood Hotels and Resorts’ Japanese language website now features a Podcast—live audio feed in Japanese—about Hawaii and Starwood’s properties, new dining venues, entertainment, and cultural activities. Check it out at www.waikikipodcast.com
PRTech designed and provided content and copywriting (not translation) for the landing page on which the Podcast prompt can be found.
Podcast content is provided in conjunction with the Official Hawaii Podcast, a 20 minute audio show recorded in Japanese and available for download for free at www. Hawaiipodcast.jp and from iTunes, for which Starwood Hotels and Resorts’ has signed a sponsorship agreement.
Waikiki Podcast http://www.waikikipodcast.com
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| News in 2007 |
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