As the economy expands, so too does leisure travel and corporate convention spending. Poised with great timing, the young company Joieful is growing and making its mark on New Orleans tourism.
Joieful is an online travel concierge offering a web-based booking platform and specially-built app for mobile devices. This week it announced a new partnership with the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel. Their joint efforts will cater to leisure travelers, VIP guests and even conference bookings at the hotel with exclusive customer appreciation packages.
“The entire guest and traveler expectation at hotels has changed fundamentally in just the past few years,” said Aaron Dirks, Joieful’s founder and CEO. “Visitors are increasingly seeking more authentic ways to connect with experiences and the people that call their city home. We built the Joieful platform specifically for these travelers – and on behalf of our hotel partners.”
Joieful combines the technology of today with the wisdom of New Orleanians, creating curated experiences that include both the popular tourist attractions and the behind-the-scenes knowledge that only locals can provide. Its user-friendly interface allows the curious traveler or meeting planner to view and book a wide array of events and activities – from plantation tours to improv comedy workshops – with easily navigable categories to help your search.
It is one of the fastest growing companies in Louisiana and has gone from zero to 14 full-time employees since its launch in 2015. It has generated over $2.5 million in sales and has identified even more growth opportunities.
Dirks explained, “We are finding our platform is bringing significant value to organizations tasked with promoting particular destinations, such as the Convention and Visitors Bureaus and Offices of Tourism, by helping them bring awareness to unique offerings and tracking the data on their behalf on bookings from their websites."
When asked about the future, Dirks sees a pattern of success and new tourism markets in which to expand.
“The new partnership with Sheraton sets the standard for other lodging companies to emulate and also speeds our launch into other markets,” he said. “We will be announcing our next two market launches in the first quarter, and we are working on a few other national partnerships that would significantly accelerate our US deployment.”
By operating online and from hotel concierge desks around New Orleans, Joieful is at the forefront of the tourism industry by interacting with guests before and during their travel. With the data it is tracking and sharing with other hospitality industry leaders, it is surely making its mark and providing an invaluable service for the New Orleans sector.
