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World Cup 2010 update

I have just returned from a 10-day trip to South Africa on behalf of iStopOver for World Cup 2010.

It was extremely exciting to see all the preparation underway for the World Cup in June/July.  We were in Johannesburg and Cape Town and it seems that all everyone can speak about is the World Cup. The airports look amazing, the stadiums are incredible and you can see the excitement everywhere. All indications are that it is going to be an amazing event.

We met with many of our partners, established new partnerships and were busy with the media the rest of the time. (Well, we did sneak a visit or two to the beach, but who can blame us coming from Toronto to the best weather in the world). Media coverage included Summit TV, e.tv, WOZA, KAYA FM, 567 Cape Talk, Africa Awakes, Business Day, SAFM, Sunday World, Die Burger, Cape Argus, TimesLive and Chai FM.

Most importantly, we met with iStopOver hosts and potential hosts – it was very exciting meeting with people who will be hosting guests in their homes on iStopOver. Some of our Hosts are renting out their entire home during the World Cup, and many are renting out individual rooms in their homes. The over-riding message we received from hosts is that they are ready to receive overseas visitors in their homes. They want to ensure that visitors have a great visit and experience the beauty and uniqueness of South Africa – so much so that many hosts are offering amenities such as airport pickup and drop off as well as meals.

We did find one disturbing trend when we spoke to South Africans regarding World Cup accommodations and that is the many rumours regarding accommodations during the World Cup. One of the rumours relates to what visitors are willing to pay for accommodations. There is a commonly told story about someone who rented out their home for one million rand for the month. Another set of rumours swirl about how many people will be attending the World Cup and related events.

REALITY CHECK: Our website tells us that there are MANY visitors from all over the world who are going to be visiting South Africa for the World Cup. These are soccer fans. They are going to the World Cup in South Africa to see the soccer and to experience an incredible event. They are not big spenders, they are not looking for a luxurious holiday, and they are not arriving with pockets full of cash. Guests are arriving looking for a comfortable, safe location that is “close to the action”, affordable and fun.

The good news is that iStopOver is attracting many homeowners in South Africa looking to host our Guests who get this! They are not pricing their homes at rates that ordinary people cannot afford – and they know (as we do) that the properties that are being rented are priced reasonably. We kept repeating the “affordability” phrase in our SA visit and were thrilled by the positive response of realistic homeowners!

One word to our Guests from all over the world: World Cup 2010 is going to be amazing! People all over South Africa are waiting to host you and it is going to be incredible. We now have thousands of listings and the best locations are filling up quickly. Don’t wait if you are looking for well priced, great locations. Start the process by viewing the many listings we have on the site. We are confident you will find one to fit your needs. If you need any help finding or booking a location, please contact us at info@istopover.com

See you in June in South Africa!!

 

 

Show off your support for World Cup 2010 !!!

Our iStopOver for World Cup members keep telling us how excited they are about the upcoming World Cup event. Now you can show off your support by inserting a Widget on your own web site. It is really easy. Look through all the widgets on this page. As soon as you find a widget that you like, click on the image. You will see the words “Get Widget” under the widget and follow the online instructions. You can install widgets on Facebook, Blogger, Twitter, iGoogle, WordPress, TypePad or ANYWHERE you can embed HTML code.

Best of all, its free!! Go for it – support your team and embed a widget on your page!

Team Badges

Algeria

Argentina

Australia

Introducing the iStopOver for World Cup 2010 Ambassador Program

Our South African Hosts continue to tell us that it is extremely important that they show off the “Best of South Africa”. There is a huge amount of goodwill being shown by our Hosts to international visitors that will be arriving for the World Cup.

South Africa is going to be a very exciting location in June and July 2010 and many of our iStopOver members are invested in guaranteeing that everyone that will be attending has a great experience.

The iStopOver Ambassador program lets Hosts offer many extra services to their Guests aimed at ensuring a successful stay.

With the vast number of visitors to South Africa in such a short period of time, the infrastructure will be stretched to its maximum. iStopOver’s Ambassador program essentially relieves pressure on three areas that many of our Hosts and Guests have identified as “pressure points”:  Accommodations, infrastructure and security.

New look for iStopOver for World Cup 2010

On January 8^th 2010, we launched our new look for iStopOver for World Cup 2010. Along with the new colours and images, it brings a wealth of new functionality and features.

Based on extensive user feedback, we launched the new look and we are very excited with the result. Please look at www.istopover.com/worldcup2010 and tell us what you think by adding your comments to this blog posting.

As we get closer to the World Cup in June 2010, our efforts are focused in two directions. Many more Hosts are adding their listings to the site, and there are now plenty of great listings all over South Africa, located close to each of the soccer games. And, we are receiving more and more Guest requests and bookings as visitors to the World Cup make their accommodations bookings through iStopOver.

One of the most important changes we have made is to allow Hosts to be able to offer many additional amenities directly in their listings. This allows our Hosts who want to offer varied amenities, such as airport pickup and drop off, meals, laundry to name just a few, to list these extra offerings on the site. See the Blog post on “iStopOver for World Cup Ambassador Program” for more details and read how iStopOver Hosts are helping to ensure that Guests have a great experience in South Africa.

iStopOver in the Press: The Guardian UK

Check out this great article by the great people of the Guardian UK featuring iStopOver!

Here's an excerpt:

“iStopover has created its own sub-site especially for the tournament, teaming up with a South African property company to boost local publicity. "We currently have over 1,400 listings," says site founder Mark Skapinker. "Bookings from guests all over the world are already rolling in, and we [expect] them to skyrocket now that fans know exactly where the teams are playing.”

Click here to read the full article, 'All a-bed for the World Cup 2010 in South Africa' »