New year, new ExpediaChat

Happy New Year from Expedia and the Expedia Viewfinder blog. A new year for us means a new approach to our weekly ExpediaChat events on Twitter. In a nutshell, our chats will be shorter, will feature a new host (yours truly), will include special guests, and regularly will celebrate winners. Here’s the scoop.

First, starting this Wednesday, January 7, our regular ExpediaChat will be consolidated to one hour (from 90 minutes). Chats will take place from 11 a.m.-noon Pacific Time every Wednesday.

Second, I’ll be taking over from Spencer Spellman as the new regular host. I’ll pilot the chats with weekly co-pilots from your Expedia Viewfinder team. We’ll also involve special guests throughout the year. I’m delighted to take on this expanded role. For more about me, follow me on Twitter (@hiptravelmama) or look for me on my personal blog, where I like to share my passion for well-designed hotels, inspire others to pursue the lives they love, and help moms and dads raise more culturally aware and connected families through travel. (You also can learn more about me on my official Expedia Viewfinder profile.)

Next, in 2015 we’ll be celebrating our weekly giveaway winners with monthly spotlights here on the Expedia Viewfinder blog. If you’ve ever wondered who wins our weekly ExpediaChat giveaways and what those winners end up doing with their prizes, now is the chance! At the end of every month here on the Expedia Viewfinder, we’ll shine a spotlight on our prize winners from the previous four weeks, informing readers where these loyal community members like to travel and how they spent their winnings.

Finally, we’ll be pushing to create more of a dialogue with you, our readers. How can we make ExpediaChat better? About which destinations, topics, and tips do you want to hear more in 2015? Leave a comment for us here on the Expedia Viewfinder blog, or Tweet us  your ideas using the hashtag, #ExpediaChat.

In the meantime, as I mentioned above, Wednesday, January 7, is our first ExpediaChat of 2015. I’ll be co-hosting this event with our Expedia Viewfinder Editor, Matt Villano, and the topic is “Bucket List Travel: Happy New Year!” Matt and I will chat with participants about the travel goals we’ve all set for 2015, where travels will take us over the next 12 months, and our dream trips. I've set up a Pinterest board in conjunction with the event. On the day of ExpediaChat, we encourage your participation—share your thoughts, challenge us about ours, and submit your favorite vacation photos (or pix of places to which you’d love to go). Again, the new chats take place between 11 a.m.-noon Pacific Time. Be sure to follow the #ExpediaChat hashtag. See you then and there!