Our guests will get a sense of the AIDA crew’s exceptional commitment to service at every possible opportunity. We are delighted by all the positive feedback we receive in person on board, in the mail, on social media, and also from external institutions. In 2014, we were recognized as a Service Champion for the fourth time for the highest rated customer service experience
Our guests are important to us, which is why we offer special benefits to loyal guests with the AIDA Club. Guests who have spent at least 10 days on board AIDA over the past five years become members of the AIDA Club and are automatically sent their personal login data to access the AIDA Club portal. You can thus become a permanent member of our ever-expanding AIDA family, which grew to over 900,000 in 2014 alone. Using the club portal, you can look up information such as your club status and associated benefits throughout the year. Depending on the number of days spent on board, the benefits range from special club meetings and free offers to onboard credit and culinary highlights. Our onboard club meetings give members the chance to talk with the crew outside the day-to-day interactions. We also get our club members actively involved in AIDA activities as part of the club program. Furthermore, we actively incorporate what our guests would like to see in our products. For example, we asked all members to help us decide what the new design should be for the new PREMIUM travel documents.
We will be launching the new AIDA Club on October 1, 2015. Even as soon as the first AIDA voyage, this new club will offer all members exclusive benefits and discounts in the form of credits and Internet packages as well as offers in the AIDA online shop. Starting with this new AIDA Club all our members will earn "sea miles" with every AIDA vacation that will be credited to them after their trip. For the first time, they will be calculated based on the length of the cruise, the price bracket, and the stateroom category. In addition to the current Blue, Red, Yellow, and Green club levels, we will be adding a new Gold level to show our special appreciation and offer exclusivity for our guests who have the most sea miles. Moreover, after the relaunch our guests as young as 16 will now also be able to collect sea miles and enjoy benefits and discounts for teens.
The new AIDA Club will be launched on October 1, 2015, giving all existing club members ample time to learn all about the new developments. A guest's allocation to a given level in the new club model is based on the guest's level as of September 30, 2015. The existing club model remains in place until that date. Cruises that extend beyond October 1, 2015, but started before that date will be counted based on the new concept. We are guaranteeing all of our club members that the club level they reach by September 30, 2015 cut-off date, will be maintained for one year.
Special benefits for loyal guests is what we offer our frequent travelers with the AIDA Club program.
Our social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google+ combined with our AIDA Weblounge gives our guests interactive opportunities to share information about AIDA. This not only benefits the dialog within the communities, but our company as well. We receive honest feedback every day and it is just as quick and easy for us to contact our guests as it is for them to contact us.
In 2014, we saw our number of Facebook fans increase from 650,000 to 836,643. In addition to the latest news, video clips, and information about our company, our Facebook page provides a modern platform for direct dialog and interaction. The content that users share also allows for prospective cruisers to gain personal insight into the world of AIDA. For many followers, it is a valuable tool for planning their next vacation with the AIDA fleet. This community thus offers real added value for our fans as well as potential guests. For AIDA, these platforms also allow us to obtain many valuable tips on how we can continue to improve and keep exceeding guest expectations.
Another important component in our online dialog is the AIDA Weblounge, which grew to 99,120 members in 2014. Of course we are also active on YouTube, Twitter, and Google+, where we provide information on pertinent topics related to vacationing with AIDA. Our guests can stay in touch with family and friends even at sea: All of our ships are equipped with Internet service.
In order to make searching for and booking a future vacation as easy and straightforward as possible, we are constantly working to improve the user-friendliness of our website. We give our guests a convenient option for booking their next dream vacation online, while also protecting the environment by saving paper.
Our AIDA smartphone app also gives our guests much more than an interactive catalog: It combines a personal cruise experience and a detailed travel planning opportunity so guests on any of our ships can pull up their voyage ahead of time on their smartphone and even customize their travel plans. The AIDA Cruises smartphone app was voted the "Best Travel Industry App - Mobile Services 2014" by 2,500 WELT magazine readers and Travel Industry Club members in a public, online voting campaign.
This is where the fans and friends of AIDA meet. Captains, general managers, and guests blog directly from the ships and post their vacation pictures.
Responsibly handling our guests' personal information goes without saying for us. We collect, process, and use personal data only in accordance with legal regulations. The EU Data Protection Directive and the German Federal Data Protection Act (Bundesdatenschutzgesetz) are decisive here.
The data protection declaration and the data protection provisions are binding for all employees. AIDA's internal data protection officer monitors compliance with the provisions. Our guests can always exercise their right to information and to object at any time by going to datenschutz@aida.de. In addition, TÜV Süd audits the data protection compliance of AIDA Cruises.
Responsibly handling our guests' personal data goes without saying for us. We collect the following data.
