Towards the end of last year, I wrote separate articles sharing how Twitter and Facebook were excellent places to find up-to-the-minute travel deals.

Now that we are ten days into the new year, I thought I might do a little digging around to see what we might find from the “Twavelverse” in the way of travel deals on Facebook and Twitter.

Here is a “tweet” from Delta Airlines on January 5th that tells me that we might be on to something here:

“…don’t you worry, 2011 will see many fun giveaways in our social media channels!” (via @Delta on Twitter)

Here’s what I found:

Twitter:

• US Airways – Just for our Twitter followers! Save up to $350 on hundreds of vacations – it all starts today. Details at https://bit.ly/etaQjl (via @USAirways, 1/10/2011)
• Hawaiian Airline – Twitter Hawaii Five-O Trivia Contest from Hawaiian Air – In H50, right before the tooth was found, what landmark was featured? – https://bit.ly/efUgc5 (via @HawaiianAir, 1/4/20100)
• Scottsdale Convention and Visitors Bureau – The first person to physically say “I Love Scottsdale” at our table at the Bud Light Fiesta gets 2 tickets to the BCS Championship game. (via @scottsdaleaz, 1/6/2011)
• The Lodge at Sedona – last minute getaway twitter deal – king suite 30% off 1st night, 20% off 2nd night, subject to availability:  https://bit.ly/dNs6Te (via @LodgeinSedona, 1/10/2011).
• National Park Service – Free Entrance Days in the National Parks Announced for 2011: https://go.usa.gov/r8z (via @NatlParkService, 1/05/2001).

Facebook:

• Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain – Stay 3 nights or more and save 20%!! (via Sanctuary FB page, dated 1/04/2011)
• Virgin America Airlines – You deserve a little break from the daily grind. Fly Virgin America and any of our sister airlines for a chance to win the ultimate get-way-away. Enter before January 31 and you could be relaxing on Sir Richard Branson’s private island, Necker. (via Virgin FB page, 1/0702011).
• Celebrity Cruises – Each week in January we’ll feature a different destination. This week, it’s cruises to Australia & New Zealand, Hawaii and Panama Canal. Book between Jan. 3 and Jan. 9 to receive up to $150 on us to spend onboard. (via Celebrity Cruises FB page, 1/04/2011)
• Kiwi Collection – Every 100th booking, for the next 100 days is free! Chance for free vacation.  (via Kiwi Collection FB page, 1/05//2011)
• Pink Jeep Tours – Click on the Sweepstakes tab to enter to win a Jeep tour for two. (via Pink Jeep FB page, 1/07/2011).

As of this writing, Facebook has over 500 million users, and Twitter clocks in with 106 million users.  Furthermore, baby boomer users (the biggest bubble of money in the US) have more than doubled on Facebook in the last year.

This means that purveyors in the travel and leisure category are all scrambling for the attention of these massive crowds of people.  For them, it is a dream come true because they have direct free access to your home with your simple subscription.

What to do:

• Become a user of Facebook.
• Become a user of Twitter.
• In both environments, use the search tools to find your favorite resorts, hotel chains, restaurants, wineries, etc., follow them, and watch the travel deals stream onto your computer on a daily basis.

Follow our simple advice, and we believe that you will find 2011 to be the year of travel and leisure savings unprecedentedly found on Twitter and Facebook.