Frequent travelers – especially business travelers – are among the most active early users of Facebook Places. This became apparent when two colleagues checked in to the Chicago O'Hare International Airport yesterday. They were not alone; 1,790 others have checked in there as well in the five days since Facebook Places was released, making this one of the more popular Places to date.
This begs the question, why check in at the airport? The benefits are quite clear, as the airport check-in:
- creates a stream story in your News Feed, replacing the obligatory texts/phone calls to let friends and family know of your safe arrival
- lets you know that a childhood friend happens to be waiting out a delay down the hall in terminal A
- prompts friends familiar with your destination city to make restaurant recommendations
And in the near future, there will likely be another reason to check in at the airport: access to promotional offers and loyalty rewards. This trend of traveler activity via Facebook Places is poised to grow, as applications such as Topguest are now offering loyalty reward points and discounts for participants who check in at partner hotels.
Our early observations show that people are also checking in to the following locations:
- Restaurants and bars (Most popular = coffee shops, quick-serve restaurants and trendy/notable/unique restaurants)
- Retail stores
- Malls/shopping centers
- At work
- Hotels
- The gym
- College campuses
- Hotels
Whether travelling or in your home city, are you (or your friends) checking in?